Commercial food grade juicer with shattering helical gear for the USDA, ARS, PSRU in St. Paul, MN

Sources are being sought to determine if there are manufacturers/contractors available offering a domestically sourced item that meets the minimum description outlined below. This is not a solicitation Announcement or Request for Proposal. It does not constitute any commitment by the Government. No award will result from this notice. The purpose is to conduct market research to gain knowledge of potentially qualified domestic sources. Responses to this Sources Sought Notice will be used by the Government to make an appropriate acquisition decision. The USDA Agricultural Research Service (ARS) will not award a contract on the basis of responses or pay for the preparation of any information submitted. Respondents will not be notified of the results of this notice. After completing an analysis of the responses, the Government will determine whether to proceed with issuing an unrestricted solicitation, inviting full and open competition.

Purpose:

ARS Acquisition and Property Division (APD), Acquisition seeks to determine the availability and capability of potential businesses offering a domestically available source of supply and service for the project below. The information received resulting from this market research will be considered for the purpose of determining domestically available sources.

Product Information:

• The Government seeks information from qualified and experienced contractors capable of providing a commercial sized cold press food grade juicer used to extract juice from alfalfa.  The juicer shall use a shattering helical gear.

Current Known Source:  SGL Industries, Inc./Angel Juicer America

Place of Performance: USDA, ARS, PSRU in St. Paul, MN

Anticipated Solicitation Release: August 3, 2026

Estimated Delivery: Delivery is expected within six months after award.

Description of Supply and Service

EQUIPMENT REQUIREMENTS must meet or exceed the following:

The commercial juicer needs to meet the following specifications:

1. Entire device to be manufactured out of food grade stainless steel (SUS-304)
2. Power 220V 750w 1P to plug with a 1HP min motor at 1450-1750 rpm, corded plug
3. All moving parts must have safety covers
4. Must utilize slow, high torque rotation on food grade stainless steel grinder parts to minimize heat build to preserve sample quality
5. Must be no plastic parts in the sample pathway
6. Able to be utilized eight shifts without cool down periods
7. Must utilize dual counter rotating tapered screws with tight tolerances of 0.1mm distance between screws implementing a shattering helical gear.
8. Must utilize a screen size of 0.4 down to 0.3mm for liquid filtering
9. Must be able to process 60kg of carrots per hour with 85% or greater grinding/extraction rate
10. Easy to take apart without special tools and clean out all parts
11. Must have separate juice and pulp collection guides
12. Must include an automatic motor overload shutdown and switchable manual reverse mode
13. Must have an integrated stand with casters
14. Weight shall be less than 150kg total weight for device
15. Must be able to process non masticated, undiluted fibrous material (alfalfa herbage)
16. Must be able to use off the shelf items for repairs, meaning standardized support and standardized replacement parts (i.e., not custom built, or “one of”)

Disclaimers:

1. This notice is posted in accordance with FAR Part 5.2.
2. In accordance with FAR Part 4.1102, Procedures, System for Award Management (SAM), potential contractors must be registered in SAM prior to submitting responses, proposals, bids, or quotes. Offerors may obtain information on registration at https://www.sam.gov.
3. Any potential future solicitations will be posted exclusively on SAM.gov. Interested parties are responsible for monitoring this website for the release of solicitation and any updates or amendments.
4. Do NOT submit proposals, bids, or quotes at this time.
5. The Government does not intend to pay for any information provided under this notice.

Instructions For Interested Parties, Capabilities:

Companies who have experience, as well as an interest in doing business with ARS, should submit a Capabilities Statement which, for this notice, is not expected to be a proposal, but rather short statements regarding the company’s ability to demonstrate their expertise and experience in relation to the areas specified in this notice. Companies should also indicate whether they are a Small Business, SBA-certified HUBZone, SBA-certified 8(a), SDVOSB, or Women-Owned Small Business as well as the Country of Origin of the proposed instrument and accessories. Responses should be submitted by July 17 2026, no later than 3:00 p.m. EDT to the attention of Shelley Steen at shelley.steen@usda.gov.