COTA: SAMDIB - AUTOMATED CONTAINER MANUFACTURING AT BLUE GRASS ARMY DEPOT

U.S. Army Combat Capabilities Development Command – Chemical Biological Center (DEVCOM CBC), Rock Island, IL, on behalf of Joint Munitions Command , in conjunction with Army Contracting Command – Rock Island (ACC-RI), manages the Cornerstone Other Transaction Agreement (OTA), in accordance with 10 U.S.C. § 4022. Cornerstone was developed to create a broad-based, flexible and enduring public-private consortium focused on strategic strengthening of the U.S. Manufacturing and Defense Industrial Base and provide a strong complement to the mandates in Presidential Executive Order 13806.

ACC-RI, on behalf of DEVCOM CBC and Joint Munitions Command, intends to issue a competitive Cornerstone Initiative Request (CIR) Strengthening America’s Manufacturing and Defense Industrial Base (SAMDIB) Project Call for Automated Container Manufacturing at Blue Grass Army Depot on or after April 21, 2026. The CIR will be open for 30 days. An “offeror day” to visit the site will be conducted during the CIR.

This effort requires the design and construction of an advanced, automated “smart” container production facility at BGAD to produce 20ft standard, 20ft side loading, 40ft standard, and high cubes container configurations with “smart” technology to enable the container to be tracked globally.

The objective of this prototype Project Call is a complete prototype design and construction package that shall contain all plans, specifications, drawings, process flow, supporting documentation, and state-of-the-art container manufacturing campus that complies and meets all regulatory laws and standards without further design development by the Government on the BGAD footprint.

Subject to funding, this CIR will use a two-step evaluation process as defined in the SAMDIB over-arching CIR. A two-step process is where offerors submit a white paper, outlining a technical solution and a rough order of magnitude (ROM) cost estimate. Down selection is made and the selected offerors then submit a full technical and cost proposal. From there, down selection is made for award.

Any OT awarded as a result of this initiative will incorporate the following clauses:

1. FAR clause 52.204-25, Prohibition on Contracting for Certain Telecommunications and Video Surveillance Services or Equipment
2. DFARS clause 252.232-7006, WAWF Payment Instructions
3. DFARS clause 252.204-7012, Safeguarding Covered Defense Information and Cyber Incident Reporting.

The CIR for this Project Call is restricted to Cornerstone Consortium members only and will be communicated to the Cornerstone Consortium and companies with pending applications via email. Entities must have an active registration in SAM.gov, a favorable status in Federal Awardee Performance and Integrity Information Systems, and be members of the Cornerstone Consortium, with a signed Cornerstone Consortium Management Agreement, to be eligible to submit a proposal and be eligible for award of an OTA task. Contractors may obtain Cornerstone registration information located at https://cornerstone.army.mil or by inquiring at: usarmy.ria.devcom-cbc.mbx.cornerstone-ota@army.mil.

This Special Notice is for planning purposes only and does not constitute a CIR or an obligation on behalf of the U.S. Government. Issuance of this Special Notice is not a guarantee of a future CIR or an award and is not a commitment of any kind by the Government.