We’re quickly approaching those cold and snowy days, which means many government agencies will be issuing new bid opportunities for winter maintenance equipment and services. Every year highway agencies spend over $2 billion on winter maintenance, including snowplows, road salt, snow blowers, storage facilities and more. With thousands of contracts being awarded each year for various winter projects, there’s plenty of opportunities for your business to tap into.
It can be difficult to keep up with thousands of bids and RFPs from various city and state departments and you may spend hours trying to find the right match. By utilizing an enhanced bidding solution like Bidnet Direct, you can spend more time reviewing bid documents and specifications and putting together your RFP response. With our opportunity matching features, we find bid opportunities that are most relevant to your business and notify you of them daily. Many federal, state and local agencies have already started issuing bids for winter maintenance equipment to get ahead of the winter season, but there are still hundreds of open opportunities on Bidnet Direct that you can start bidding on today!
Winter Maintenance Spending
Depending on where you do business in the United States, there can be a large need for snow and ice equipment. For example, according to penndot.pa.gov, in Pennsylvania for the 2021-2022 winter season, the DOT budgeted over $197 million for winter maintenance, including over 4,000 workers to drive snowplows, over 2,000 trucks, snow plows, and salt spreaders, and over 896,000 tons of salt. If we look back at the 2020-2021 winter season, according to clearroads.org, Pennsylvania spent close to $300 million, Ohio spent over $135 million, Illinois spent over $117 million, and Minnesota spent over $115 million on snow and ice equipment alone. There will always be a need for winter related equipment and services in many locations across the United States, so if you haven’t started selling your products or services to government agencies, now is the perfect time to do so.
What’s Out There for Your Business
On Bidnet Direct, there have been over 1,000 bids related to winter maintenance that have been published since the start of 2022. Currently there are hundreds of open bids for the winter season that your business can bid on. One of the best ways to learn more about what types of bids we find and what the contracts were awarded for is to look through our recently closed and awarded solicitations. This can help you better prepare your business for future opportunities and give you a chance to create a more competitive proposal. Below is a sample of recently closed winter maintenance solicitations that you can find:
- Street Plowing Services Citywide – Connecticut
- Road Salt – Idaho
- 2022-2023 Winter Sidewalk Snow and Ice Removal - Colorado
- Winter Solid Deicing Chemical – Pennsylvania
Setting Up Matching NIGP Category Codes
First, you’ll want to register as a vendor with one of our four package options to start taking advantage of all the opportunities we can find for your business. To start getting notified of matching opportunities, you’ll then want to set up your NIGP category codes. The codes you select will help identify the products and services your business sells. Below are some examples of NIGP codes you can select:
- 03580 - Snow Melter’s for Runways, Taxiways, Roads, and Streets
- 07176 - Snowmobiles
- 19246 - Ice and Snow Removal Chemicals
- 51568 - Snowblowers and Snow throwers, Tractor Mounted
- 76560 - Snow Plows, Motorized
- 77545 - Road Maintenance Salt
Finding Winter Maintenance Bids
After you’ve set up all your NIGP category codes, you can also use our Solicitation Search feature to find winter maintenance bids. As a registered vendor, you can search for solicitations by location, organization, NIGP category, closing date, and more. This will help you narrow down your bid search, giving you more focused results. You can also take advantage of our Save Search feature which allows you to save any search with the specific parameters you set so you can go back at any time to see what new opportunities are being issued.
Another great way to find matching bids is to enter keywords into your search. Anytime you run a search using your keywords, all the bid opportunities that have that word in the bid title or description will come up so you can find exactly what you’re looking for. Below are a few examples of winter-related keywords you can use:
With all these different ways to find bid opportunities that match with the products or services your business sells, you’re bound to have great success and plenty of time to focus on writing your RFPs. You’ll also be able to see exactly when the bid is due so you can plan your time wisely.
Stay Warm and Happy Bidding
The wintertime is full of new opportunities for your business to get involved in. With many state and local government agencies spending millions of dollars each year for highway, roadway, and sidewalk maintenance, you can help make the roads a safer place by getting in on some of these lucrative opportunities. Get registered today and start bidding!
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