Department of Veterans Affairs, Great Lakes Healthcare Systems, Great Lakes Acquisition Center, Bldg. 5, 5000 West National Ave., Milwaukee, WI 53295

W -- LEASE IMMUNOSTAINER SOL 69d-072-99 DUE 082398 POC Michael Cunningham, Contracting Officer (414) 902-5407 The Great Lakes Acquisition Center intends to award a contract for lease of an Automated Immunostaining System, for the VA Hospital, Fifth and Roosevelt Road, Hines IL, for the base contract period of October 1, 1998, through September 30, 1999, plus two, one-year options to renew, to immediately follow the base contract period. This is a combined synopsis/solicitation for commercial items prepared in accordance with the format in Far Subpart 12.6 as supplemented with additional information included in this notice. This announcement constitutes the only solicitation. Quotes are being requested under RFQ 69D-072-99 and a written solicitation will not be issued. Solicitation documents and incorporated provisions and clauses are those in effect through Federal Acquisition Circular 97-04. This procurement is a 100% Set Aside for Small Business Concerns. SIC (3826). Contractor shall provide: ITEM #1 -- Lease of Automated Immunostaining System for 12 months -- with separate pricing for each of two, optional, additional 12 month periods immediately following the first period; ITEM #2 -- 9 each visualization kits (i.e., reagents) for the initial 12 month period -- plus 9 each visualization kits in each of two, additional, optional 12 month periods. ITEM #3 -- Discount for trade-in of the VA-owned Ventanna Biotek Immunostainer Tek-mate 1000, serial #10084, PM #6640-6567. Specifications for Item #1: Technical Features: The immunostaining system must have the capability of staining a variety of specimens including paraffin sections, frozen sections, cytospins, touch preps and fine needle aspirations using an open reagent system that is compatible with the antibodies that are currently in use. This would eliminate the need to retest optimal dilutions. The antibody methodologies must perform at ambient temperatures only. Temperature-dependent equipment introduces a negative variable. A discrete operating slide system with the on-board availability of multiple antibody protocols is also a requirement. Operational Features: The Immunostaining System must provide horizontal processing of slides to avoid the capillary gap system. (The capillary gap system employs specific slides that are a notoriously expensive consumable supply.) It must also have the capability of walk away processing with programmatic timing. As a safety feature, the equipment must have distinct hazardous and non-hazardous waste systems. A variable volume dispensing system is a critical feature to accommodate specimens of different size and thickness. The system must also have the capability of dispensing reagents to specific areas of the slide. Hardware Features: The equipment must have the capacity to process a minimum of 48 specimen slides. The space requirement for reagent storage must be minimal; however, it must have on-board storage of at least 50 reagent vials to accommodate multiple antibody protocols. The robotic dispensing head must have a fixed, stainless steel, teflon-coated probe to avoid the additional expense of disposable pipette tips. Hardware components of the equipment must include a computer system for maintenance of an antibody reagent inventory and a computer printer to print log of test runs. The physical size of the equipment hardware must not exceed 30 inches in depth and 75 inches in width and must be easily portable. Year 2000 Compliance: All equipment, replacement parts, components, hardware, software and firmware containing information technology delivered under this contract shall be Year 2000 Compliant. Year 2000 Compliance means that information technology accurately processes date/time data (including, but not limited to, calculating, comparing, and sequencing) from, into, and between the twentieth and twenty-first centuries, and the years 1999 and 2000 and leap year calculations. Additional Information for Item #2: The quantity of 9 each, Visualization Kits, per year, is the minimum that the VA guarantees to purchase per year. The VA shall have the right to purchase, from time to time, additional Visualization Kits, in any individual order quantity, up to a maximum of 27 additional Visualization Kits per year, at the same unit price as the first 9 Visualization Kits. Firms are encouraged to offer quantity discounts for Visualization Kits that the VA may purchase that are over and above the first 9 per year. In addition, warranty service is required for the first 12 month period of the lease but not for the two, optional 12 month periods. The purchase order will be issued to the vendor whose quote is most advantageous to the VA considering price and other factors, such as the quality and reliability of the Past Performance of the equipment and reagents. So that the VA can evaluate Past Performance, vendors must provide, with their quotes, at least 3 references from customers who are currently using equipment and reagents identical to that being quoted, including: contact person, phone number and company name. Vendors must also provide, with their quotes, information (e.g., commercial literature) demonstrating that their equipment and reagents meet all the requirements specified above. The offeror is also required, as part of the offer, to provide documentary evidence that equipment, replacement parts, components, hardware, software and firmware offered is Year 2000 Compliant. A copy of the warranty must also be provided. Price will be evaluated by totaling the prices for ITEMS #1, 2 (the first 9 each only) & 3 for the Base Contract Period and both Option Periods. Any discounts offered for reagents over and above the first 9 kits per year will be evaluated separately. For ITEM #1, delivery is required within 30 calendar days after the date of receipt of the order by the vendor. For ITEM #2, Visualization Kits will be ordered from time to time as needed by the VA. Delivery shall normally be required within 14 calendar days after the VA places the order. For infrequent emergency orders of ITEM #2, delivery is required within 2 calendar days. The contractor shall remove the VA-owned equipment being traded in under ITEM #3 within 30 calendar days after receipt of order by the vendor and shall also be responsible for the cost of removing and shipping the equipment. This will be a firm fixed price contract. FOB is Destination. Payment for ITEM #1, and for the first 9 each of ITEM #2, will be made quarterly in arrears on certified invoices. Payment for any Visualization Kits over and above the first 9 per year will be made within 30 days after delivery and acceptance by the VA. The discount for trade-in of the VA-owned Ventanna Immunostainer shall be deducted from the total of the prices for ITEM #1 and the first 9 each of ITEM #2 for the base contract period. The following incorporated provisions and clauses are those in effect through FAC 97-04 and are applicable to this acquisition. 52.212-1, Instructions to Offerors -- Commercial Items; Addendum to FAR 52.212-1, Paragraph (b) (5): Offerors shall provide an express warranty which at a minimum shall be the same warranty terms, including offers of extended warranties, offered to the general public; 52.212-4, Contract Terms and Conditions-Commercial Items: 52.212-5, Contract Terms and Conditions Required to Implement Statutes or Executive Orders -- Commercial Items; 52.222-3, Convict Labor; 52.233-3, Protest After Award; 52.219-14, Limitation on Subcontracting; 52.222-26, Equal Opportunity; 52.222-35, Affirmative Action for Special Disabled and Vietnam Era Veterans; 52.222-36, Affirmative Action for Handicapped Workers; 52.222-37, Employment Reports on Special Disabled Veterans and Veterans of the Vietnam Era; 52.225-3 Buy American Act Supplies; 52.225-18 European Union Sanctions for End Products; 52.217-9, Option to Extend the Term of the Contract; 52.232-18, Availability of Funds; 52.232-19 Availability of Funds for the next Fiscal Year; 852.219-70, Veteran-owned Small Business; 852.270-4, Commercial Advertising; Offerors must include a completed copy of the provision at 52.212-3, Offeror Representations and Certifications-Commercial Items, with its offer. Quotes shallbe submitted on company letterhead to: Great Lakes Acquisition Center, Mike Cunningham, Contracting Officer, 5000 West National Ave., Building 5, Milwaukee WI 53295 by (4:30pm) CST on (08/21/98). Faxing of quotes is OK. Fax number: (414) 902-5464. Point of Contact: Mike Cunningham, (414) 902-5407. Posted 08/05/98 (W-SN233091). (0217)

Loren Data Corp. http://www.ld.com (SYN# 0129 19980807\W-0002.SOL)