W -- This Request For Information (RFI) is to Determine If a Sufficient Number of Capable and Qualified Small Businesses (SB) are Available and Interested in Providing the Services for NAICS Code 332213

17. As part of Market Research, this Request for Information (RFI) will be used to determine the number of interested parties capable of providing sharp blades, grinder plates and knives to approximately 160 Defense Commissary locations. The geographical groupings listed below, does not preclude interested parties from expressing interest in smaller geographical groupings. For example, a contractor may only be interested in the greater Washington DC metropolitan area. For information purposes only, the commissaries have been broken down into six geographical areas. Area 1 includes commissaries located in ME, NH, VT, NY, MA, CT, RI, PA, NJ, DE, MD, VA, DC, WV, OH, KY, MI, and IN. Area 2 includes commissaries located in NC, SC, TN, GA, FL, Puerto Rico, AL, and MS. Area 3 includes commissaries located in AR, LA, TX, OK and NM. Area 4 includes commissaries located CO, WY, KS, SD, ND, MO, IL, IA, WI, MN. Area 5 includes commissaries located in CA, NV, UT, AZ, and HI and Area 6 includes commissaries located in MT, ID, OR, WA, and AK. The Defense Commissary Agency is interested in determining if a sufficient number of capable and qualified small businesses (SB) are available and interested in providing the services. The Defense Commissary Agency reserves the right to set-aside a portion of, or this entire acquisition for SB. In order for the Defense Commissary Agency to determine if some type of SB set-aside is appropriate, it is requested that SB concerns provide sufficient written information supporting their capability to perform, and comments indicating whether or not they would be likely to submit a proposal if a formal solicitation is forthcoming. Note: Small business concerns should also refer to Federal Acquisition Regular (FAR) Part 9.6--Contractor Team Arrangements, and FAR 19.1--Size Standards. The North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) is 332213 and the business size is 500 employees. Once market research is complete, the RFP will be posted on the Federal Business Opportunities (FedBizOpps) website http://www.eps.gov. It will be the responsibility of prospective offerors to check this site regularly for any postings or changes. Prospective offerors must be registered in the DoD Central Contracting Registration (CCR). Registration may be accomplished at http://www.ccr.gov. All responsible small businesses are encouraged to respond at [email protected]. This RFI will be issued on or about August 16, 2005 and will close on August 23, 2005. All responses are due by the date of closing.