9250-27-R-RFIN-00030

Mississippi State University is issuing a notice of proposed sole source purchase of an Alicat MXM-ES-SA benchtop gas mixing system kit for its Additive Manufacturing Laboratory at the Center for Advanced Vehicular Systems under Notice 9250-27-R-RFIN-00030, with responses due November 13, 2026. No competitive bidding is anticipated, and Alicat Scientific, Inc. is the designated sole source.

The scope is a single system kit with related components: mass flow controllers, a pressure gauge, a digital I/O interface module, and industrial cables. The system supplies controlled-composition shielding gas to the university's wire arc directed energy deposition (arc-DED) welding cell. The university justifies the sole source on required capabilities of remote digital control, integrated binary gas analysis, mass-flow-based precision measurement, and flexible software integration, which it states alternative gas mixing solutions lack. It also states Alicat sells directly to customers without separate distributors or value-added resellers.

The estimated cost is $26,585.75, which includes a 5.0% educational discount from Alicat Scientific. The notice names no evaluation criteria, set-aside, or incumbent. Any party objecting to the sole source determination may submit written notice with detailed justification to the Chief Procurement Officer.