The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) intends to negotiate a sole-source contract with Bluefors Inc. for the relocation of a Horizontal Dry Dilution Refrigerator from Boulder, Colorado, to Brookhaven National Laboratory in Upton, New York. This project requires expert support for disassembly, packing, re-assembly, and installation, along with a cooldown test and warranty maintenance, with a performance period of up to seven months. The relocation is critical for NIST's Quantum Calorimeter Group, ensuring the continued functionality of specialized equipment essential for precision measurements. Interested parties must demonstrate their capability to fulfill these requirements by submitting their responses to Lisa Stevens at lisa.stevens@nist.gov by the specified deadline, with an estimated award date of January 31, 2025.

NB687000-26-00250 STATEMENT OF WORK.pdf

NIST's Quantum Calorimeter Group requires the relocation of a semi-custom Blue Fors Horizontal Dry Dilution Refrigerator (serial number SO01843.10) from Boulder, CO, to Brookhaven National Laboratory in Upton, NY. The project, with a performance period of up to 7 months, involves expert support for disassembly and packing in January 2026, re-assembly and installation in February 2026, a cooldown test with a report, and warranty maintenance at the new location. The government will provide necessary equipment and resources. Inspection and acceptance include performance tests, visual inspection, and verification of sub-10 mK base temperature performance. Contractor personnel must comply with all safety and security regulations, including RealID requirements for campus access and wearing NIST-provided identification badges. Deliverables include overseeing disassembly (2 months post-award) and installation (3 months post-award).

**Request for Information/Sources Sought Notice for Providers/Suppliers of**

**Horizontal Dry Dilution Refrigerator Relocation Service**

Notice ID: **NB687000-26-00250**

Contract Opportunity Type: **Sources Sought**

Response Date: **December 22, 2025**

Product Service Code: **J066— Maintenance/Repair/Rebuild of Equip: Instruments and Laboratory Equipment**

NAICS Code: **811210 – Electronic and Precision Equipment Repair and Maintenance**

**BACKGROUND**

This is a notice to request information from industry to help the U.S. Department of Commerce, National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) determine the availability and capability of small businesses and other than small businesses to provide Horizontal Dry Dilution Refrigerator Relocation Services.

This notice is strictly to request information for market research purposes to help NIST determine the appropriate acquisition strategy for this requirement. This notice shall not be construed as a solicitation, an obligation, or commitment by the NIST.

**OVERVIEW**

The NIST has a need for requires support during a relocation of a Horizontal Dry Dilution Refrigerator during disassembly at the current location and during re-assembly at the new location. The requirement  is that the relocation service work also maintains the existing warranty coverage and performance of the dilution refrigerator. See attached Statement of Work (SOW).

**PERIOD OF PERFORMANCE**

NIST anticipates that it will require services in January and February 2026.

**INFORMATION REQUESTED FROM INDUSTRY SOURCES****:**

NIST invites industry sources to review this notice carefully and to familiarize themselves with the SOW. Thereafter, by the closing date of this notice, NIST encourages those sources to submit responses to lisa.stevens@nist.gov. **Do not include proprietary, classified, confidential, or sensitive information in a response to this notice.**

Responses should be submitted to contain the following, in Microsoft Word format or in .pdf format, use 12-point font, with a **page limitation of ten pages (excluding cover page and excluding standard commercial pricing information)**:

1. Cover page, including:

* Sources Sought Notice number, title, and date of issuance
* Unique Entity ID
* Company name
* Company address
* Company website address
* Company point of contact and their phone number and email address
* Validation of company size status under NAICS: 811210, Electronic and Precision Equipment Repair and Maintenance.See table of business size standards at https://www.sba.gov/document/support-table-size-standards for more information.
* Indicate whether your company has an active registration for procurement purposes in sam.gov.

2. Provide any suggestions for NIST to consider for the draft SOW, with the goal of  improving the draft SOW in a way that makes it more clear and as competitive as possible.

3. Provide any suggested evaluation factors for award that your company believes would be meaningful for NIST to consider using for the forthcoming competitive acquisition.

4. If your company has standard commercial pricing information (e.g., “catalog pricing”) for its standard commercial products/services, please provide a copy of it and explain what it includes. NIST will consider standard commercial pricing information to help it estimate a fair market price for the upcoming acquisition.

* Your company may also provide an estimate for the draft SOW requirements if you would like to do so; however, **d****o** **not include a proposal for the draft SOW requirements; a proposal submitted in response to this notice will not be considered.**

5. If your company is a small business for the NAICS code included in this notice, indicate whether your company can comply with FAR clause 52.219-14, Limitations on Subcontracting (OCT 2022), if this acquisition were to be conducted as a total small business set-aside and provide supporting explanation. See https://www.acquisition.gov/far/part-52#FAR\_52\_219\_14 for the full text of this clause.

6. Indicate whether your company has a GSA Multiple Award Schedule contract or other federal contract under which NIST would be authorized to place an order and, if so, provide a copy of that contract (including contract number, name and contact information for contracting officer, contract SOW, contract terms and conditions and contract prices).

The NIST reserves the right to follow up on a one-on-one basis with respondents to request additional information or clarifications about information submitted.

**Disclaimer**

Industry sources must provide information in response to this notice voluntarily, and for fully authorized use without limitation by NIST. This notice does not obligate NIST to award a contract or otherwise pay for the information provided in response. The NIST reserves the right to use information provided by respondents for any purpose deemed necessary and legally appropriate. Any organization responding to this notice should ensure that its response is complete and sufficiently detailed. Information provided will be used to help NIST assess alternatives available for the potential requirement and may lead to the development of a solicitation. Respondents are advised that NIST is under no obligation to provide feedback to respondents with respect to any information submitted. After a review of the responses received and other market research, NIST may publish a solicitation on sam.gov or on GSA eBuy, depending on the approved acquisition strategy. Responses received after the closing date for this notice may not be considered for market research purposes.

Horizontal Dry Dilution Refrigerator Relocation Service

The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) Acquisition Management Division intends to negotiate with Bluefors Inc., (CAGE: 93P50), located in Brooklyn, NY, on a sole-source basis under the authority of FAR 13.106-1(b), soliciting from a single source to obtain Horizontal Dry Dilution Refrigerator relocation services.

The NAICS for this requirement is 811210, Electronic and Precision Equipment Repair and Maintenance, with a small business standard of $34M. NIST anticipates negotiating and awarding a firm-fixed-price contract to Bluefors Inc. for this requirement.   
   
Interested parties that can demonstrate they could satisfy the requirement listed above for NIST must clearly and unambiguously identify their capability to do so in writing on or before the response date for this notice. This notice of intent is not a solicitation. Information submitted in response to this notice will be used solely to determine whether competitive procedures could be used for this acquisition. If competitive procedures are not used, it is estimated that an award will be issued by January 31, 2025.   
   
Any questions regarding this notice must be submitted via email to the Contract Specialist at lisa.stevens@nist.gov. All responses to this notice of intent must be submitted to the Contract Specialist at  lisa.stevens@nist.gov  no later than the submission deadline of this notice.

Buyer

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