Chela LTD

Chela LTD, a United Kingdom-based manufacturer of specialized commercial and industrial cleaning chemicals and deicing products headquartered in Enfield, supplies runway deicer fluid to the U.S. Air Force in Europe and Africa as a prime contractor exclusively — 100% of its federal award footprint is prime work, with no subcontract exposure. The vendor competes under full and open procurement; all 44 federal awards in the source data carry no set-aside designation. Chela LTD is foreign-owned, registered in SAM.gov since 2006, and operates as a for-profit corporate entity.

Chela's federal revenue stream is narrowly concentrated in runway deicer provisioning for U.S. Air Force operations at forward-deployed locations. The company holds a single-award Blanket Purchase Agreement valued at $2.5 million with the Department of the Air Force, running through January 10, 2029, which covers liquid runway deicer supply to RAF Lakenheath, RAF Mildenhall, and RAF Fairford. Task orders issued against this BPA and related Air Force BPAs account for the entirety of Chela's recent federal work. Representative awards include four BPA calls issued between January 6 and January 13, 2026, for runway deicer delivery to RAF Mildenhall and RAF Lakenheath, valued at $70,567.11, $70,567.10, $31,435.72, and $140,107.78 respectively, all issued by USAFE-AFAFRICA without set-aside designation. Older awards, dating to 2021–2023, show similar small-dollar purchase orders and BPA calls ranging from approximately $48,824 to $250,000 for deicer products and services to the same customer base.

Customer concentration is extreme. USAFE-AFAFRICA (United States Air Forces in Europe – Air Forces Africa) accounts for 31 of 44 awards (71%) with $3.5 million in combined potential value, while the broader Department of the Air Force holds 12 additional awards ($3.1 million combined) including a Defense Finance and Accounting Service sub-component with 5 awards valued at $331 thousand. Together, these three Air Force entities cover 98% of awards and 93% of combined potential value. Chela's overall federal footprint totals $7.2 million in combined potential value across all awards, with $3.1 million obligated (43% draw rate). Activity has been episodic — five awards in 2022, four in 2023, one in 2024, two in 2025, and four in early 2026 — reflecting the consumption schedule of bulk deicing fluid at forward-deployed bases rather than sustained growth.

Chela operates primarily under Blanket Purchase Agreement vehicles: FA558719AA001 (15 task orders, $1.1 million), FA558715A0005 (12 task orders, $764 thousand), and FA558724A0002 (6 task orders, $414 thousand). The vendor's NAICS profile is split between All Other Miscellaneous Chemical Product and Preparation Manufacturing (41 awards) and Other Chemical and Allied Products Merchant Wholesalers (3 awards); PSC coding reflects Chemicals (29 awards) and Miscellaneous Chemical Specialties (14 awards). Chela's federal role is a specialized commodity supplier to a single customer agency with no direct prime exposure to DoD combat support, civilian agencies, or IT and services categories. The recompete cliff is minimal — the existing BPA extends through January 2029 — but the vendor's federal footprint depends entirely on Air Force deicing requirements at three named UK bases.