U.S. Army Industrial Operations Command, Attn: AMSIO-ACA-R, Bldg. 350, 5th Floor, Rock Island, IL 61299-6000

M -- SEARCH FOR INTERESTED PARTIES AND REQUEST FOR INFORMATION POC Contract Specialist: Sue Mesa (309) 782-5842, Contracting Officer: Susan McKinnis (309) 782-7345 The Industrial Operation Command (IOC) intends to competitively solicit from the private sector an operating arrangement that will achieve the following objectives at Watervliet Arsenal (WVA) in Watervliet, New York: a. Preserve the nation's only capability to produce large caliber artillery and gun tubes. b. Retain the critical labor skills to support the Military missions. c. Substantially increase utilization of the facilities at Watervliet Arsenal by bringing into WVA additional defense work and non-defense work that is synergistic to the skills and mission located at Watervliet. WVA possesses a large caliber cannon/gun tubes manufacturing capability that is unavailable anywhere else in the United States. It is a National Imperative to maintain the capability to domestically produce large caliber cannon in an environment where projected workload for WVA is cyclical and uncertain. The occasional retention of skills above Army production needs and declining production base have resulted in higher product costs. Product diversification and expansion of economic activity which more fully utilizes the available skills and capabilities could remedy the current situation. Increased utilization will spread the cost of ownership, retain critical skills, and significantly enhance the ability of these facilities to support the readiness of the armed forces. New York State has chartered a Local Development Corporation, The Arsenal Business and Technology Partnership (The Partnership), to help facilitate and stimulate economic growth and activity at WVA. The IOC is seeking sources interested in submitting concept papers, with Government-Owned Contractor-Operated and other approaches, that address the stated objectives. Concept papers must provide an Executive Summary followed by a discussion of the following topics: a. Type(s) of new work to be brought to WVA, along with the probability and commitments that identified workload will materialize. b. Plans to maintain critical skills and facilities at WVA. c. Plans and commitments to provide a soft landing for the converted Government workforce, with and without special legislation. d. Plans and commitments to provide fair and reasonable pricing to WVA customers. e. Plans to support all on-going tenant efforts and to accommodate additional Military and Industry activities at WVA. The Army plans to continue with its commitments to tenants at WVA. f. Plans to work with State and local officials and institutions. g. Plans to reach a cooperative agreement with the bargaining unit representative. All concept papers will be treated as PROPRIETARY/PROCUREMENT SENSITIVE INFORMATION. The tenants, including Benet Laboratory, are not part of this initiative. After review of the concept papers,the Army intends to issue a formal Request for Proposal (RFP) or other appropriate legal instrument. A competitive award of a long-term contractual agreement with the source that provides the best value proposal to the formal RFP is anticipated. Concept papers are not intended to restrict competition on the RFP. Concept papers are to be submitted to the contracting officer by 4:00 P.M. CDT on 14 Jun 99. The Contracting Officer is Ms. Susan McKinnis, HQ IOC, ATTN: AMSIO-ACG-I, Rock Island, IL 61299-6000. Ms. McKinnis may be reached at (309) 782-7345/email is mckinniss@ioc.army.mil. An overview of WVA is available at www.wva.army.mil. Posted 06/07/99 (W-SN339815). (0158)

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