Preventative Maintenance and Repair Services for Machine Shop Equipment at the United States Air Force Academy (USAFA)

Notice of Intent to Sole Source

This document announces the Department of the Air Force Academy (USAFA)'s intent to award a sole-source, firm-fixed-price contract to Phillips Corporation, Federal Division for comprehensive preventative maintenance, inspection, and repair services for eleven (11) mission-critical machine tools located at the USAFA Department of Mechanical Engineering (DFME). The anticipated period of performance includes a Base Year plus four (4) one-year Option Periods.

The sole-source award is based on market research indicating Phillips Corporation as the only viable source. This is due to:

• Exclusive OEM Authorization: Phillips Corporation is the sole authorized distributor and service provider for critical HAAS CNC machinery.

• Mixed Fleet Capability: Phillips Corporation has demonstrated the capability to service the entire mixed fleet, including non-HAAS machinery (Kent, Clausing, Bridgeport, Flow, FANUC, and Titan), and has committed to engaging with applicable OEMs or authorized providers for proprietary support.

• Contract Type: Firm-fixed-price

• Period of Performance: Base Year + four (4) one-year Option Periods

• Anticipated Award Date: 01 June 2026

• This is not a request for competitive proposals.

• Vendors who believe they can provide services for the entire mixed fleet may submit a capability statement.

• Capability statements are due via email by 12 May 2026 at 10:00 AM MDT to ronald.wilson.26@us.af.mil and dawson.hopkinson@us.af.mil.

• Submissions will be evaluated solely to determine if the requirement should be opened to competition.

• Ronald Wilson (ronald.wilson.26@us.af.mil)

• Dawson Hopkinson (dawson.hopkinson@us.af.mil)

Contact information for the USAFA Ombudsman and the Department of the Air Force Ombudsman is provided for concerns, issues, disagreements, and recommendations that cannot be resolved with the contracting officer. Inquiries about the solicitation, due dates, or technical requirements should be directed to the contracting officer, not the ombudsman.

Sources Sought Notice

This notice is for market research purposes only and is not a solicitation. The U.S. Air Force Academy (USAFA) is seeking information on the availability and capability of qualified sources, particularly small businesses, to provide annual preventative maintenance, inspection, and repair services for a mixed fleet of government-owned machine tools. The anticipated performance start date for the base year is July 1, 2025, with potential for four (4) one-year option periods.

The USAFA Department of Mechanical Engineering requires these services to support approximately $700,000 in instructional and research machining equipment, which is critical for student education and faculty research. Internal maintenance staff shortages have led to equipment outages and delayed repairs, making this contract mission-critical.

Services include annual preventative maintenance, diagnostics, calibration, and inspection. The contractor must also provide a mechanism for ordering on-call reactive repair services. The core requirement includes servicing eight specific machines (Kent Surface Grinder, Clausing Colchester Lathes, Bridgeport Mills, Flow Waterjet, Haas CNC Lathes/Mills). Three additional machines (FANUC Wire EDM, Titan EDM Drill, Haas CNC Mill) are listed as desired additional equipment.

• Perform annual preventative maintenance per OEM recommendations.
• Conduct comprehensive inspections of electrical, mechanical, pneumatic, hydraulic, and coolant systems.
• Perform machine leveling, alignment, backlash checks, and geometric verification.
• Conduct advanced diagnostics and calibration (e.g., Vibration Analysis, Spindle Condition/Drawbar Checks, Ball Bar Analysis).
• Provide detailed service reports and a mechanism for quoting/performing reactive repairs.

Interested parties must submit a capability statement (max 5 pages) addressing:

• Company Information (Name, Address, UEI, CAGE Code, POC).
• Socioeconomic Status.
• Detailed capability description and at least two examples of recent, similar contracts.
• Technical expertise and experience servicing specific brands (Haas, Bridgeport, Clausing, Kent, Flow, FANUC).
• List of existing government contract vehicles.

Capability statements are due by 5 May 2026 at 10:00 AM MDT via email to Dawson Hopkinson (dawson.hopkinson@us.af.mil) and Ron Wilson (ronald.wilson.26@us.af.mil). The email subject line should be: "Sources Sought Response: USAFA Machine Tool Maintenance - [Your Company Name]".

This notice is for market research only and does not constitute a Request for Proposal (RFP) or a promise to issue one. The Government will not pay for any information or administrative costs incurred in response to this notice.