Sources Sought Notice

Plant Growth Chamber

Sources Sought #1135378-SS

This is a Sources Sought notice Only. This is NOT a solicitation for proposals, proposal abstracts, or quotations. This Sources Sought is issued for information and planning purposes only as part of USDA ARS market research and does not itself constitute an RFQ.

Background

The ARS Environmental and Microbial Food Safety Unit (EMFSL) in Beltsville, Maryland requires a contractor to provide plant growth chamber to conduct studies for microbial safety of leafy greens and microgreens grown under controlled environmental agriculture practices. It is critical that the equipment can be used with colored LED lights to study the effect of specific light spectrum on quality and bacterial persistence as well microbiome changes. It is required to have different time/temperature and humidity setting with sensors for controlling environmental conditions during the experimental setup.

Requirements

The Plant growth chamber must be capable of the following:

1. It must have Intellus ultra control system and touch screen with 3 programming cycle

2. It must have temp range of 10-40C and 2-40C during lights on and off, respectively.

3. It must have multi-color LED tiles (red, blue, white, far-red) that provides light intensity of 1500 micromole/m2/second

4. It must have humidifier and dehumidifier with RH sensor

5. It should have security system for door lock and alarm contact

6. It must have door with observation window

7. It must be lab incubator size that could be moved to different laboratory

Deliverables:

DELIVERY AND SYSTEM INSTALLATION

1. Utilities: The Government shall provide all necessary utilities and a standard 110V plug. The Contractor must provide information regarding the required utilities and hookups within ten (10) calendar days after notice of award is received.
2. Delivery: The Contractor shall furnish, deliver and install the equipment (F.O.B. Destination, Within Consignee’s Premises) to USDA-ARS as follows:

USDA-ARS

10300 Baltimore Ave, Bldg.307,

Beltsville-MD, 20705

Delivery and installation shall be within thirty (30) days after receipt of the award.

Delivery shall be between the hours of 8:00 a.m. to 3:30 p.m., Monday through Friday, excluding Federal holidays. Provide advance notification to the above within 24 hours of delivery of the equipment.

c. Installation and Start-up.

The Contractor shall have installed software and for programming of the growth chamber. The training (virtual) and technical support shall be provided by the contractor if required.

1. Warranty. The Contractor shall provide a copy of the TWO-YEAR Warranty per the product manual.

The Contractor Shall:

This Sources Sought is only for the purpose of identifying potential sources as part of USDA ARS market research. The Government does not intend to make an award based on responses to this inquiry. This notice does not constitute a commitment by the Government.

Responses to the information requested will assist the Government in determining the appropriate acquisition method, including whether a set-aside is possible.

The purpose of this notice is to obtain information regarding the availability and capability of qualified sources including any Small Businesses; HUBZone small business; service-disabled, veteran-owned small business; 8(a) small business; veteran-owned small business; woman-owned small business; or small disadvantaged businesses. Please state if you are a large business or a small business according to the NAICS code listed in this Sources Sought.

All information submitted in response to this announcement is voluntary, and the Government will not pay for information requested nor will it compensate any respondent for any cost incurred in developing information provided to the Government.

Any organization responding to this notice should ensure that its response defines how it can specifically meet the specifications for the items requested. Respondents are advised that the Government is under no obligation to acknowledge receipt of the information received or provide feedback to respondents with respect to any information submitted. After reviewing the responses received, a Combined Synopsis solicitation notice may be published on Sam.gov.

Submit the Following:

• Capability Statement and/or product descriptions that demonstrate your ability to meet all of the specific requirements, including Company Contact Info.
• SAM.gov UEI Number.
• Identify if you are a large business or a small business with NAICS 339113.
• State place of manufacture for item(s).

Original Point of Contact: All responses to this Sources Sought Notice must be received by August 26, 2024, by 2:00 PM EST, the specified due date and time to be considered.

Email responses to Rebecca Lumpkin at rebecca.lumpkin@usda.gov.

Responses will not be returned. Responders are solely responsible for all expenses associated with responding to this Inquiry.

Do not submit pricing information in response to this Request.

Attachments/Links