Plot Fertilizer Applicator and Plot Sprayer

Trade Agreement: Canadian Free Trade Agreement (CFTA)
Tendering Procedures: Generally only one firm has been invited to bid
Non-Competitive Procurement Strategy: Exclusive Rights
Comprehensive Land Claim Agreement: No
Vendor Name and Address: 
R-Tech Industries Ltd.
Box 27
Homewood Manitoba
Canada
R0G0Y0
Nature of Requirements: 

Plot Fertilizer Applicator and Plot Sprayer

01633-200620/A
Maki, Christie
Telephone No. - (204) 891-6126 
Fax No. - (204) 983-7796 
christie.maki@pwgsc-tpsgc.gc.ca

Definition of Requirements

The Department of Agriculture & Agri-Food Canada (AAFC), Brandon Manitoba has as a requirement for the supply and delivery of one (1) custom made tractor-mounted plot fertilizer applicator and one (1) custom made tractor-mounted plot sprayer.

Criteria for assessment of the Statement of Capabilities (Minimum Essential Requirements)

The supplier/ custom made tractor-mounted plot fertilizer applicator must meet the following criteria:

1. The Contractor must have 10 or more years of experience in the design and fabrication of custom agricultural research plot equipment.  This experience must include having designed and fabricated tractor-mounted plot fertilizer applicators for research purposes.

2. The Contractor shall design and fabricate a specialized, tractor-mounted granular fertilizer applicator as per the specifications outlined below and as per consultation with AAFC.  Fabrication of the unit must be completed by March 24, 2020, and arrangements must be made with AAFC to allow pickup of the unit by AAFC prior to March 31, 2020 if the fabricator is within a 250 km drive of Brandon.  If the fabricator is outside of 250 km drive of Brandon, MB, the unit must be delivered to AAFC-Brandon on or before March 31, 2020.

3. Hitch
i) Category II three point hitch mount with quick-hitch compatibility is required.

4. Frame
i) Unit to be equipped with four parking legs to support the frame for storage or transport.
ii) Minimum 30" of ground clearance beneath the tool bar while in operation is required. 
Clearance can be increased by raising the tractor three point hitch.
iii) Frame must be designed and built to have the capacity to accommodate the addition of a liquid fertilizer system and the addition of a platform with seat and cone delivery system if required in future.

5. Fertilizer boxes

i) 2 bulk fertilizer boxes with capacity of approximately 150 lbs/box. Fertilizer boxes must be corrosion resistant and accessible from ground level.
ii) Each box to be equipped with 9 Amazone metering outlets on ten inch spacing, for a 7.5' spread width. The unit is to be designed such that each of the outlets may be shut off independently of the others. Each outlet must have a two section metering wheel, a narrow wheel section that will always turn while a wider wheel section may be engaged or disengaged. This will enable greater metering rate control over a wide range of application rates.
iii) Deflector tents are required inside the boxes to help product flow to each of the outlet ports reducing the amount of product that will need to be removed from the box when cleaning out or changing product. An adjustable flap shaft that can also be rotated to a clean-out position so that most of the product should flow out of the boxes is required.
iv) A high quality cordless vacuum (with battery and charger) is required to assist in clean-out.
v) Each metering outlet is required to gravity drop fertilizer onto a deflector plate which will help to evenly distribute product across the width of the machine.

6. GPS metering drive

i) The unit must be compatible with the GreenStar System being used by AAFC, which includes the 2360 control head and rate controller (model 2000) and associated wiring harness provided by AAFC, which will allow for programmable and speed compensating rate control for the plots.
ii) Unit is to be equipped with PWM (pulse width modulation) hydraulic drive motors to drive the metering shafts for each box and encoders will provide feedback for the speed of revolution.  The applicator will not require ground drive wheels, transmissions or clutches.

7. Warranty

i) 1-year warranty against defective parts or workmanship is required.

The supplier/ custom made tractor-mounted plot sprayer must meet the following criteria:

1. The Contractor must have 10 or more years of experience in the design and fabrication of custom agricultural research plot equipment.  This experience must include having designed and fabricated tractor-mounted, multi-tank plot sprayers with adjustable height and width booms for research purposes.

2. The Contractor shall design and fabricate a specialized, tractor-mounted plot sprayer as per the specifications outlined below and as per consultation with AAFC.  Fabrication of the unit must be completed by March 24, 2020, and arrangements must be made with AAFC to allow pickup of the unit by AAFC prior to March 31, 2020 if the fabricator is within a 250 km drive of Brandon.  If the fabricator is outside of 250 km drive of Brandon, MB, the unit must be delivered to AAFC-Brandon on or before March 31, 2020. 

3. Category II three point hitch, quick-hitch compatible, is required.

4. Tractor-mounted plot sprayer with a total spray pattern of 17.5 m is required, consisting of 35 tri-port nozzle bodies on 20 inch spacing.  

5. Boom to consist of a commercially-available boom with a 12.5 m spray pattern, plus left and right boom extensions, to result in a total spray pattern of 17.5 m.  Left and right hand boom extensions must each have five nozzle bodies. The extensions must pin in place on the main boom, have cam lock fittings, caps and plugs and will store on the main frame when not in use.

