Sole Source Leica Survey Equipment Maintenance and Repairs

The State of Illinois Department of Transportation (IDOT) intends to award a sole source contract to Kara Co., Inc. for Leica Survey Equipment Maintenance and Repairs under procurement number 27-494DOT-FINAD-B-51426. This procurement covers comprehensive maintenance and repair services for Leica-branded survey and GPS equipment located across nine IDOT districts and the central office, including all hardware warranty coverage, firmware upgrades, software maintenance, network coverage, and equipment repairs. The contract term is one year, running from July 1, 2026, through June 30, 2027, with no renewal options included. The sole source justification is based on Kara Company's exclusive geographic agreement with Leica Geosystems as the only authorized reseller and service provider for Leica products and services in Illinois, which restricts authorized distribution and service to ensure product quality, warranty compliance, and customer support standards. The estimated contract value is $194,046.61, which includes a negotiated 10% discount based on IDOT's existing equipment inventory. The public hearing is scheduled for April 22, 2026, at 2:00 PM via WebEx (Chicago toll: 1-312-535-8110 or San Francisco toll: 1-415-655-0002; meeting code: 28661804104; password: Yn632u6qRS3), and interested parties must submit written comments or formally request a hearing by 4:00 PM on April 17, 2026, to Dianne Richman, Chief Procurement Officer for General Services, at Dianne.Richman@illinois.gov or 217-622-1857; if no requests are received by this deadline, the hearing will be cancelled.

No set-aside designations or restrictions limiting organizational eligibility are noted in the procurement documents, as this is a sole source award to the exclusive authorized provider. Kara Company, located at 5255 Dansher Road, Countryside, Illinois 60525, is the incumbent contractor and has maintained continuous maintenance contracts with IDOT for Leica equipment since at least 2020, with documented fiscal year contracts from FY 21 through FY 26 ranging from $83,045 to $194,046.61. The contract requires integration with existing Leica survey and GPS equipment infrastructure already deployed throughout IDOT's nine districts and central office, ensuring compatibility with current hardware and software systems. IDOT justifies this sole source procurement by emphasizing that failure to establish this contract would result in non-functional survey equipment, lost productivity, missed project lettings, potential loss of federal funding, safety concerns, and adverse impacts on the state's transportation system condition and public safety, while also noting that lapses in maintenance agreements incur costly reinstatement fees and prevent critical software and firmware updates necessary for equipment functionality. The procurement is funded entirely through state appropriated funds with no federal funding constraints identified.