Protest Concerning Offer Rejection and Award of Contract to Original Equipment Manufacturer

Metal Art, Inc. protested the rejection of its offer to furnish 700 valve seats that were identified by part numbers originally provided by the Kunkle Valve Company, Inc. Metal Art furnished to the Defense Logistics Agency (DLA) a drawing of the item it proposed to furnish, and DLA forwarded the drawing to the Navy Ships Parts Control Center (NSPCC), which approved the item as a suitable alternative for the Kunkle part. This approval was rescinded, however, when NSPCC learned of the Navy's policy promulgated by the Naval Ship Engineering Center (NAVSEC) of restricting procurement of spare parts for the relief valve to the original manufacturer, Kunkle. The contracting officer negotiated the procurement under the "public exigency" exception to formal advertising, and GAO was of the opinion that in this case the noncompetitive award was justified because DLA was out of stock and the item was a critical one. GAO questioned the fact that NAVSEC denied the requests of the Defense Construction Supply Center of DLA to allow competitive procurements of relief valves because prohibitive costs do not allow testing of alternative sources. GAO believed that the Navy should develop a testing program in view of the statutory requirement for competition.