J--Brand Name Determination - RFQ 68HE0826Q0053
EPA · REGION 8 CONTRACTING OFFICE
Capture briefs (a one-page, shareable copy of this page) are part of Pro. The CSV here holds the notice, its timeline and past awards.
Where this opportunity stands
Every notice posted under solicitation 68HE0826Q0053 in this department, oldest first.
- Sep 24, 2026 · this noticeSpecial Notice
Next steps for this stage
Standard steps for the notice type; not advice about this buyer.
- Answer the notice: this is when the requirement can still be shaped.
- Contact the contracting officer named on the notice.
- Check who won similar work; they are the likely bidders.
What the notice says
RFQ 68HE0826Q0053 - Maintenance and Service Plan, Skalar Formacs HT TOC/TN Analyzer 1. Authority RFO 12.102(a) (decision to restrict competition, including brand-name without �equal,� at or below the SAT) and RFO 11.204(a) (brand-name requirement: essential, supported by market research, documented in the file, posted for acquisitions over $25,000). 2. Acquisition and requirement Commercial service, RFO 12.201-1: firm-fixed price under purchase order, 12-month base plus three 12-month options. The value of the acquisition, including all options, exceeds $25,000 (RFO 1.107(c)(1)). Service must … (show all)
be performed by Skalar, Inc. or a Skalar-authorized provider using genuine Skalar parts; no �equal� parts. The RFQ was posted publicly on September 22, 2026, so that any authorized provider could quote. 3. Why the brand-name requirement is essential (RFO 11.204(a)(1)) � Skalar support plans are governed by the Velaris Support and Maintenance Plans (2026). Section 7.1.1 voids coverage if the instrument is serviced by a non-authorized provider; section 7.1.5 requires genuine parts. Service from an unauthorized provider, or with non-genuine parts, would leave the Government without manufacturer coverage. � Formacs HT is a proprietary analyzer. Its service procedures, calibration routines and preventative-maintenance kits are specific to the instrument and available only through the manufacturer and its authorized network. 4. Market research The manufacturer and two other potential sources were considered: a national equipment-maintenance reseller that would place the work with the manufacturer and could not commit to the required site visits, and a third-party laboratory service firm with no established Skalar authorization or access to genuine parts. No source other than the manufacturer and its authorized providers was found. Details are in the market research report in the contract file. 5. Posting and determination Posted to SAM.gov on September 24, 2026, with notice 68HE0826Q0053 (RFO 11.204(a)(3)). Manufacturer or manufacturer-authorized service using genuine Skalar parts is essential to the Government�s requirement; market research shows that other companies� similar services, and services lacking the feature, do not meet and cannot be modified to meet the agency�s minimum needs; and the requirement is limited to the extent necessary (RFO 11.102(a)(1)(ii). The brand-name requirement is justified under RFO 12.102(a) and 11.204(a).
Who won similar work
23 award notices on SAM.gov in the last 24 months. Matched by: Same agency (EPA), same product/service code (PSC) J066.
Single-winner award sizes (23): middle half $18K to $69K, median $35K; range $11K to $551K.
| Winner | Awards | Value | Last |
|---|---|---|---|
| THERMO ELECTRON NORTH AMERICA LLC · $TMO · $46.3B | 8 | $408K | Jun 25, 2026 |
| HORIBA Instruments Incorporated | 1 | $551K | Feb 20, 2026 |
| PRIME ONE CONTRACTING LLC | 1 | $250K | Oct 30, 2024 |
| Revvity Health Sciences, Inc. | 1 | $87K | Apr 17, 2025 |
| AB SCIEX LLC | 1 | $77K | Aug 19, 2025 |
| EMD MILLIPORE CORP | 1 | $50K | Jul 22, 2026 |
| X-Ray Optical Systems, Inc. | 1 | $44K | Mar 19, 2026 |
| Wasson-ECE Instrumentation, Incorporated | 1 | $31K | Jul 10, 2026 |
| HAMILTON COMPANY | 1 | $29K | Sep 24, 2025 |
| COAST TO COAST CALIBRATIONS, INC. | 1 | $28K | Jul 24, 2025 |
Value counts single-winner awards. "Shared" awards are multiple-award contracts that list every winner with the same total ceiling; that ceiling is not one company's win, so it is not added in. Revenue next to a ticker is the company's last annual revenue from its 10-K.
