COUNTERMEASURES PRODUCTION PROCESS EQUIPMENT DESIGN

This is a combined synopsis/ solicitation for commercial services prepared in accordance with the format in FAR Subpart 12.6 and FAR Subpart 13.5, as supplemented with additional information in this notice. This announcement constitutes only the solicitation; a proposal is being requested, and a formal solicitation will not be issued.

This acquisition is being issued as sole source to Franklin Engineering Group Inc.

SUMMARY 

Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) 52.232-18, Availability of Funds is applicable to this requirement. The Government intends to award one (1) contract resulting from this RFQ.

Procuring Activity:

US Army Contracting Command – Rock Island

ATTN: Munitions and Industrial Base (MIB) Division

CCRC-AIC

Rock Island, IL

Place of Performance:

Crane Army Ammunition Activity

Building 148

300 Highway 361

Crane, IN 47522-5001

FOB Destination

Authority: 48 CFR § 48.405

Competition Requirements: Other than Full and Open

Anticipated TO Type: Hybrid (FFP and T&M)

Estimated POP Start Date: 01 December 2025

* This is anticipated to change based on the duration of the evaluation and possible negotiations

Due Date and Time for Quotation Submittals: No later than: 14 November 2025 at 12:30 PM CT

Procurement History: None. This is a new requirement

GENERAL INSTRUCTIONS

The incorporated provisions and clauses are in effect through Federal Acquisition Circular 2025 – 05. The pertaining Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) and Defense FAR Supplement (DFARS) provisions/clauses apply to this RFQ and resulting award and are found in Attachment 0004 – Provisions and Clauses.

Contract Line Item (CLIN) Structure: Refer to Attachment 0007. 

Estimated Period of Performance:

Phase One = 4 Months

Phase Two = 12 Months

Phase Three = 12 Months

Phase Four = 12 Months

SUBMISSION INSTRUCTIONS 

Quotations shall conform to the following:

• Timely (no late submittals are allowed).
• Submitted according to the Instructions below.
• 8 ½ x 11-inch letter-size, portrait layout.
• Minimum one-inch for all margins - top, bottom, left, right  
• 11-point “Arial” or “Times New Roman” font. 
• Microsoft Office Word (2007 or later) or Adobe PDF searchable text (image files are not acceptable).   
• Tables or illustrations shall be at least 9-point font (portrait or landscape). 
• All documents shall be legible.
• Quoters may alter the tabs in the Pricing template (Excel workbook), Attachment 0007, to fit their unique circumstances, but the general format shall remain intact for evaluation and contract administration purposes. 

Failure to adhere to any instruction required by this RFQ may render the Quotation ineligible for award.

Quotation shall be organized in the following manner:

Part One (Evaluation Factor 1 – Technical)

Required Documentation: Response to Attachment 0008 Technical Questionnaire

Format: Contractor format compliant with the instructions in this RFQ

Page Limitation: 15-page limitation, not including any lead team members one-page resume or five-page betterments. See ** below for more information.

Part Two (Evaluation Factor 2 – Price)

Required Documentation: Pricing Template (Excel Workbook and Tabbed Worksheets)

Format: Government Provided Attachment 0007 and ALL worksheet tabs within Attachment 0007 completed

Page Limitation: No page limitation. All assumptions used when generating the final proposal cost for all phases should be accounted for in the assumptions tab of the pricing template. See ** below for more information.

** Resumes are encouraged but not required for lead team members. The total of 15 pages does not include the offeror’s proposed schedule or any betterments the offeror would like to propose (optional). Proposed betterments should be limited to five (5) additional pages.

All proposed contract betterments SHALL be priced separately. When evaluating price (as found below in paragraph V (2)), only the total pricing for phases 1-4 as requested by the Government in this RFQ will be evaluated. All betterments that are considered by the Government will be reviewed separately if they are found to be in the Governments’ best interest. If you fail to separately price your betterments and include them in the pricing for phases 1-4, the Government will evaluate your total price to include those costs. This could negatively affect your price rating. There will be no set format for how betterments are priced, however, they should be submitted to the Government with all other pricing documents. For convenience, a “Betterments” tab has been added to the pricing template.

Additional Quotation instructions:

Part One – Evaluation Factor 1 – Technical

Quoters shall submit responses to the 3 Questions provided in Attachment 0008 that correspond to this RFQ.

Quoters shall provide Specific/specialized knowledge/ skills related to:

• Manufacturing process equipment modernization opportunities,
• Designing full process equipment systems meeting environmental and explosives safety requirements
• Ammunition manufacturing hazards including by not limited to in-process hazard classifications
• Modern technologies for manufacturing countermeasures with mixing technologies and automated weighing/pressing/extruding being of particular interest to the command

Do not include specific (individuals’) names of Government and/or Contractor personnel.

Do not include prices/rates. 

Part Three – Evaluation Factor 2 - Price

Quoters shall adhere to the Instructions on the Government provided Pricing Template (Attachment 0007) and fully complete all required fields and worksheets (tabs).

Part Four – Site Visit

No site visit is required for this requirement

BASIS OF AWARD 

The Government will award one (1) contract to the Quoter that submits a responsive Quotation that provides the best value to the Government using a tradeoff process. 

• “Best value”: The expected outcome of the acquisition that, in the Government’s estimation, provides the greatest overall benefit in response to the requirement  
• “Tradeoff”:  The Government may accept other than the lowest priced Quotation, when the decision is consistent with the evaluation criteria and the Government reasonably determines that the perceived benefits of a higher priced Quotation warrant the increase in price.   

