What's Canada Buying? August 17, 2012

• F-35 Tug o’ War  Potential vendor:  Hey, this “assessing the assumptions” contract’s complicated – can we have a couple of more weeks to prepare bids?  Government:  No, but we’ll give you an extra four working days – details of the latest Q&A in the latest bid document amendment here.
  
• “The federal government is set to launch a $60 million defence procurement to build shelters in Port Coquitlam for Canadian troops abroad.  At 10 a.m, James Moore, the federal government’s minister for British Columbia, will tour Wesgar-Weatherhaven, a company which makes portable units that will eventually become “pop up cities” for Canadian forces ….” - more on the new rigs here.   
• Big Honkin’ Ships  Steve Staples & Co.’s take  “The parliamentary budget officer, Kevin Page, has announced he will look into the federal government’s $35-billion National Shipbuilding Procurement Strategy. This is a sure sign that the tremendously expensive shipbuilding program will be receiving a lot more attention in the near future.  With such a high cost, Canadians may be wondering who will be watching over the program. Can we trust the Conservative government and the Department of National Defence to make sure that tax dollars are not going to be wasted? Are sailors going to get the ships they require? Is Canada going to get the jobs we need? The signs so far are not good ….”   
• Germans and Ships (1)  “A German defence consortium accompanying Chancellor Angela Merkel has its sights on Canada’s plan to eventually replace its command destroyers and patrol frigates with a single class of modern warships, say a number of defence sources.  The head of ThyssenKrupp Marine Systems is one five German business tycoons who took part in Thursday’s meeting with Canadian counterparts on Parliament Hill.  The company is already a major player in the Canadian navy’s plan to build new supply ships at the Seaspan yards in Vancouver.  ThyssenKrupp Marine is under contract to consult, and observers widely expect the company’s Berlin-class design will end up being chosen as the basis for the new replenishment ships.  But the bigger prize, according to industry sources, is the planned Canadian Single Class Surface Combatant Ship, which has yet to be given a firm price tag or start date.  Following meetings in Ottawa, the German delegation left for Halifax — home to Irving Shipbuilding, the company heading up major warship production in Canada.  Government and industry insiders say Public Works will begin consulting with defence contractors this fall on the single-class ships ….”    
• Germans and Ships (2)  German company gets honkin’ contract to overhaul Halifax engines  “A German multinational that acquired the company that made the engines in the navy’s frigates has inked a contract worth as much as $32 million to overhaul them.  MAN Diesel & Turbo took full control of French diesel engine manufacturer SEMT Pielstick in 2006. Pielstick built the engines for Canada’s 12 Halifax-class frigates.  “It’s just like a sole source supplier,” said Pierre Poulain, regional customer support manager for MAN Diesel & Turbo Canada Ltd.  “We don’t know what it’s going to be (worth) exactly, but the budget is up to that ($32-million) point.”  Tendering documents confirm MAN Diesel & Turbo Canada “is the sole licensed agent to perform work” on the frigate engines.  The documents also indicate the contract with MAN will stretch to March 31, 2014, with options to extend by three additional one-year periods ….” - MERX bid call and award announcement here.   
• What’s Canada Buying?  Someone to do a “mid-life refit” on Canada’s Halifax Class ships, a new aviation fuel system for CFB Gander, someone to do research to help keep a better eye on what’s happening on/in/under waterways of all kinds, someone to help support flight testing at CFB Cold Lake.
• “…. the Honourable Peter MacKay, Minister of National Defence, along with Brigadier-General Matthew Overton, Assistant Chief of Military Personnel, Brigadier-General Louis Meloche, Commander Canadian Forces Recruiting Group (CFRG), and Colonel Tammy Harris, Commander Canadian Forces Base (CFB) Borden turned the soil to start the construction for the new CFRG Headquarters building located at CFB Borden. This ceremony follows Minister MacKay’s announcement of the project in September 2009 ….  The existing CFRG Headquarters is currently housed in three buildings at CFB Borden, one of which is a trailer that was installed in 2003 as a temporary measure to address a shortage of space. The overall value of this project is estimated at approximately $13.75 million ….”
  
• “The Honourable Peter MacKay, Minister of National Defence, announced …. the awarding of a contract to Marcrest Construction Limited of Burlington, Ontario for the upgrade of infrastructure at Land Force Central Area Training Centre (LFCA TC) Meaford …. This $1.2 million project will see upgrades made to building M-207, a three-story barrack block which is primarily used to house soldiers and equipment. This building was constructed in 1993, and is capable of housing up to 492 soldiers  …. Work commenced on this project in July 2012 and is expected to be completed by the year’s end. The project is managed for the Department of National Defence by Defence Construction Canada, a Crown corporation accountable to Public Works and Government Services Canada ….”

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