Aluminum Trombone Arms

The City of Madison, Wisconsin's Finance Department Purchasing Services issued Request for Quotation (RFQ) 4902-0-2020-TJ on January 9, 2020, seeking aluminum trombone arms for traffic signal installations. The procurement involves 132 total trombone arms across multiple configurations, including Type II signal trombone arms in standard natural aluminum finish and color-finished options (green and black) ranging from 10 to 25 feet in length. Bidders were required to submit proposals via email, mail, or fax by January 23, 2020, at 2:00 PM CST, with quotations remaining valid for 90 days following the due date. Technical questions were directed to Brian Smith at Traffic Engineering, while procurement inquiries were to be sent to Tony Johnson at Purchasing Services. Evaluation criteria included cost, quality, workmanship, compatibility, warranty, delivery capability, and past performance. The City reserved the right to award to the most advantageous bidder, with bidders required to provide shop drawings, AASHTO specification compliance certification, and notify Traffic Engineering 48 hours prior to delivery.

The RFQ included a local vendor preference policy that grants scoring preference to registered local suppliers as of the bid due date. Three bidders submitted proposals: Neher Electric Supply, Cisco Distributing, LLC, and TAPCO. Neher Electric Supply was ultimately selected as the award winner with the lowest bid of $121,699.00 and a lead time of 14-20 weeks after order receipt. Cisco Distributing, LLC bid $122,317.00 with 12-16 week lead times for natural finish items and 14-18 weeks for painted finishes, while TAPCO's bid totaled $122,969.81 with a 14-16 week lead time. The procurement covered 121 total units across nine line items, with quantities ranging from 2 units for specialized finishes to 40 units for standard 18-foot arms. All three bidders provided competitive pricing within a narrow margin of approximately $1,270 across the total contract value, with individual unit prices varying by approximately $3 to $13 depending on arm type and finish specification.