Thin Wall Castings for Aerospace Applications Project
The U.S. Army Contracting Command - New Jersey (ACC-NJ), on behalf of the Defense Production Act Title III Program Office (DPA Title III Office) seeks to enter into a Section 815 Prototype Other Transaction Agreement (OTA) for Thin Wall Castings for Aerospace Applications under the Other Transactions Authority (OTA). This notice is considered a competitive combined synopsis/solicitation, therefore, this announcement constitutes the only synopsis or solicitation that will be released.
Complex, aerospace-grade, thin-wall, multi-core magnesium and aluminum sand-cast components are critical to support Commercial and DoD rotorcraft fleets as maintenance and replacement parts, retrofits and technological upgrades. All Commercial and U.S. Military rotorcraft vehicles (helicopters and tiltrotors) require numerous sand-cast components for structural and drivetrain components. These sand castings will also support the manufacture of cutting-edge components for next-generation rotorcraft platforms. At present, the most difficult castings are the large castings that comprise the main rotor gearbox housing pieces.
The industrial base for complex, large, multi-core magnesium and aluminum sand-cast components is characterized by high start-up costs, expensive and lengthy qualification processes, and an aging workforce with rapidly-eroding organizational knowledge and skillsets. The number of domestic castings manufacturers that provide products and services to the aerospace industry has dwindled over the last two decades, having experienced a large number of consolidations due to decreases in production orders and intensified global competition. With few remaining viable foundries, many sand-cast rotorcraft parts have been reduced to only a single-source supplier.
The objective of this project is to improve domestic industrial capability for the manufacturing of Large, Aerospace-Grade (per AMS 2175), Complex (Multi-core), Sand-cast, Thin-wall, Aluminum and Magnesium Castings and demonstrate an improved process with the capability to produce these castings to support DoD rotorcraft fleets in the form of maintenance and replacement parts, retrofits, and technological upgrades, specifically structural and drivetrain components for next-generation rotorcraft platforms. This effort has a dual use application in that it will also help support Commercial rotorcraft fleets. Initial and final manufacturing demonstrations will be conducted to validate the baseline and final capabilities and determine the feasibility of the improved manufacturing process for the castings.
It is expected that the offeror will review all attachments to this notice prior to proposal preparation and submission.
No award will be made unless and until the Government can make a final determination that the proposed solution meets the statutory requirements for use of a prototype OTA and making an award in response to this solicitation is in the best interest of the Government. Any Section 815 Prototype Other Transaction Agreement awarded in response to this Prototype Project Opportunity Notice (PPON) is not anticipated to result in follow-on production.
In addition, each offeror responding to this notice shall be registered in the System for Award Management (SAM) at https://www.acquisition.gov. The representations and certifications made by your Company, including those completed electronically via the SAM shall be incorporated by reference into any resulting OTA that is awarded from this notice.
When submitting a proposal, the offeror shall provide its Data Universal Numbering System (DUNS) +4 number. The DUNS+4 is the DUNS number plus a 4-character suffix that may be assigned at the discretion of the Offeror to establish additional SAM records for identifying alternative Electric Funds Transfer (EFT) accounts. If the offeror does not have a DUNS number, it should contact Dun and Bradstreet directly to obtain one. An offeror within the United States may contact Dun and Bradstreet by calling 1-866-705-5711 or via the Internet at http://fedgov.dnb.com/webform. An offeror located outside the United States must call the local Dun and Bradstreet office for a DUNS number. The company should indicate that it is an offeror for a Government contract when contacting the local Dun and Bradstreet office.
Offerors shall mark business plans and technical information that are to be protected for five years from FOIA disclosure with a legend identifying the documents as being submitted on a confidential basis.
The Government will review all submissions and perform an integrated assessment of each submission in accordance with the evaluation criteria and relative order of importance of the criteria as listed in the PPON. The Government reserves the right to ask questions of a clarifying nature during the submission review process, or to open discussions with all offerors and allow for updated submissions. A notice of the Government's award selection will be announced on FedBizOpps upon the conclusion of the evaluation process.
Any questions related to this PPON must be directed to the Government point of contact identified below by May 3, 2019:
Patricia Kleiman
Agreements Specialist, ACC-NJ-ET
patricia.a.kleiman.civ@mail.mil
All information submitted in response to this PPON will be at no cost or obligation to the Government. No sensitive or classified information will be discussed.
Patricia A. Kleiman, Contract Specialist, Email patricia.a.kleiman.civ@mail.mil - William R.Fells , Contracting Specialist, Email william.r.fells.civ@mail.mil
