NOAA: Lightning Surge Protectors for the National Logistics Support Center in Grandview, MO.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) intends to award a firm fixed price contract as a 100% small business set-aside for L-COM Lightning Surge Protectors (P/N: ALW-D2-05) for the National Logistics Support Center in Grandview, MO. The Government intends to make an award to the responsive responsible quoter providing best value in accordance with FAR12.203(c)(2). This is a Brand Name Requirement.

Vendors must be an authorized reseller of L-COM, Inc. BRAND NAME JUSTIFICATION: This specific brand name is essential to the requirement and market research indicates similar products do not meet or cannot be modified to meet agency needs. This brand name is justified to support the COOP program’s safety principles. Market research indicates similar products do not meet or cannot be modified to meet agency needs within budget.

The L-COM brand lightning surge protector has served the NWS Cooperative Observer Program since 2013. This brand is reliable, robustly designed, and supported by a useful website for product documentation.

To pursue an alternate vendor to meet compatibility with NWS specifications would harm the government by consuming additional labor and testing time of NWS engineers at Sterling Field Support Center in order to verify the acceptability in meeting the requirements of the high voltage suppression of a single wire cable. With summer lightning season approaching, we cannot afford to delay this acquisition risking property and lives for sites that need Lightning Surge Protectors replaced as soon as possible.

L-COM units have been properly tested and demonstrated past performance with a well-designed product to reduce fire risk from a high voltage lightning strikes. DOC, Eastern Acquisition Division requires that all contractors doing business with this office be registered with the System for Award Management (SAM). No award can be made to a company not registered in SAM. Contractors active in SAM have a unique entity identifier (UEI) that is used to do business with the federal government.

The Government has moved to a free new, non-proprietary identifier that will have to be requested in, and assigned by, the System for Award Management (SAM.gov). You can register and access the site by going to www.sam.gov. Please see Instructions to Offerors and full Solicitation as attached. **Contractors who do not respond to items 1 through 9 included in the "Instructions to Offerors" may be considered non-compliant with the requirements of the solicitation and no further consideration shall be given for award.