USTDA, 1621 N. Kent Street, Suite 200, Arlington, VA 22209-2131

B -- CZECH REPUBLIC -- KRKONOSSKE PAPER RECYCLING AND TISSUE PAPER PROJECTS FEASIBILITY STUDY DUE 092800 POC Evangela Kunene, USTDA, 1621 N. Kent Street, Suite 200, Arlington, VA 22209-2131, Tel: (703) 875-4357, Fax: (703) 875-4009 Krkonosske Paper Recycling and Tissue Paper Projects Feasibility Study. The Grantee invites submission of qualifications and proposal data (collectively referred to as the "Proposal") from interested U.S. firms which are qualified on the basis of experience and capability to develop a feasibility study (FS) to examine the technical, financial, economic and environmental factors attending modernization of Krkonosske's (KRPA) installed papermaking facility and its capacity to manufacture recycled pulp and paper. KRPA is located in Hostinne, in the northern part of the Czech Republic near the Polish border. Over 150 years old, KRPA was privatized in the early 1990s and now is entirely privately owned. Annual sales in the past two years were over $60 million and 45% of its production is exported to Western and Central European countries. The remainder is sold in the Czech Republic. KRPA makes a wide variety of products, including printing and writing papers, furniture decorating paper, greaseproof wrappingand carbonless copy papers, computer forms, envelopes, small rolls and paper bags. KRPA operates five production plants, but two are obsolete and due to their aging equipment, producing well below the desired capacity. The TDA sponsored study would result in a final plan to achieve three strategic objectives: to modernize the paper recycling and manufacturing processes in order to maximize production capacity and increase efficiency and overall profitability: to study the market potential and lay the groundwork for the addition of a new plant to manufacture tissue paper: to prepare a comprehensive plan for the acquisition of the necessary equipment and technology for the implementation of both phases of the expansion and modernization system. Specifically, the study will require a number of tasks, as follows: (1) On-site review of existing conditions and facilities. (2) Establish a basis for the FS establishing parameters for feedstocks, product streams, and power requirements. (3) Address technical requirements of expansion, marketing of new products, and strategies for financing construction. (4) Develop a preliminary environmental impact assessment. (5) Prepare a final report to present the feasibility assessment and recommendations for implementation. The U.S. firm selected will be paid in U.S. dollars from a $257,298 grant to the Grantee from the U.S. Trade and Development Agency (TDA). A detailed Request for Proposals (RFP), which includes requirements for the Proposal, the Terms of Reference, and the Definitional Mission are available from TDA, at 1621 N. Kent Street, Suite 200, Arlington, VA 22209-2131. Requests for the RFP should be faxed to the IRC, TDA at 703-875-4009. In the fax, please include your firm's name, contact person, address, and telephone number. Some firms have found that RFP materials sent by U.S. mail do not reach them in time for preparation of an adequate response. Firms that want TDA to use an overnight delivery service should include the name of the delivery service and your firm'saccount number in the request for the RFP. Firms that want to send a courier to TDA to retrieve the RFP should allow one hour after faxing the request to TDA before scheduling a pick-up. Please note that no telephone requests for the RFP will be honored. Please check your internal fax verification receipt. Because of the large number of RFP requests, TDA cannot respond to requests for fax verification. Requests for RFPs received before 4:00 PM will be mailed the same day. Requests received after 4:00 PM will be mailed the following day. Please check with your courier and/or mail room before calling TDA. Only U.S. firms and individuals may bid on this TDA financed activity. Interested firms, their subcontractors and employees of all participants must qualify under TDA's nationality requirements as of the due date for submission of qualifications and proposals and, if selected to carry out the TDA-financed activity, must continue to meet such requirements throughout the duration of the TDA-financed activity. All goods and services to be provided by the selected firm shall have their nationality, source and origin in the U.S. or host country. The U.S. firm may use subcontractors from the host country for up to 20 percent of the TDA grant amount. Details of TDA's nationality requirements and mandatory contract clauses are also included in the RFP. Interested U.S. firms should submit their Proposal in English directly to the Grantee by 4:00 PM, September 28, 2000 at the above address. Evaluation criteria for the Proposal are included in the RFP. Price will not be a factor in contractor selection, and therefore, cost proposals should NOT be submitted. The Grantee reserves the right to reject any and/or all Proposals. The Grantee also reserves the right to contract with the selected firm for subsequent work related to the project. The Grantee is not bound to pay for any costs associated with the preparation and submission of Proposals.***** Posted 08/11/00 (W-SN485079). (0224)

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