The Government has established Technical and Price as the evaluation factors.

Order of Importance:

Factor 1: Technical is more important than Price.

Factor 2: Price is not expected to be the controlling criterion in the selection, but Price importance will increase as the differences between the evaluation results for the Technical criterion decrease. 

Quotation is intended to be evaluated, and the award made, without interchanges with the Quoter, unless interchanges are determined necessary.

EVALUATION CRITERIA

The Government will evaluate Quotations as follows:

Factor 1 – Technical

The Government will evaluate Factor 1, Technical, using the following criteria:

Demonstration of a clear understanding of the requirements and deliverables, and on the Offeror’s expressed ability to successfully perform. The offerors will be evaluated based on responses to three criteria: Technical Expertise/ Experience, Project Team, and Technical Approach.

Specific/specialized knowledge/ skills related to:

• Manufacturing process equipment modernization opportunities,
• Designing full process equipment systems meeting environmental and explosives safety requirements
• Ammunition manufacturing hazards including by not limited to in-process hazard classifications
• Modern technologies for manufacturing countermeasures with mixing technologies and automated weighing/pressing/extruding being of particular interest to the command

If the Quotation sufficiently addresses the applicable three (3) critical questions and demonstrates a clear understanding and ability to fulfil the requirement, then the Government will accept without further explanation that the contractor can perform all PWS requirements.  The Quoter may discuss non-critical requirements. However, if the Quoter provides statements which cause the Government to question the Quoter’s ability to perform those non-critical requirements, such statements will be evaluated accordingly.

    

TECHNICAL WILL BE RATED USING THE FOLLOWING STANDARDS: 

Outstanding – Quotation indicates an exceptional approach and understanding of the requirements and contains multiple strengths. Established team has an extensive background in countermeasures manufacturing process modernization to include designing automated equipment systems and explosives safety compliance. Quotation includes detailed previous project experience in the major contract requirements. Proposal includes a well thought-out proposed technical approach to each of the project’s phases.

Good – Quotation meets requirements and indicates a thorough level of expertise and an understanding of the requirements. Established team has background in countermeasures manufacturing process modernization and previous experience in the major contract requirements including explosives safety compliance.  Proposal includes a solid technical approach. Strengths outweigh any weaknesses. Risk of unsuccessful performance is low.

Acceptable – Quotation meets requirements and indicates an adequate level of expertise and an understanding of the requirements. Established team has an extensive background in ammunition manufacturing modernization and the major contract requirements including explosives safety compliance, although little to no experience in countermeasure manufacturing specifically. Proposed technical approach is adequately addressed, but not specific. Strengths and Weaknesses are offsetting or will have little or no impact on task order performance. Risk of unsuccessful performance is moderate. 

Marginal – Quotation does not demonstrate an adequate approach and understanding of the requirements. Established team has very limited background in ammunition manufacturing modernization and the major contract requirements.  Proposed technical approach is flawed or is too vague for Government to determine acceptability. Risk of unsuccessful performance is high.

Unacceptable – Quotation does not meet requirements and contains one or more deficiencies. Appropriate team has not been established, or established team does not have sufficient experience to complete the project tasks without significant government oversight. Risk of unsuccessful performance is high. If this criterion is rated as Unacceptable, additional factors will not be evaluated and the Quotation is not eligible for award. 

DEFINITIONS:

Strength – Strength is defined as a particular aspect of the Quoter’s submission that has merit or exceeds specified performance capability requirements in a way that will be advantageous to the Government during task order performance. 

Weakness – Weakness is defined as any flaw in the Quotation that increases the risk of unsuccessful task order performance.

Deficiency – Deficiency is defined as any material failure of a Quotation to meet a Government requirement or a combination of weaknesses in a Quotation that increases the risk of unsuccessful task order performance to an unacceptable level. 

Factor 2 - Price 

The Government will evaluate Factor 2 – Price, for the following:

1) Compliance: Quotation will be evaluated for compliance based upon the submission requirements contained in the RFQ including all pricing attachments.  Failure to comply with any pricing instruction included in this RFQ, including all of the Attachment 0007 tabs, may render the Quotation ineligible for award.

2) Price Reasonableness: The Quoter’s Price Quotation will be evaluated to determine reasonableness.  In accordance with FAR 31.201-3, a price is reasonable if, in its nature and amount, it does not exceed that which would be incurred by a prudent person in the conduct of competitive business. 

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION

Although the Government anticipates the need for unlimited rights to all data and deliverables produced under this effort, the Government will retain unlimited rights to ensure full access and future use without restriction.

Questions regarding this requirement shall be submitted to the below individuals at the earliest time possible but no later than 05 November 2025 to allow the buyer to respond and prepare their proposal. Any questions received after this date will not be considered. Do not include proprietary information with any questions.

The Contracting Officer is the only Government representative authorized by the Government for this FRQ. Any written amendments shall be issued by the Contracting Officer in writing. All communication shall be addressed to the Contracting Officer, Bryce Willett at bryce.t.willett.civ@army.mil and Contract Specialist, Bridget Garnica, at bridget.m.garnica.civ@army.mil.  

ATTACHMENTS

0001 Performance Work Statement_ 28FEB2025

0002 Drawings from DD1391

0003 WD No. 2015-4821 Revision 30; 07JUL2025

0004 Provisions and Clauses

0005 FAR 52.204-24

0006 FAR 52.212-3 Alt 1

0007 Pricing Template (Excel workbook)

0008 Technical Questionnaire