Universal Center Mounts

The U.S. Department of Commerce (DOC), National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Eastern Acquisition Division – Kansas City, intends to issue a firm-fixed-price purchase order on a sole source basis under the authority of FAR 13.106-1(b)(1)(i) to Midyette Brothers Manufacturing for the procurement of ten (10) MBM-UCM12B Universal Center Mount Assemblies. This acquisition supports the National Ocean Service (NOS), Center for Operational Oceanographic Products and Services (CO-OPS), Engineering Division.

Sole Source Justification: CO-OPS requires the MBM-UCM12B assemblies to support the deployment of iATON V-2 ocean current monitoring systems on U.S. Coast Guard (USCG) aids-to-navigation (ATON) buoys. These systems are equipped with Acoustic Doppler Current Profilers (ADCPs) and support NOAA’s Physical Oceanographic Real-Time Systems (PORTS®), providing essential real-time current data for safe maritime navigation.

The MBM-UCM12B was developed in collaboration with CO-OPS engineers and is integral to the standardized modular design of the iATON V-2. This custom-fabricated component enables compatibility with two distinct USCG-approved center-mount bolt patterns while meeting visibility, form factor, and safety requirements. Midyette Brothers Manufacturing is the sole source capable of providing these mounts, which are field-tested and fully integrated into existing CO-OPS systems.

Use of an alternate vendor would require reengineering, prototype testing, and USCG reapproval, resulting in significant delays and increased costs. This notice is not a request for competitive proposals. However, responsible sources that can provide an equivalent product must submit clear and convincing documentation by email to tyran.claypool@noaa.gov within fifteen (15) business days of this notice. Responses will be evaluated for the sole purpose of determining whether to proceed with a competitive acquisition.

The Government’s decision to not compete this requirement is solely at its discretion. All vendors must be registered in the System for Award Management (SAM) at www.sam.gov and possess an active Unique Entity Identifier (UEI) to be eligible for award.