6. Nozzle bodies must be of the “dry boom” type with diaphragm check valves.  One set of caps, gaskets, screens and tips (AIAR11002) must be provided with the unit

7. Boom must fold diagonally across the back of the sprayer to give a transport width of less than 8.5 feet. When folded for transport, each wing must be positively pinned into a clevis to support the wing and hold it in place. Each wing must have cushion suspension and break-away protection.

8. Boom height must be adjustable from approximately 1.5 to 7 feet (including three point hitch travel). Boom to be raised and lowered manually via a hydraulic cylinder (2” bore X 48”stroke).

9. Teejet 744E-3 controller is required which can be mounted in the cab of the tractor, with independent switches for the three boom sections as well as a master boom switch. Controller must have a pressure regulating switch, regulating ball valve and pressure gauge for fine tuning boom pressure from the tractor. The controller must be equipped with three Teejet 98600-B-433EC motorized ball valves for boom control.

10. 2 - 30 US gallon cone bottom tanks are required, each with a drain line valve, a return line, a rinse nozzle line and valves to determine flow to the pump and selecting bypass flow (agitation or rinse). Each must have a tank rinse nozzle and a valve to select the return bypass to either the rinse nozzle or the return line.

11. 1- fresh water Chem-wash tank is required

12. Hypro 9303C-HM4C centrifugal pump or equivalent with integral hydraulic motor drive suitable for either open or closed centre hydraulic systems is required. Pump must be installed on the frame of the sprayer and driven by the tractor hydraulic system (minimum 7 gallons per minute). Hydraulic hoses with standard Pioneer style tips must be used to connect to the tractor’s hydraulic system.

13. Two pump ports with cam-lock style connectors are required that will allow the pump to be removed for winter storage. Connectors to be such that the pump can only be installed one way. The filter must be mounted on the discharge side of the pump and be serviceable while the tanks are full.

14. Each wing must have a removable cable and airbag truss with adjustable support rate (air pressure in air bag) to provide additional support for the extra weight of the boom extensions.

15. 1-year warranty against defective parts or workmanship is required.

Security Requirements:

There are no security requirements 

Applicability of the trade agreement(s) to the procurement:
The procurement is subject to the provisions of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), and the Canadian Free Trade Agreement (CFTA).

Justification for the Pre-Identified Supplier

The design and fabrication of custom plot equipment is highly specialized.  R-Tech is the only known supplier to specialize in custom agricultural research equipment with experience in the design and fabrication of custom plot sprayers and plot fertilizer applicators that is able to fully meet the required specifications.

Government Contracts Regulations Exception(s)
The following exception to the Government Contracts Regulations is invoked for this procurement under subsection 6(d) "only one person is capable of performing the work".

Quantity of the proposed contact
The proposed contract is for approximately 4 months.

Name and address of the pre-identified supplier
R-Tech Industries Ltd
Box 27 
Homewood MB
204-745-3767

Delivery Date: For delivery on or before March 31, 2020.
You are hereby notified that the government intends to negotiate with one firm only as identified above. Should you have any questions concerning this requirement, contact the contracting officer identified above.

An Advance Contract Award Notice (ACAN) allows departments and agencies to post a notice, for no less than fifteen (15) calendar days, indicating to the supplier community that it intends to award a good, service or construction contract to a pre-identified contractor. If no other supplier submits, on or before the closing date, a Statement of Capabilities that meets the requirements set out in the ACAN, the contracting authority may then proceed with the award.  However, should a Statement of Capabilities be found to meet the requirements set out in the ACAN, then the contracting authority will proceed to a full tendering process.

Suppliers who consider themselves fully qualified and available to provide the services/goods described herein, may submit a statement of capabilities in writing to the contact person identified in this Notice on or before the closing date of this Notice. The statement of capabilities must clearly demonstrate how the supplier meets the advertised requirements.

The PWGSC file number, the contracting officer's name and the closing date of the ACAN must appear on the outside of the envelope in block letters or, in the case of a facsimile transmission, on the covering page.

The Crown retains the right to negotiate with suppliers on any procurement.

Documents may be submitted in either official language of Canada.


Delivery Date: Above-mentioned

You are hereby notified that the government intends to negotiate with one firm only as identified above. Should you have any questions concerning this requirement, contact the contracting officer identified above.

An Advance Contract Award Notice (ACAN) allows departments and agencies to post a notice, for no less than fifteen (15) calendar days, indicating to the supplier community that it intends to award a good, service or construction contract to a pre-identified contractor. If no other supplier submits, on or before the closing date, a Statement of Capabilities that meets the requirements set out in the ACAN, the contracting authority may then proceed with the award.  However, should a Statement of Capabilities be found to meet the requirements set out in the ACAN, then the contracting authority will proceed to a full tendering process.

Suppliers who consider themselves fully qualified and available to provide the services/goods described herein, may submit a statement of capabilities in writing to the contact person identified in this Notice on or before the closing date of this Notice. The statement of capabilities must clearly demonstrate how the supplier meets the advertised requirements.

The PWGSC file number, the contracting officer's name and the closing date of the ACAN must appear on the outside of the envelope in block letters or, in the case of a facsimile transmission, on the covering page.

The Crown retains the right to negotiate with suppliers on any procurement.

Documents may be submitted in either official language of Canada.