B-299368, International Filter Manufacturing, Inc., April 10, 2007

B-299368 Apr 10, 2007 Jump To VIEW DECISION DOWNLOADS RELATED PAGES GAO CONTACTS Highlights International Filter Manufacturing Corp. (IFM) protests the decision of the Defense Logistics Agency (DLA), Defense Supply Center Columbus (DSCC) to issue request for proposals (RFP) No. SPM7M3-07-R-0008 for part kits on an unrestricted basis rather than as a historically underutilized business zone (HUBZone) set-aside. We deny the protest. View Decision B-299368, International Filter Manufacturing, Inc., April 10, 2007 Decision Matter of: International Filter Manufacturing, Inc. File: B-299368 Date: April 10, 2007 William Blakely, Esq., and Lauren P. DeSantis-Then, Esq., Polsinelli Shalton Welte Suelthaus PC, for the protester. Michael Walters, Esq., and Matthew Geary, Esq., Defense Logistics Agency, and John W. Klein, Esq., and Kenneth Dodds, Esq., Small Business Administration, for the agencies. Sharon L. Larkin, Esq., and James A. Spangenberg, Esq., Office of the General Counsel, GAO, participated in the preparation of the decision. DIGEST Protest that agency should have issued a solicitation for part kits as a set-aside for historically underutilized business zone (HUBZone) small business concerns is denied, where the agency's market research did not reveal that the agency could reasonably anticipate receiving offers from two or more HUBZone small businesses. DECISION International Filter Manufacturing Corp. (IFM) protests the decision of the Defense Logistics Agency (DLA), Defense Supply Center Columbus (DSCC) to issue request for proposals (RFP) No. SPM7M3-07-R-0008 for part kits on an unrestricted basis rather than as a historically underutilized business zone (HUBZone) set-aside. We deny the protest. IFM is a small disadvantaged, woman-owned, minority-owned, HUBZone business concern that manufactures filters and assembles part kits. In the past, IFM has provided fluid pressure filter part kits to the agency that included its manufactured filters under a HUBZone set-aside contract. The contract was set aside for HUBZone contractors because the filter, which constituted a large portion of the kit, was manufactured by HUBZone small business concerns, including IFM. The RFP, issued in December 2006, sought 5,950 fluid pressure filter part kits, National Stock Number (NSN) 4330-01-495-6900, with an option for an additional 5,950 kits. The kit is comprised of the same group of 20 NSNs as under the previous HUBZone set'aside contract, except that the filter was now going to be provided by the agency as –government furnished material.— This was the first solicitation for a kit without seeking filters from the offerors. The RFP was issued on an unrestricted basis based on the market research of the contract specialist and contracting officer, who consulted with a DSCC technical representative, the DSCC Office of Small Business Programs, and the Small Business Administration (SBA) Procurement Center Representative (PCR) to determine whether the RFP should be set aside for HUBZone small business concerns. The contract specialist first reviewed the procurement history for the NSNs that comprised the kit and determined that of the 19 NSNs (excluding the filter), only 1 had been historically provided by a HUBZone concern, 3 others were provided by small businesses, and the remaining 15 NSNs were provided by large businesses. Agency Report, Tab 7, DefenseSupplyCenterPhiladelphia (DSCP) Analysis. The contract specialist then asked a DSCC technical representative (a –product specialist—) to review a drawing of the kit to determine whether the listed NSNs were manufactured by HUBZone concerns. Agency Report, Tab 3, Contract Specialist's Declaration, at 2. The DSCC technical representative determined that the 19 NSNs contained a total quantity of 107 individual parts, and 5 of the NSNs (which contained 76 of the total individual parts) were produced by two large businesses. Contracting Officer's Statement at 2'3. Based on this, the contract specialist determined that there was not a reasonable expectation that two or more offers would be received from HUBZone small business concerns that could manufacture at least 50 percent of the work as required by applicable regulations. The contracting officer reviewed the contract specialist's market research and concurred with the results. Contracting Officer's Statement at 3. The contracting officer consulted with both the DSCC Office of Small Business Programs and the SBA PCR.