Markes International, Inc.

Markes International, Inc., a foreign-owned small business based in Gold River, California, manufactures and services advanced analytical laboratory instrumentation—primarily thermal desorption systems, gas chromatography equipment, and related sample preparation platforms—as a prime contractor (97% of recent awards) to civilian federal agencies. The vendor competes predominantly under total small business set-asides, which account for roughly half of its recent prime awards, alongside full-and-open purchases where the vendor is often the sole capable source for proprietary equipment and OEM-certified maintenance.

The vendor's customer footprint is concentrated in civilian research and environmental agencies. The top five funding organizations account for 71% of recent awards by count: the Environmental Protection Agency Office of Research and Development (15 awards, $657 thousand combined potential value), the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Pittsburgh (11 awards, $395 thousand), the Department of Agriculture Agricultural Research Service (9 awards, $56 thousand), the Department of Justice Federal Bureau of Investigation (6 awards, $185 thousand), and the EPA Office of Land and Emergency Management (3 awards, $530 thousand). By potential value, EPA ORD and EPA OLEM dominate, followed by CDC and the Department of Veterans Affairs—a single $384 thousand award for a CENTRI 180 gas chromatograph/mass spectrometer system to VA's Veterans Integrated Service Network 21. The EPA maintains the strongest relationship across both metrics: ORD anchors the vendor's highest-value single award ($372.9 thousand for replacement environmental response equipment), and EPA accounts for multiple recurring maintenance agreements extending through 2026 and beyond.

Representative capability work spans equipment procurement and multi-year service contracts. Recent examples include a $194.4 thousand total small business set-aside with the Department of Agriculture for a Centri 180 platform including autosampler, concentrator, and sample preparation modules; a $191.8 thousand total small business set-aside with the Army Engineer Research and Development Center for a UNITY-CIA Advantage thermal desorption system with installation and training; a $384.2 thousand full-and-open purchase order with the Department of Veterans Affairs for analytical instrumentation; a $104.7 thousand EPA award for a thermal desorption autosampler system with 199-tube automation; and multiple multi-year maintenance agreements with EPA ORD, CDC, and the FBI ranging from $14.7 thousand to $109.2 thousand (base plus two option years).

Activity has been volatile but sustained: 2 awards in 2022, 11 in 2023, 5 in 2024, 7 in 2025, and 4 in 2026 through October. The vendor faces minimal recompete pressure in the next twenty-four months—only 1 award ($79 thousand combined potential value) reaches completion in that window. The vendor's subcontractor role is negligible: two sub-awards to Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory (AFRL operational medicine materials support) and Prism Maritime (CBRND defense support materials) represent 3% of the award footprint and carry no dollar magnitudes in the source.

Primary NAICS concentration centers on 334516 (Analytical Laboratory Instrument Manufacturing), which covers 44 of 62 awards. PSC coding reflects the mix: 28 awards under maintenance/repair/rebuild of laboratory instruments, 21 under laboratory equipment and supplies procurement. The vendor sits on two parent vehicles with minimal activity—Indefinite Delivery Contract N0002422D6404 and Seaport Next Generation, each carrying one task order—suggesting these vehicles are not primary revenue drivers. Markes International has maintained SAM.gov registration since 2013 and holds $3.4 million in obligated dollars across $3.5 million combined potential value (96% obligation rate), indicating consistent performance delivery across its federal customer base.

Markes International is a specialist manufacturer of instrumentation for detection of trace-level volatile and semi-volatile organic compounds. Markes has a well-deserved reputation for its application expertise in the field of thermal desorption.