HS-GC mass spectrometer

The South Carolina Law Enforcement Division (SLED) issued solicitation 5400026674 to procure a Headspace Gas Chromatograph Mass Spectrometer for its Forensic Services Laboratory in Richland County. The procurement seeks a single HS-GC Mass Spectrometer unit with specific technical requirements, including detailed specifications for both gas chromatograph and mass spectrometer components. Manufacturers must submit comprehensive product literature demonstrating compliance with all specifications. Offerors were required to submit bids online through the South Carolina procurement website by 3:00 PM on March 28, 2024, with questions due by 10:00 AM on March 20, 2024. The state will evaluate offers based on lowest price, and delivery is mandated within 45 days after order receipt to the SLED facility located at 4400 Broad River Road in Columbia, South Carolina. The award was scheduled to be posted on April 1, 2024, with the contract becoming effective eleven days after notice to responding offerors.

The solicitation included several vendor compliance requirements, including possessing a South Carolina vendor number and certifying compliance with independent price determination, debarment status, drug-free workplace, and ethics standards. Vendor preferences were available for in-state vendors, in-state subcontractors, and South Carolina or U.S. end-products under Section 11-35-1524 of the South Carolina Code of Laws. The contract was ultimately awarded to Agilent Technologies Inc., located in Wilmington, Delaware, with a total potential value of $165,426.87 for the single mass spectrometer unit. Interested parties had seven business days from the posting date to submit a notice of intent to protest and fifteen days to submit an actual protest to the Chief Procurement Officer. The procurement officer assigned to the contract was James Jackson, who can be reached at (803) 896-7004 or jjackson@sled.sc.gov. No specific set-aside designations for disadvantaged enterprises were explicitly mentioned in the solicitation documents.