24-58002/A - High precision laboratory tables

1. Advance Contract Award Notice (ACAN):

An ACAN is a public notice indicating to the supplier community that a department or agency intends to award a contract for goods, services or construction to a pre-identified supplier, thereby allowing other suppliers to signal their interest in bidding, by submitting a statement of capabilities. If no supplier submits a statement of capabilities that meets the requirements set out in the ACAN, on or before the closing date stated in the ACAN, the contracting officer may then proceed with the award to the pre-identified supplier.

2. Definition of the requirement:

The National Research Council of Canada, Security and Disruptive Technologies Research Centre (NRC SDT), in Ottawa, ON; is seeking a set of High Performance Optical Tables to be used in our Photonics Facilities.

NRC has prepared this document as a specifications guide to assist suppliers in preparing and submitting technical proposals for the supply of the new system..

The contractor must provide all tables, operator manuals, and peripherals, necessary for the table to work in accordance with the Mandatory Technical Requirements specified herein. This must include, but is not limited to all of the following:

• The supply of (18) high performance optical tables as described in Table 1
• Supply, installation and training will take no longer than 130 days from the signing of the contract
• 12-month warranty


3. Criteria for assessment of the Statement of Capabilities (Minimum Mandatory Requirements):

Any interested supplier must demonstrate by way of a statement of capabilities that its product/equipment/system (as appropriate) meets the following requirements as described in the Statement of Capabilities (mandatory requirements).


4. Applicability of the trade agreement(s) to the procurement

Canadian Free Trade Agreement (CFTA)
World Trade Organization – Agreement on Government Procurement (WTO-AGP)

5. Justification for the Pre-Identified Supplier:

The pre-identified supplier is the sole provider that meets all or the minimum essential requirements as described in Section 3 and owns the associated intellectual property (IP) for the system.

The proprietary designs and manufacturing techniques related to vibration isolation, tuned damping and table rigidity, including unique mounting system to allow optical table to be combined together to make a longer area of work of custom shape combinations. This mounting system require an elevated degree of precision as those table are used for high precision optical laser and have to be perfectly align. Using different mounting system would create imperfections in the assembly that would render the table assembly not usable for Research. Another reason is to ensure the vibration system between the table operation in unison to avoid interference during experiments.

6. Exclusions and/or Limited Tendering Reasons:

Only one vendor is able to meet the unique technical requirements listed herein.
The following exception to the Government Contracts Regulations is invoked for this procurement under subsection 6 (d) as only one supplier is capable of performing work.

7. Ownership of Intellectual Property:

MKS Spectra-Physics is the manufacturer (OEM) of the proposed system and owns the associated intellectual property (IP) for the system. MKS Spectra-Physics does not authorize value-added resellers or distributors for their equipment.

The Crown will have the right of use for normal business operations of the system once purchased. The design and system’s intellectual property are solely owned by the contractor.

All IP generated on this instrument during its use by the NRC SDT Research Centre would belong entirely to NRC and its Research partners.

8. Period of the proposed contract or delivery date:

The National Research Council expect the system to be delivered within 130 days after award of the contract.

9. Name and address of the pre-identified supplier:

MKS Spectra-Physics
1791 Deere Avenue
Irvine, CA 92606 USA

10. Suppliers' right to submit a statement of capabilities:

Suppliers who consider themselves fully qualified and available to provide the goods, services or construction services described in the ACAN may submit a statement of capabilities in writing, within 15 days, 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 each of the advertised requirements in Section 3.

11. Closing date for a submission of a statement of capabilities:

The closing date and time for accepting statements of capabilities is April 29th, 2024 at 2:00PM EST.

12. Inquiries and statements of capabilities are to be directed to:

Paul Hewitt
National Research Council Canada
Senior Contracting Officer
Email: Paul.Hewitt@nrc-cnrc.gc.ca