- $TMO reported $46.3B revenue (12 months to Jun 27, 2026). The median single-winner award in these 23 past awards, $35K, is under 0.1% of that. SEC filing
One award's total value against one year of revenue; many awards are paid over several years.
- Jul 22, 2026EMD MILLIPORE CORP$50KJ--R10 Lab: 2026 Millipore Water Purification SystemsNo listed company matched (Materiality N/A)
- Jul 10, 2026Wasson-ECE Instrumentation, Incorporated$31KJ--SAP - Wasson-ECE repair services and spare parts fNo listed company matched (Materiality N/A)
- Jul 2, 2026ELEMENTAR AMERICAS, INC.$17KJ--SAP - Preventive maintenance and repair of ElementNo listed company matched (Materiality N/A)
- Jun 25, 2026THERMO ELECTRON NORTH AMERICA LLC$19KJ--TSQ 9610 Maintenance and Service AgreementMateriality: <0.01% of $TMO revenue (Low) SEC
- Jun 3, 2026THERMO ELECTRON NORTH AMERICA LLC$77KJ-- GC Orbitrap and GC-MS/MS Maintenance AgreementMateriality: <0.01% of $TMO revenue (Low) SEC
- Mar 19, 2026X-Ray Optical Systems, Inc.$44KJ--SAP - Service and Repair of the XOS Sindie MonochrNo listed company matched (Materiality N/A)
- Feb 25, 2026ILLUMINA, INC.$17KJ--Service Maintenance AgreementMateriality: <0.01% of $ILMN revenue (Low) SEC
- Feb 20, 2026HORIBA Instruments Incorporated$551KJ--HORIBA EQUIPMENT MAINTENANCE/UPGRADE SERVICES AT NNo listed company matched (Materiality N/A)
- Nov 20, 2025QIAGEN, LLC$18KJ--Maintenance service agreementNo listed company matched (Materiality N/A)
- Oct 3, 2025THERMO ELECTRON NORTH AMERICA LLC$99KJ--Maintenance service agreementMateriality: <0.01% of $TMO revenue (Low) SEC
Materiality: one award's value as a share of the winner's revenue over the latest 12 months in its SEC filings (or its last fiscal year, as noted when you point at it). Low under 1%, Medium 1 to 5%, High 5% or more. Many awards are paid over several years, so this overstates a single year's share.
Competitive landscape
For the 8 most frequent past winners above. Lobbying is matched by the company's exact name or exact ticker; agencies are as named on the filings.
- 1 of these past winners lobbied Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) since 2024 (6 filings)
- 0 of their lobbyists list a past Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) job
- $60K from their corporate PACs since 2024 to members of House Committee on Appropriations, House Committee on Energy and Commerce, Senate Committee on Appropriations, Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works
- 0 foreign-agent (FARA) registrations
Policy around it
Bills the past winners named while lobbying this agency's issues, rules from the department, and executive orders that name the agency, last 12 months.
- 2 bills named on the past winners' lobbying filings
- 565 rules from the department in the last 12 months
- 0 executive orders naming the agency in the last 12 months
Market
For past winners matched exactly to a listed company. Insider trades are open-market buys and sells (Form 4) in the last 90 days, shown as facts; our own study found insiders do not reliably buy ahead of awards. A sale marked 10b5-1 was made under a trading plan set up in advance.
- 1 of the past winners are listed companies
- 0 insider buys and 7 insider sells at them in the last 90 days
Sources: SAM.gov notices and award notices; Senate LDA lobbying filings; FEC filings; FARA; Federal Register; congress.gov; SEC Form 4. Every row above links to its record.
Companies are matched to tickers by exact name only. A company we could not match shows no market rows; that is a miss, not a finding.