THIS REQUEST FOR INFORMATION (RFI)/SOURCES SOUGHT/RFI IS ISSUED SOLELY FOR INFORMATION AND PLANNING PURPOSES ONLY. THIS IS NOT A SOLICITATION. THE SUBMISSION OF PRICING, CAPABILITIES FOR PLANNING PURPOSES, AND OTHER MARKET INFORMATION IS HIGHLY ENCOURAGED AND ALLOWED UNDER THIS RFI IN ACCORDANCE WITH (IAW) FAR 15.201(e). DISCLAIMER This RFI is issued solely for information and planning purposes only and does not constitute a solicitation. All information received in response to this RFI that is marked as proprietary will be handled accordingly. IAW FAR 15.201(e), responses to this notice are not offers and cannot be accepted by the Government to form a binding contract. Responders are solely responsible for all expenses associated with responding to this RFI. SOURCES SOUGHT/RFI DESCRIPTION This is NOT a solicitation announcement. This is a Sources Sought/RFI only. The purpose of this Sources Sought/RFI is to gain knowledge of potential qualified sources and their size classification relative to NAICS 339112 (size standard of 1,000 Employees). Responses to this Sources Sought/RFI will be used by the Government to make appropriate acquisition decisions. After review of the responses to this Sources Sought/RFI, a solicitation announcement may be published. Responses to this Sources Sought/RFI synopsis are not considered adequate responses for a solicitation announcement. The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), VISN 22 Long Beach Network Contracting Office, is seeking sources who can possibly provide Centrifuge that at a minimum meet the brandname and/or can possibly provide an equal product for the VA Medical Center Greater Los Angeles, CA. Brandname Information: Manufacturer & Part Number(s): Fisher Scientific, 75016012PM Type: Thermo Scientific Sorvall X1 R Pro, TX-400 Cell Culture Package PROMO, Drive System: Direct, Brushless Induction Drive, Green Equal to product name: Centrifuge Manufacturer & Part Number(s): Fisher Scientific, 75003700 Type: Thermo Scientific TX-400 Rotor Adapters, 1.5/2.0mL Conical Microtube Equal to product name: Microtube Manufacturer & Part Number(s): Fisher Scientific, 75003624 Type: Thermo Scientific M-20 Microplate Swinging Bucket Rotor, For use with Thermo Scientific Sorvall Legend XT/XF, Sorvall Legend X1, Sorvall ST 40, Sorvall ST 16, Capacity: 2 x 3 Standard Microplate or 2 x 1 Deepwell Equal to product name: Microplate Salient Characteristics: The Centrifuge must offer a full color Touch Screen display with USB key for data transfer. The centrifuge must offer at least 5 swing-out rotor configurations and various angle rotors to meet current and future sample processing needs of the lab. The angle rotors must be manufactured from a highly corrosion and fatigue resistant material. The buckets and rotor sealing lids must be certified for bio-containment by a 3rd party lab of worldwide recognition. The buckets trunnions must be coated with a special coating such that no greasing is necessary. The bucket lids must operate in a safe manner without spring clips or metal components. The centrifuge must be capable of running up to 76x 5 ml or 7 ml blood collection tubes and 56 x 10 ml blood collection tubes in certified sealed conditions. The centrifuge has to be able to process 50 and 15 ml conicals, 5 ml, 7 ml, or 10 ml blood collection tubes and microplates in the same rotor without changing buckets at over 4500 rpm. The centrifuge must be capable of running up to 14 x 50 ml or 36 x 15 ml disposable conical tubes in certified sealed conditions. The centrifuge must be capable of running up to 4 x 250 ml bottles in swing-out configuration and in certified sealed conditions. The centrifuge must be capable of running a minimum of 6 x 94-85 ml disposable tubes at speeds of at least 25500 x g. The centrifuge must be capable of running a minimum of 14 x 50 ml disposable conical tubes at speeds of at least 12350xg x g or 8500 rpm. The centrifuge must be capable of running a minimum of 8 x 50 ml disposable conical tubes at speeds of at least 24000 x g (230 v) and 22000xg (120V). The centrifuge must be capable of running a minimum of 48 x 2 ml disposable microtubes at speeds of at least 25000 x g in certified sealed conditions. The centrifuge must be capable of running a minimum of 10 microplates of standard footprint and height. The centrifuge must be capable of running two deepwell filtration plates (85 mm high) under certified sealed conditions at above 4700 rpm or 4200xg. The centrifuge must have a sealed swing-out rotor capable of spinning samples above 4200x g. The centrifuge must have a low profile (not to exceed 14.2 /36 cm) for easy access by end-user. The centrifuge must not require bolting to laboratory benching to meet CE, CSA or UL and IVD requirements for safety containment in case of rotor accident. The centrifuge must be able to display