On behalf of the Committee for Purchase from People Who are Blind or Severely Disabled, the independent federal agency that administers the AbilityOne Program, National Industries for the Blind (NIB), a designated central nonprofit agency, is pursuing potential partnerships with U.S. commercial manufacturers of economy retractable, smooth writing, water-based gel ink pens with ergonomic cushioned comfort grips and see through barrels. These pens must feature acid free gel and archival quality ink.

If successful, the result will be a co-brand agreement between the manufacturer and the AbilityOne Program, and its registered brands. The ultimate expectation is that the co-branded product will be placed on the AbilityOne Procurement List (PL).

At a minimum, the following criteria must be met:
1. Possession of a highly recognized brand name in the market place.
2. Multiple point sizes to include but limited to: 0.5mm, 0.7mm, 1.0mm
3. Archival safe gel ink
4. Acid free gel ink
5. Latex free rubber grip
6. Product Specific Criteria

Product technical specification (5 9/16" overall length)
• barrel color clear
• barrel length 4 1/4"
• nose cone length 3/4"
• cap color to match ink color
• grip color to match ink color
• nose cone color clear
• avg. ink write out 0.5mm 2300ft
• avg. ink write out 0.7mm 1800ft
• avg. ink write out 1.0mm 1475ft

7. The chosen manufacturer must be willing to set a high priority for delivering bulk materials to the non-profit agency in order to assure the agency of on-time deliveries to the federal government customer(s).
8. All products must be manufactured and lab tested, certified and customer tested to be effective according to their purpose, have current Material Safety Data sheets if necessary, and meet certifications with corresponding documentation designated by customers.
9. A willingness to enter into a multi-year agreement which includes on-going technical and production assistance and the necessary factory trained technical field support while enabling the non-profit agency to meet the criteria of the AbilityOne Program to convert material, fill containers, label, assemble and package the products thereby creating employment for people who are blind or severely disabled.
10. Commitment to working independently with the AbilityOne to market products to the Government customers under the AbilityOne Program. It is preferred that the chosen manufacturer has a dedicated team for Federal Government sales and marketing.
11. Willingness to work with the non-profit agency, NIB, and the Committee to ensure that the price to the end-users is a fair and reasonable price.
12. Manufacturers' submissions must demonstrate that proposed products meet the various criteria, as well as indicate what functions the nonprofit agency's employees would perform.

The deadline for response is November 24, 2014.

Responses should be directed to the contact listed in this Notice.

Questions should be directed to Judy Szabo at 703-310-0352.

Bid Protests Not Available