Notice of Intent to Sole Source- Cold Spray of Composite Panels

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Research and Development Center (ERDC), Geotechnical and Structures Laboratory (GSL) intends to issue a sole source award to VRC Metal Systems LLC (CAGE Code: 71U36) to procure custom services to cold spray ERDC owned Composite Panels in the areas of Concrete Materials Branch (CMB) research. CMB is engaged in developing an ongoing novel composite material system for military force protection and civil works efforts.  As part of these efforts the combination of composite fabrication and cold spray are being utilized to develop novel protective systems.

The requirement necessitates the contractor to provide cold spray copper deposition to composite panels, each measuring 1.2 m × 1.2 m. The provided panels consist of two material systems: carbon fiber reinforced polyphenylene sulfide (CF/PPS) and glass fiber reinforced polyphenylene sulfide (GF/PPS).

The contractor shall apply copper deposition using a cold spray process to all panels and shall replicate parameters previously established through prior research efforts. Deposition will be conducted across all panels using two processing conditions. Four panels will receive a single-pass deposition, and four panels will receive a two-pass deposition, with one panel of each material configuration included in each condition.

Deliverables shall include eight copper-coated composite panels, documentation of deposition parameters and processing conditions, and a summary of any deviations from the specified requirements.

ERDC shall ship the composite panels to the vendor for the cold spray process. The vendor shall return all composite panels to ERDC within 90 days of receipt of panels. The period of performance shall be 6 months from date of award

The unique requirements detailed are critical to the continuation of the GSL’s mission and continued research in the Concrete Materials Branch (CMB).

This effort requires the application of cold spray copper coatings using deposition parameters previously developed through a collaborative research effort. The work is a direct continuation of prior research, and maintaining consistency with previously established methodologies is necessary to preserve the integrity of the dataset.

The composite panels will be ERDC furnished and were produced to align with the original partnership effort. As a result, the cold spray deposition must be performed using the same established parameters to ensure compatibility with the provided materials and enable direct comparison with historical data. Any deviation in processing conditions would introduce variability that compromises the ability to validate trends and reduces the overall scientific value of the results.

Variations in cold spray equipment, parameter selection, and process execution would likely result in differences in coating adhesion, thickness, and microstructure. These differences would prevent meaningful comparison to prior work and undermine the purpose of generating a controlled dataset.

The selected source maintains familiarity with the previously developed deposition parameters and the material systems used in the original research. This familiarity is necessary to reproduce the required processing conditions and ensure repeatability. As such VRC Metal Systems LLC is the only company capable of completing this requirement.

Since alternative methods will not be deemed acceptable, it is determined that VRC Metal Systems LLC (CAGE Code: 71U36) is the only vendor that can provide the service of Cold Spray of Composite Panels that can meet the government’s exact specifications.

Therefore, the Government intends to award a Firm-Fixed price contract to VRC Metal Systems LLC in accordance with FAR 13.106-1(b)(1)(i). VRC Metal Systems LLC (CAGE Code: 71U36) is a small business concern under the applicable NAICS code 333248 -All Other Industrial Machinery Manufacturing with a size standard of 750 employees.

This notice of intent is for information purposes only. This notice is not a request for competitive quotes or proposals. A solicitation will not be issued. However, all responsible sources may submit a capability statement, proposal, or quotation, which shall be considered by the agency. The information submitted must be provided in sufficient detail to demonstrate the vendor’s ability to fulfill this requirement. The contractor must also provide a description of their past experience in fulfilling requirements which are the same or similar to this requirement and references for each. Information received will be considered solely for the purpose of determining whether to conduct a competitive procurement. A determination by the Government not to compete this requirement on a full and open competition basis, based upon responses to this notice, is solely within the discretion of the government. Oral communications are not acceptable in response to this notice. Responses to this requirement may be submitted to Tam Coronel at Tam.M.Coronel@usace.army.mil no later than 4:00PM CST Monday, 04 May 2026.