Tender

Introduction

Thank you for your interest in Swiss Fire Protection Research & Development AG (SFPRD) and the Pi Foam System. A new day is dawning in the world of fire safety. A day when the world will finally be free of fast-escalating, catastrophic fires that burn away billions of dollars of material every year.

That is the promise of SFPRD’s Pi (π) Foam System.

These are bold claims that may sound like empty rhetoric. But they are backed up by plain facts and hard proof. You can learn more about this game-changing technology in detail at pifoam.ch

Technology

  • The Pressurized Instant (Pi) Foam System offers an unprecedented, compromise-free solution to disasters at storage tanks, refineries, processing plants and many other facilities. It sets a new safety standard for the oil, chemical, pharmaceutical and vegetable-oil industries. We offer a variety of foam compounds, each of which is tailored to the specific fire hazards that threaten each individual industry.
  • The Pi Foam System is the fastest and most advanced extinguishing system in the world: We have reduced the duration of storage-tank fires from hours and days to a maximum of π (3.14) minutes, meaning there is no tank damage and air pollution is minimal. Our automatic system extinguishes fires and eliminates danger instantly without putting firefighters’ lives at risk.
  • The Pi Foam System is environment-friendly and non-toxic: It introduces biodegradable foam directly into the tank, avoiding updraft loss and instantly cooling the tank walls. There is no foam spillage and no soil contamination, which usually poses a much graver threat to the environment than air pollution during firefighting operations. Our foam is much more environment-friendly than the traditional foams currently used by other systems. We can also equip the system with standard commercial foams if the client so desires. Over the past decade, companies around the world have installed previous versions of the Pi Foam SystemTM including Chevron, Oiltanking, MOL, OMV, and Wintershall.
  • The Pi Foam System is cost effective! A Pi Foam System installed at a medium-sized tank park may pay for itself in as little as seven years, comparing the system’s CAPEX and OPEX to the alternative cost of risk. Traditional fixed systems would require 15+ years to break even; mobile and semi-stable systems never return the investment due to their high labor costs. What’s more, these systems do not extinguish flames nearly as quickly as the Pi Foam System does, meaning any fire event will inflict millions of dollars in collateral damage even when they operate at peak levels.

Want to learn more? Click here for the full video presentation and all the important details.

Invitation to Tender

SFPRD is pleased to invite you to tender for the right to serve as our agent in the sale of the Pi Foam System, a foam-based fire-extinguishing technology unlike any other. We aim to sell all know-how and patents on either a worldwide or regional basis. Our company is looking for an advisory firm with decades of experience in the oil and gas industry, or perhaps a highly skilled industrial expert, to advise and assist us in this sale.

The Invitation to Tender will open on August 1, 2018.

Once the tender is open, SFPRD will hold a pre-qualification round, which will narrow down the number of applicants and determine who will be invited to participate in the later stages of the tender.

Pre-qualification stage

In the pre-qualification stage, all applicants must send a brief introduction document to SFPRD via e-mail: tender@sfprd.com

The principal skills anticipated by SFPRD include:

  • Ability to maximize opportunities and to efficiently negotiate and execute a high-value contract.
  • Compelling evidence or track record of similar projects.
  • Necessary contacts with market players and participants.

This introductory document must contain all the information SFPRD requires to assess the applicant’s suitability with respect to relationship management, pricing, and service levels.

According to analysts, the estimated value of the Pi Foam System technology is in the hundreds of millions of US dollars and we intend to share a significant part of our profit with our agent as a success fee. In the pre-qualification stage, all applicants must submit a proposal for the success-fee rate and/or fixed-fee offers.

tender@sfprd.com If it is necessary for SFPRD to amend the pre-qualification documents prior to the evaluation of proposals, or to extend the pre-qualification period, all applicants will be notified by email.

SFPRD reserves the right not to contract with any applicant. Submissions that do not, in the opinion of SFPRD, meet SFPRD’s requirements will not be taken forward to any subsequent stages of the tender evaluation.

SFPRD’s Profile

To help you develop your response to our Invitation, we would like to tell you about our goals, our values and ourselves. You can use this information to inform every aspect of your bid and tell us exactly why we should choose you to help us realize our vision.

SFPRD is headquartered in Sarnen, Switzerland. It was founded by determined industrial fire-safety experts with a singular focus on establishing higher safety standards in the energy industry, especially when it comes to highly exposed large-diameter atmospheric storage tanks.

