Steel and Other Metals

The Kentucky Transportation Cabinet Division of Purchases is soliciting bids through a Request for Bid (RFB) to establish master agreements for the supply of steel and other metals to support the state's fleet of vehicles and equipment. Vendors must submit comprehensive product lists and catalogs detailing available metal types and sizes, including hot rolled flat bars, rectangle tubes, channels, angles, aluminum sheets, and steel plates in specified dimensions. Pricing must be quoted on an F.O.B. Destination Freight Prepaid and Allowed basis, with vendors responsible for all freight charges and required to provide delivery costs per mile; vendors must also allow for product pickup from their locations. The evaluation will utilize a best-value approach with pass/fail criteria based on the completeness of the submitted product list/catalog and the competitiveness of delivery costs per mile, with past vendor performance potentially factored into award decisions. The deadline for written questions is April 6, 2026, at 1:30 PM Eastern Time, with bid submissions due electronically through the Commonwealth's eProcurement system at https://vss.ky.gov on April 14, 2026, at 1:30 PM Eastern Time. The tentative award date is April 30, 2026, and the initial master agreement contract period will extend from award through April 30, 2027, with four optional one-year renewal periods available. Vendors must maintain Commercial General Liability Insurance with minimum limits of $1,000,000 per occurrence and $2,000,000 aggregate, along with Automobile Liability Insurance if providing delivery services.

The solicitation does not specify any set-aside designations or restrictions limiting participation to particular categories of organizations, meaning all qualified vendors meeting the insurance and submission requirements are eligible to respond. The Commonwealth reserves the right to award multiple master agreements to address its needs and may extend contracts to other state agencies and political subdivisions with vendor consent. No incumbent vendors or current contractors are identified in the solicitation documents. Purchase orders under $5,000 may be awarded to any contracted vendor without competitive quotes, while orders of $5,000 or more must be competitively bid among all contracted vendors. The solicitation does not specify an overall budget range or award value; however, the contract is structured as a requirements-based master agreement, with pricing determined through the competitive bidding process outlined in the RFB and subject to the Commonwealth's actual material needs throughout the contract period.