COMBINED SYNOPSIS/SOLICITATION
Helium supplied to the National Weather Service office in Salt Lake City, UT
Quotes Must Comply With INSTRUCTIONS TO OFFERORS Provided In Paragraph (viii)
The following information is provided in accordance with FAR 5.207(a)(16) and 5.207(c):
(1) A National Stock Number is not assigned to this requirement.
(2) This requirement is for commercial helium gas. There is not a qualification requirement for this product.
(3) There is no specific manufacturer or part number for this requirement.
(4) The helium must be provided in individual cylinders of a size that safely permits approximately between 200-300 cubic feet (CF) of helium per cylinder. The helium is used to fill latex weather balloons sufficiently to lift the balloons to around 100,000 ft.
(5) The predominant material is helium gas.
(6) The base quantity to be delivered is approximately 46,580 CF, delivered incrementally over the period. For example, for if each cylinder contains 291 CF of helium, we will need a delivery every three weeks, depending on the amount of gas actually provided per cylinder. There is an additional option to increase the quantity by no more than 40% of the base contract quantity, or 18,632 CF. This option is not a separately priced line item and the price is limited to no higher than the initial requirement of the line item that it is exercised against.
(7) The unit of issue is LOT.
(8) F.O.B. Destination to National Weather Service, 2242 West North Temple, Salt Lake City, UT 84116. The Contractor is responsible for loading/unloading. There is no lifting equipment (loading dock or forklift) on site.
(9) Schedule. The delivery schedule is approximately every three weeks, varying based on the amount of gas contained in each cylinder.
(10) The duration of the contract will not exceed 9 months. The base period is 9 months and there are no option periods to extend the term of the contract. The start date is July 1, 2025 and the final contract end date is March 31, 2026.
(11) This requirement does not include any sustainable acquisition requirements.
(12) The procedures to be used in awarding the contract is through a request for quotations via this combined synopsis/solicitation. The anticipated award date is June 30, 2025.
(13) This is not an Architect-Engineer requirement.
(14) This acquisition is not subject to Free Trade Agreements. See exception at FAR 25.401(a)(1).
(15) This requirement is not non-competitive.
(16) All responsible sources may submit a quotation, which shall be considered by the agency.
(17) This solicitation is synopsized and available through the Government Point of Entry, Contract Opportunities, at sam.gov.
(18) All information necessary to respond to this solicitation electronically is contained herein.
(19) Technical data required to respond to the solicitation is contained herein.
The following information is provided in accordance with FAR 12.603(c)(2):
(i) This is a combined synopsis/solicitation for commercial services prepared in accordance with the format in FAR Subpart 12.6, as supplemented with additional information included in this notice and in accordance with the simplified acquisition procedures authorized in FAR Part 13. This announcement constitutes the only solicitation; quotes are being requested and a written solicitation will not be issued.
(ii) This solicitation number is 1333MH25Q0005 and is issued as a request for quotation (RFQ). A fixed price with economic price adjustment purchase order is anticipated to result from this RFQ.
(iii) The solicitation document and incorporated provisions and clauses are those in effect through Federal Acquisition Circular 2025-04, June 11, 2025.
(iv) This solicitation is being issued as a total small business set-aside. The associated NAICS code is 325120. The small business size standard is 1,200 employees. This requirement has a class waiver issued by the SBA for the nonmanufacturer rule. Limitations on subcontracting does not apply to this requirement.
(v) The line item numbers, items, quantities, and units of measure, including options, are provided below based on 291 CF per cylinder as an example. If the awarded quote uses a different size cylinder, the quantities in the awarded line item will be different, calculated from the requirement of 46,580 CF delivered through roughly equal increments throughout the period.
Line Item: 0001 Quantity: 1 Unit of Measure: LOT
Helium supplied incrementally to the National Weather Service Weather Forecast Office located in Salt Lake City, UT, in accordance with the attached statement of need.
291 CF per cylinder
HELIUM GAS:
$_________ per cylinder
Up to 161 total cylinders
(Deliver 13 cylinders approximately every three weeks)
Option to increase quantity by up to 64 cylinders
DELIVERIES:
$_________ delivery fee per delivery, if applicable
$_________ hazmat fee per delivery, if applicable
Up to 14 total deliveries
Option to increase quantity by up to 5 deliveries
CYLINDER RENTALS:
$_________ per cylinder per day (or per month, as determined by vendor quote)
18 maximum total cylinders on site for a maximum 274 days
(there is no option to increase number of days)
The resulting purchase order will include the option to increase the quantity by not more than 40% of the initial quantity of the line item, as indicated above. The option price is no higher than for the initial requirement, however, the Government will accept an offer containing an option price higher than the base price only if the acceptance does not prejudice any other offeror.
(vi) A description of requirements for the items to be acquired is provided in the attached Statement of Need.
(vii) Dates and places of delivery and acceptance and FOB point:
Deliveries will occur approximately every three weeks, depending on the size of the cylinders, throughout the period of performance. The period of performance is July 1, 2025 through March 31, 2026, with no option periods.
Delivery and acceptance for all deliveries will be at the National Weather Service Weather Forecast Office at 2242 West North Temple, Salt Lake City, UT 84116. The FOB point is destination, at the Upper Air Inflation Building on site.