SFPRD has a dedicated team of fire-protection, chemical, and health-and-safety experts, as well as mechanical engineers and safety-protocol experts. We work relentlessly to address seemingly unsolvable fire-safety challenges. Our research focuses on the unique challenges of full-surface fires on flammable-liquid storage tanks larger than 40m in diameter. For more information please visit sfprd.com

SFPRD a business driven by a quest for quality, constantly looking to innovate and improve on each and every activity we undertake, whether small or large, simple or complex. To support this vision, we have built our business around three key interrelated values that serve as the bedrock for our unique dynamic and flexible approach.

  • Ambition – to set new standards.
  • Imagination – to transform the lives of people around the globe by harnessing and integrating the skills of our employees.
  • Empowerment – to make all employees feel empowered, enthusiastic and passionate about the work they do; this is how they can make the greatest impact.

Interview stage

After the assessment of the pre-qualification stage, selected Tenderers will be invited to the Interview stage. At the interview, all applicants must provide SFPRD officials with an economically sound, innovative and commercially attractive proposal in writing. Applicants must be ready to demonstrate their knowledge of the industry, explain how their proposals represent overall value for money, and describe how they will assist SFPRD in selling its know-how and patents. SFPRD reserves the right to invite more Tenderers, by rank order, to participate in the Interview stage if required.

General Information for Bidders

All information supplied to SFPRD will be checked for completeness and compliance before Tenders are evaluated. Failure to comply with any of the requirements, or any other specified requirements, might render a tender liable to disqualification. SFPRD reserves the right to suspend, cancel or withdraw the tender process at any time and will not be responsible for any costs incurred by potential applicants.

NOTE: If any criteria within the specification document are classified as non-compliant, SFPRD will not be able to take the tender to the next stage. If, however, an applicant states that he is non-compliant and is able to provide an alternative solution, then this may be considered, but there is no guarantee that it will be accepted. Submitted Tenders will be assessed by company officials and all applicants will be notified by e-mail once the evaluation process has been completed. Clarifications may be sought in writing and/or during the interview/presentation from all the applicants. Full or partial proposals that are unrealistic or unreasonable, in SFPRD’s opinion, may be rejected.

SFPRD reserves the right to conduct closed negotiations with preferred business partner(s) (“Bidders”) selected at SFPRD’s discretion (see the evaluation criteria below).

By submitting its final proposal, the Bidder agrees to be legally bound by the proposal’s contents (and any agreed modifications thereto) for a period of six (6) months after submission. In the event that the preferred Bidder modifies its legally binding bid or recedes from the agreement, SFPRD reserves the right to withdraw from negotiations and start negotiations with other Bidders.

All statistical or other data and information provided in this document are for reference purposes only. The Bidder must acknowledge that SFPRD does not warrant the accuracy or validity of the data or information presented herein. The Bidder should make its own independent evaluation of the business potential of the opportunity and shall not have any claim against SFPRD resulting from information provided in, or omitted from, any SFPRD document or website, or the submission of any proposal by the Bidder.

SFPRD reserves the right to change the content of this document at any time without further explanation.

SFPRD reserves the right to withdraw from the negotiations up until the signature of the agreement, without giving reasons therefore, without incurring any liability toward the Bidders. In the event of withdrawal from the negotiations or changing any term in this document, prospective Bidders may not claim damages on any legal basis whatsoever. For the avoidance of doubt, SFPRD states that any costs incurred by the Bidders with respect to the negotiations and contracting (in particular, preparation of bid documents, legal costs, etc.) shall be the sole responsibility and risk of the prospective Bidders.

The selection of a winning Bidder and, subsequently, commencement of negotiations, as well as any related notification, announcement or other action, shall not create any obligation on SFPRD to enter into an agreement with any Bidder.

The Bidder hereby notes and acknowledges that this invitation to the bidding procedure or the signature of any documents as part of the bidding procedure does not create an obligation for SFPRD to conclude a contract with the preferred (successful) bidder and does/will not constitute a binding and enforceable contract. SFPRD reserves the right to declare the procedure unsuccessful without giving reasons therefore. Any agreement arising out of any proposal submitted (including any subsequent negotiations) shall not be binding on SFPRD, its officers, employees or agents, unless and until the agreement is formally accepted by SFPRD and duly executed.

