US ARMY MATERIEL COMMAND ACQUISITION CTR, WHITE SANDS MISSILE RANGE BRANCH, STEAA-CD-W (BLDG 126W), WSMR NEW MEXICO 88002-5201

40 -- KEVLAR ROPE FOR THE AERIAL CABLE RANGE, WHITE SANDS MISSILE RANGE, NEW MEXICO SOL w04wir-8173-0800 POC Edna T. Hakenson, Contract Specialist, 505-678-4936 or Chris L. Brusuelas, 505-678-4323 (Site Code DAAD07) This is a notice of intent from the U.S. Army White Sands Missile Range, New Mexico to contract on the basis of other than full and open competition with Whitehill Manufacturing Corporation, P.O. Box 356, Lima, PA 19037, for the manufacture of the main three mile Kevlar rope for the Aerial Cable Range (ACR). The anticipated award is the result of extensive development testing on qualified vendor rope specimens which were identified via a sources sought announcement published in the Commerce Business Daily on 1 February 1995. The rope selected exhibited superior qualities in the following critical application areas: 1) Break strength; 2) Rope diameter; 3) Rope weight; 4) Rope elongation; 5) Geometric stability (dimensional stability) when handling at no tension; 6) Geometric stability (dimensional stability) at little or no tension after numerous tension cycles, time under tension and fatigue testing; and 7) coefficient of friction of external stand jackets. The rope also exceeded the abrasion resistance baseline established by the existing ACR Kevlar rope. The U.S. Army funded all aspects of the rope development process in order to attempt to qualify multiple vendors. Whitehill Manufacturing remains the only vendor whose rope fully meets the unique requirements of the White Sands Missile Range ACR. A firm-fixed price requirements contract is contemplated with a performance period of a base year with three one-year options to extend. This is not a solicitation. No RFP will be issued on the basis of this notice of intent. See Note 22. Posted 07/06/98. (0187)

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