Lafayette Instrument Company, LLC

Lafayette Instrument Company, LLC (doing business as Li), a for-profit limited liability company and manufacturer of physiological recording systems, scientific instrumentation, and specialized law enforcement equipment, operates as a prime contractor selling polygraph systems, data acquisition equipment, rodent testing chambers, and laboratory instruments to federal agencies through firm fixed-price purchase orders and indefinite delivery contracts on a full-and-open basis—the vendor holds no set-aside designations in its current active portfolio, though one subsidiary, Mindware Technologies LTD, is self-certified as a small disadvantaged business.

Lafayette is headquartered in Lafayette, Indiana, and competes under NAICS 334516 (Analytical Laboratory Instrument Manufacturing), with secondary codes spanning measuring and controlling devices and electronic computer manufacturing. The corporate structure includes two named subsidiaries: Mindware Technologies LTD (SDB-certified) and Aurora Scientific Inc., both manufacturers. The vendor's customer base spans 96 federal agencies across four hundred twenty-four awards accumulated over four decades of federal work, though recent activity (last five years) shows a flat to modest trajectory: twelve awards in 2022, eleven in 2023, fourteen in 2024, nine in 2025, and four in 2026 year-to-date. Combined potential value across all awards stands at $20.8 million, with obligated spend at $21.6 million (104% of potential value), indicating high contract completion or modification activity.

Customer concentration is dispersed across law enforcement and research agencies. The top five customers by dollar value account for 51% of combined potential value: the Department of State Bureau of International Narcotics Law Enforcement leads with 22 awards totaling $3.6 million, followed by the Department of Homeland Security Customs and Border Protection (7 awards, $3.5 million), the Department of Justice Federal Bureau of Investigation Headquarters Division (18 awards, $1.6 million), the Department of Justice Drug Enforcement Administration (28 awards, $1 million), and the Department of Homeland Security US Secret Service (12 awards, $892 thousand). By award count, the DEA leads with 28 orders (22% of the vendor's top-five volume), but the State Department's INL bureau dominates dollars—a split reflecting Lafayette's position as the sole authorized manufacturer of Lafayette brand polygraph systems, which drives repeat small orders from law enforcement and security agencies.

Lafayette's named prime work includes a $397,820 polygraph equipment order from the Navy SECNAV Criminal Investigative Service at Quantico (February 2024), a $300,612 NIA Integrated Circadian System contract (June 2024), a $250,478 Secret Service LX6 instrument order (January 2026), a $216,980 Defense Counterintelligence and Security Agency polygraph refresh (June 2025), and a $180,754 NIA programmable pellet feeder and running wheel system (July 2024). The vendor also holds parent vehicles including a Federal Supply Schedule (GS24F0052N) with six task orders valued at $7 thousand and an Indefinite Delivery Contract with DHS Customs and Border Protection (HSBP1014D00040, $866 thousand combined value across three task orders), which sources polygraph equipment, peripherals, and maintenance services. Additional IDCs appear under FBI, DEA, and other law enforcement procurement channels, each carrying modest task order volumes reflecting the purchase-order nature of the business.

Capability portfolio divides between law enforcement equipment (polygraph LX6 systems, data acquisition systems, portable and stationary chairs, sensor accessories, DAS kits) and life science instrumentation (rodent chambers, running wheels, pellet feeders, vibrating microtomes, circadian monitoring systems, mouse activity wheels, sleep fragmentation chambers). Representative law enforcement examples include a March 2026 FBI total small business set-aside for eight line items of polygraph systems, cuffs, foot pads, and electrodes ($122,540), an August 2025 Secret Service order for LX6 instruments ($189,560), and a September 2025 Navy NCIS order for DAS Boxes ($26,720). Life science examples include a September 2024 NIA circadian environment system for aging studies ($111,050), a March 2025 NIA vibrating microtome ($23,160), and a July 2024 NIA pellet feeder and running wheel system ($180,754). The vendor also supplies accessories and support services, including a January 2025 Bureau of International Narcotics Law Enforcement polygraph examiner training course registration fee ($18,900).

The vendor maintains minimal subcontract exposure: only one sub-award appears in recent history—a February 2026 PAE Government Services sub-contract for an LX6 DAS polygraph system supporting the ICI Albania LED program, representing less than one percent of the award footprint. Recompete cliff exposure in the next twenty-four months is low, with only two awards (combined potential value $211 thousand) reaching ultimate completion; the bulk of Lafayette's awards are one-off purchase orders with completion dates already passed or scheduled for near-term closeout.

POLYGRAPH, EVALUATION, LIFE SCIENCE / NEUROSCIENCE, PHYSIOLOGY MEASUREMENT INSTRUMENTATION