The prevailing language of the invitation and negotiation process is English. The laws of Switzerland shall apply to the negotiation process and to the agreement.

During the bidding process, Bidders may only be represented by individuals who can credibly certify their mandates therefore, and are in a position to amend the bid.

The Bidders are obliged to maintain strictest confidentiality and treat as business secrets any SFPRD business information of which they may gain knowledge during the bidding procedure. SFPRD shall have the right to ask Bidders, in any phase of the negotiation process, to return or destroy any information or document handed over to the Bidder (including their copies in any form whatsoever) and to provide evidence of compliance with such request in a manner satisfactory to SFPRD. The bid documentation should include the Confidentiality Statement (see Annex 1) properly signed by the Bidder.

SFPRD reserves the right to:

  • Modify or waive any particular requirement during the evaluation process that SFPRD considers vital and necessary or appropriate to the relevant business matters
  • At its sole discretion, accept or reject any submission (in part or in whole) for any reason regardless of the submission’s compliance or non-compliance with all or any of the Assessment Criteria listed below.
  • Select a Bidder with whom to engage in discussions with a view to concluding the most advantageous agreement.
  • Request additional information to clarify or supplement information inadvertently omitted.
  • Enter into post-tender negotiations at SFPRD’s discretion.
  • Amend or otherwise modify this tender invitation prior to the submission date and cancel this tender invitation with or without substitution of another tender invitation.
  • Not proceed with the award of an agreement at any point.

Assessment criteria

Proposals will be assessed by reference to the following criteria (not necessarily in order of importance or priority):

  • Success-fee and/or fixed-fee offers (only success fee or profit-sharing is the preferred option for SFPRD)
  • Suitability, strength and skills of the proposed team
  • References
  • Contract terms and the result of the contract negotiations
  • Proposed project strategy.

Bidders should provide any additional information and material they consider relevant in supporting their submission, or any other information they wish to have considered. In view of the assessment criteria listed above, SFPRD will not necessarily award the agreement to the Bidder with the lowest success-fee/profit-sharing proposal. Whether or not a Bidder makes the lowest-priced bid is one of a range of considerations.

Contract Term

The draft contract will be provided to the selected Bidders at the Interview phase of the tender. The contract will be for a period of one year, with the option to extend for a further one year based on acceptable performance.

The Bidder shall review the draft contract and submit their comments using the Word file provided. Any comments to the draft agreement must be stated by proposing exact contractual wording and must be inserted into the text using the “track changes” function.

Terms for Submission of pre-qualification tender document

Closing Date & Submission

The closing date and time for the receipt of submissions and all requested documentation relating to this stage is December 31, 2018. Late submissions will not be accepted.

Questions

If you have any specific questions concerning this document or the process for submitting your proposal, please send an email to:tender@sfprd.com It would be most helpful if queries could be submitted in a single email, rather than piecemeal, prior to the deadline stated in this document. All responses received by tenderers as well as any communication from tenderers shall be treated in strict confidence.

Material Misrepresentation

SFPRD shall reply based on the information provided by the applicant in relation to its offer. In providing the services specified in this document, the successful applicant/tenderer shall comply with the contents of its offer. Failure in this respect may constitute a material breach of contract.

Annex 1

The Confidentiality Statement

We, the undersigned representatives of ……….. (Bidder’s company name and registered seat), hereby undertake to refrain from using, either directly or indirectly, the data, information, know-how and documents that have become known to us as a result of or in the course of the tender launched by Swiss Fire Protection Research & Development AG (Tender) for any purpose whatsoever other than to prepare our proposal, not to make them public, not to impart them to unauthorized persons and to not use them in an unauthorized manner. We hereby acknowledge and understand that all data, information, specifications, drawings, designs, forecasts, know-how, patents and other material which may be provided or disclosed by Swiss Fire Protection Research & Development AG to Bidders, and which is not in the public domain at that time must be mutually retained in confidence by the Bidder and not disclosed to any third parties, except with the express prior written authorization of Swiss Fire Protection Research & Development AG. Furthermore, we hereby acknowledge that all provided information is confidential in nature. News releases pertaining to this Tender may not be issued without the prior written consent of Swiss Fire Protection Research & Development AG.

We hereby acknowledge and accept that this Tender shall be governed by Swiss law and the Swiss courts have jurisdiction regarding all disputes in connection with the Tender.

We hereby acknowledge and accept the provisions set out in the Tender documentation.