Intent to award sole source - MG newell

The South Carolina Department of Corrections is issuing a sole source procurement (Solicitation 5400019147) for comprehensive maintenance, repair, and support services for a Homogenizing and Pasteurization HTST (High Temperature Short Time) System located at the Wateree Dairy Farm. The procurement specifically seeks services from MG Newell Corporation for equipment maintenance, including parts, software, programming, troubleshooting, upgrades, design, additions/expansions, and fabrication/welding. All services and parts must strictly conform to USDA Grade A Food Plant and DHEC regulatory standards. The solicitation was initially posted on December 20, 2019, with a response deadline of January 16, 2020, at 10:00 a.m. Sealed offers must be submitted to the SC Department of Corrections Purchasing Branch at 4420 Broad River Road, Columbia, SC 29210, or emailed to purchasing@doc.sc.gov with "SOLE SOURCE" in the subject line. The procurement officer for this opportunity is Myrtle DeWerdt, who can be reached at 803-896-8582 or dewerdt.myrtle@doc.state.sc.us.

The sole source procurement is specifically limited to MG Newell Corporation, which originally designed, built, and installed the system, with no other manufacturer or distributor deemed capable of maintaining this specialized equipment. Vendors wishing to challenge the intent to award must submit a written notice of intent to protest within five business days of posting and a formal protest within fifteen days to the Chief Procurement Officer at the Materials Management Office. The procurement does not appear to have specific set-aside designations for disadvantaged enterprises. Any responding vendor must provide documentation of authorization to perform all required services and maintain compliance with applicable regulations. The previous solicitation (5400015233) for repair and parts received no responsive bids other than from MG Newell, which serves as the justification for the sole source award. While no specific award value is mentioned, the procurement covers comprehensive maintenance and support services for a specialized dairy farm processing system. The notice will be posted in the South Carolina Business Opportunities (SCBO) for a minimum of ten business days to ensure transparency in the procurement process.