(viii) INSTRUCTIONS TO OFFERORS
FAR 52.212-1, Instructions to Offerors-Commercial Products and Commercial Services (SEP 2023), applies to this acquisition. This is a Best Value acquisition.
NOTICE TO OFFERORS: Instructions for submitting quotes under this RFQ must be followed. Failure to provide all information to aid in the evaluation may result in the quote being considered non-responsive. Quotes that are non-responsive may be excluded from further evaluation and rejected without further notification to the offeror. Offerors must have an active registration in the System for Award Management (SAM) at sam.gov.
The Government does not accept responsibility for non-receipt of quotes. It is the offeror’s responsibility to request and receive a confirmation of the quote receipt from the appropriate Government point of contact.
QUOTES MUST INCLUDE ALL OF THE FOLLOWING:
• Solicitation #, Business name, Unique Entity Identifier for active SAM.gov profile, and point of contact name with a valid phone number and email address.
• Non-price:
Cubic Feet contained per cylinder _________________
Delivery Lead Time, per delivery, ARO: _________________ days
Confirm availability to start on July 1, 2025. If unable to start on July 1, provide start date after notice of award.
• Pricing, as applicable:
Helium Gas: $ _________________ per cylinder
Delivery Fee: $ _________________ per delivery
Hazmat Fee: $ _________________ per delivery
Cylinder Rent: $ _________________ per cylinder per day or per month (pick one)
Additional Fees: $ _________________ (identify name of the fee and frequency, if applicable)
• The quote must affirmatively acknowledge acceptance of all clauses and provisions. Be sure to complete pricing information for all elements. Page limit: no more than 2 pages.
• References. At least 3 references, no more than 5. Include the reference Business Name, concise nature of the job/project, point of contact name, and phone number. Email address for each reference is preferred but not mandatory. If you do not have professional references because we would be your business's first contract, provide a statement to this effect; references for other work performed should be submitted instead. Page limit: no more than 2 pages.
• Technical Capabilities statement briefly describing your ability and experience to provide this mission-critical supply. Must include technical approach, including ability to meet start date, ability to meet supply requirement, quality assurance plan to ensure tanks are filled to quoted volume, etc. Page limit: no more than 4 pages.
• If your SAM.gov Reps & Certs are current, accurate, complete, and applicable to this solicitation, and require no changes applicable to this specific requirement, then you do not need to include 52.212-3 in your quote. This does not count toward the page limit for the package.
• Do not submit additional documents or pages not asked for above. Page limit for the entire quote package is no more than 8 pages. Reps & Certs at 52.212-3 do not count toward the page count. All documents must be provided in PDF format. Font shall be 10 to 15 point size.
• Email quote packages to jen.brown@noaa.gov. Email subject line must include the solicitation # 1333MH25Q0005.
(ix) FAR 52.212-2, Evaluation—Commercial Products and Commercial Services (NOV 2021) applies. Award will be made on a best value basis, with price and other factors considered. The specific evaluation criteria to be used in paragraph (a) are: technical capability (not limited to: technical approach, ability to meet start date, ability to meet supply requirement), past performance, price, and compliance with solicitation requirements.
In accordance with FAR 12.602 Streamlined evaluation of offers, relative importance of evaluation factors is not required when using simplified acquisition procedures. Quotes will be evaluated in accordance with the above factors, and the procedures at FAR 13.106-2 Evaluation of quotations or offers.
(x) FAR 52.212-3, Offeror Representations and Certifications-Commercial Products and Commercial Services (May 2024) (Deviation 2025-02) (Feb 2025) (Deviation 2025-03) (Feb 2025), must be completed and included with the quote. If your SAM.gov Reps & Certs are current, accurate, complete, and applicable to this solicitation, and require no changes applicable to this specific requirement, then you do not need to include 52.212-3 in your quote.
(xi) FAR 52.212-4, Contract Terms and Conditions-Commercial Products and Commercial Services (NOV 2023), applies to this acquisition.
(xii) FAR 52.212-5, Contract Terms and Conditions Required to Implement Statutes or Executive Orders-Commercial Products and Commercial Services (Jan 2025) (Deviation 2025-02) (Feb 2025) (Deviation 2025-03) (Feb 2025) (Deviation 2024-03) (Oct 2023) (Deviation 2023-03) (Dec 2022) (Deviation 2021-06) (Sept 2021), applies to this acquisition. The additional FAR clauses applicable to the acquisition are provided in the clause list incorporated in the SF 1449.
(xiii) Additional contract requirements and terms and conditions that apply to this acquisition are provided in the attached SF 1449.
(xiv) Defense Priorities and Allocations System (DPAS) and assigned rating do not apply.
(xv) Quotes are due to the contracting office no later than 1:00 pm MDT on Monday, June 30, 2025. All quotes must be emailed to the attention of Jen Brown, email address is jen.brown@noaa.gov. The email subject line must include the solicitation # 1333MH25Q0005.
The Government does not accept responsibility for non-receipt of quotes. It is the offeror’s responsibility to request and receive a confirmation of the quote receipt from the appropriate Government point of contact.
(xvi) For information regarding this solicitation, contact Jen Brown directly, E-mail address: jen.brown@noaa.gov, Phone: 385-258-1061.
