BOD Bus Paint and Related Materials

The City of Charlotte seeks a qualified vendor to supply bus paint, coatings, and related materials to support the Charlotte Area Transit System (CATS) fleet maintenance operations through an indefinite quantity unit price contract. The procurement encompasses 112 line items including sanding supplies, masking materials, adhesives, paint systems, brushes, sanders, mixing equipment, primers, clearcoats, protective equipment, and specialty products from manufacturers such as 3M, PPG, Dynatron, and Mirka. All products must be new, current production materials meeting OEM specifications and industry standards, particularly ASTM E97-92 requirements with a minimum six-year lifespan and 90 gloss rating, and must be accompanied by complete documentation including specifications, safety data sheets, and usage instructions suitable for staff with standard technical skills. The successful vendor must deliver products FOB Destination within 48 hours of order placement to two Charlotte locations and provide a dedicated full-time account executive available by cell phone with response to communications within two business days. Critical deadlines include May 25, 2026 at 1 p.m. EST for submission of alternate product samples, June 1, 2026 at 1 p.m. EST for written questions, and June 8, 2026 at 1 p.m. EST for final bid submission through the Bonfire e-Procurement Portal, with bid opening scheduled for June 8, 2026 via Microsoft Teams and evaluation on June 15, 2026. The contract will be awarded to the lowest responsive responsible bidder based on qualifications, experience, quality, delivery, workmanship, and environmentally preferable attributes, with an anticipated effective date between September and October 2026, an initial term of three years, and two optional one-year extensions available at the City's discretion.

No set-aside designations or restrictions limiting eligible respondents to specific organization types have been identified in the solicitation documents. Items 81-98 are specified PPG Delfleet products required for OEM compatibility with existing CATS buses and do not permit alternatives; all other items may have equal or superior quality alternates submitted for evaluation and testing prior to May 25, 2026. Bids must be submitted as fixed unit prices per item including shipping, delivery, discounts, and all associated costs, with no additional charges permitted, and vendors must maintain comprehensive insurance including commercial general liability of at least $1,000,000 per occurrence and comply with E-Verify requirements. The City reserves the right to make multiple awards by item or combination of items as deemed in its best interest and to purchase identical or similar products from other suppliers; no minimum purchase quantity is required. No specific budget range or award value has been disclosed in the solicitation documents, though pricing information will be determined based on unit prices submitted by qualifying vendors across the 112 line items with estimated annual usage quantities ranging from 1 to 744 units depending on the specific product.