set parameters together with actual values, and parameters must be readable at a distance of at least 10 meters. The centrifuge must have capability for up to 100 programs with ability to do step programming. The centrifuges must be programmable in 1 RPM and 1xg increments The protocol time must be programmable in hours, minutes and seconds The centrifuge must have a TIME control at start of the centrifuge run and at speed The centrifuge must have an option for automatic lid opening at the end of the run. The centrifuge must have a customizable pulse button The centrifuge must display error codes with user directions on how to address the error The centrifuge must have two user modes: open and secure The centrifuge must log and store its data which can be accessed through a button The centrifuge must have a bucket selection capability based on bucket shape and product part number Note: Each location may select their variation of possible capabilities and may not require each possible capability addressed above. The information identified above is intended to be descriptive, not restrictive and to indicate the quality of the supplies/services that will be satisfactory. It is the responsibility of the interested source to demonstrate to the government that the interested parties can provide the supplies/services that fulfill the required specifications. If you are interested and are capable of providing the sought out supplies/services, please provide the requested information as well as the information indicated below. Response to this notice should include company name, address, point of contact, size of business pursuant to the following questions: (1) Please indicate the size status and representations of your business, such as but not limited to: Service Disabled Veteran Owned Small Business (SDVOSB), Veteran Owned Small Business (VOSB), Hubzone, Woman Owned Small Business (WOSB), Large Business, etc.)? (2) Is your company considered small under the NAICS code identified in this RFI? (3) Are you the manufacturer, authorized distributor, and/or can you provide equivalent solution to the items being referenced above? (4) If you are a large business, do you have any designated/authorized distributors? If so, please provide their company name, telephone, point of Contact and size status (if available). (5) If you re a small business and you are an authorized distributor/reseller for the items identified above or an equivalent solution, do you alter; assemble; modify; the items requested in any way? If you do, state how and what is altered; assembled; modified? (6) If you intend to sub contract any work on this contract, what portion of the total cost will be self-performed/will be performed by your organization? Please provide estimated detailed percentage breakdowns related to sub contracted work and completion of job. (7) Does your company have a Federal Supply Schedule (FSS) GSA/NAC/SAC/BPA/NASA SEWP or any other Federal Government contract? If so, please provide the contract number. (8) If you are an FSS GSA/NAC/SAC/BPA/NASA SEWP or any other Federal Government contract holder, are all the items/solution you are providing information for available on your schedule/contract? Please state if all or some items are available on the contract. (9) Are the items you are identifying/providing considered Commercial of the Shelf (COTS) items as defined in FAR Part 2.101 under commercial items (10) Please indicate whether your product conforms to the requirements of the Buy American Act? (11) General pricing of your products/solution is encouraged. Pricing will be used for the purpose of market research only. It will not be used to evaluate for any type of award. (12) Please submit your capabilities statement illustrating your organization s ability to meet the described salient characteristics or equal to items for planning purposes; show clear, compelling and convincing evidence that all equal to items" meet all the salient characteristics. (13) Please review salient characteristics/statement of work (if applicable) and provide feedback or suggestions. If none, please reply as N/A. (14) Please provide your SAM.gov Unique Entity ID/Cage Code number. Responses to this notice shall be submitted via email to Emiljan.Golemi@va.gov. Telephone responses will not be accepted. Responses must be received no later than Thursday, August 22, 2024, by 4:00 PM PST. All responses to this Sources Sought/RFI will be used for planning purposes only. If a solicitation is issued as a result of the information provided from this RFI, all interested parties must respond to that solicitation separately IAW the specifications of that solicitation announcement. Responses to this Sources Sought/RFI notice is not considered a request to be added to a prospective bidders list or to receive a copy of the solicitation.
