Friday, 14 February 2014

It is surprising that New Brunswick is spending $5 million dollars on plates over only a 5 year contract. Nova Scotia has more vehicles and spends a lot less than $1 million per year on plates. Why are we wasting MILLIONS of dollars?


N.B. awards Amherst’s Waldale plant $5m contract

By THE CHRONICLE HERALD
February 4, 2013 - 6:13pm        

http://thechronicleherald.ca/business/635342-nb-awards-amherst-s-waldale-plant-5m-contract

An Amherst licence plate maker has won a $5-million contract with the province of New Brunswick.
Waldale Manufacturing Ltd. was awarded a deal with Supply and Services New Brunswick, according to a tender award announced Monday.

Waldale president Todd Lawrence declined comment, referring questions to the New Brunswick government.

The Amherst operation produces licence plates for markets overseas, in the United States and in Canada, including Nova Scotia.

In 2005, industry giants Utsch AG of Germany and George Industries of Australia purchased Waldale, which is privately owned.




Here are some of the Tender documents:


Invitation to Tender (ITT) Abstract: Motor Vehicle License Plates - NB

http://www.merx.com/English/SUPPLIER_Menu.Asp?WCE=Show&TAB=1&PORTAL=MERX&State=7&id=NB-1043007-13&src=osr&FED_ONLY=0&ACTION=&rowcount=&lastpage=&MoreResults=&PUBSORT=2&CLOSESORT=0&IS_SME=N&hcode=a3gNcDhZUmeosx24bHvFvQ%3D%3D


Reference Number NB-1043007-13
  Solicitation Number 1043007-13
  Organization Name Government of New Brunswick
New Brunswick Government Purchasing Branch
  Source ID PV.MN.NB.110270.C11191
  Associated Components Yes



Dates
  Published 2012-11-14
  Revised 2012-12-07
  Closing 2012-12-10 01:30 PM Atlantic Standard Time AST




Details
  Category Miscellaneous Goods
  GSINS N99: Miscellaneous
  Region of Delivery
  Region of Opportunity
  Agreement Type
  Tender Type Invitation to Tender (ITT)



Motor Vehicle License Plates - NB


Central Tendering Branch
Section Centrale des appels d'offres
P O Box 8000 - C.P. 8000

Fredericton
New Brunswick
E3B 5H6


******************************************************************************************

AMENDMENT # 3

CLARIFICATION FOR TENDER

QUESTION FROM VENDOR:  The projected Purchase Quantities table in the bid has put "Off-Road" plates under the category of "Personalized".  Same thing for ATV/Dealer.
  
Please confirm that these are sequential plates versus personalized plates as this would drastically change the pricing for these plates.

Answer:  These are both indeed sequential plates, not personalized.

*******************************************************************************************



******************************************************************************************

AMENDMENT # 2

Please not the change in the Pricing Page and Orders in the Specifications to now read: New specifications have been added in the attachment to replace the original one to now read with the correct number of 9,000 per order.

PRICING FORM

The supplier is to fill out the prices for each type of Licence Plate, (1) an "A" 
rate for large orders (9,000 or more plate pairs per type), (2) a "B" rate for small orders (under 9,000 plate pairs per type) and (3) a price for single plates per type., include the aluminum calculation, the name of the shipping company to be used and sign where indicated.

ORDERS ON PAGE 2 OF THE SPECS

The pricing form indicates two price situations as follows: (1) an "A" rate for 
large orders (9000 or more plate pairs per type) and (2) a "B" rate for small orders (under 9,000 plate pairs per type).

******************************************************************************************



*******************************************************************************************

********************************************************************************

Amendment # 1   Vendor Question and Response to Question.

1. Regarding the wording on page two of the tender which states... "During the contract period the supplier shall have the option of increasing its prices 
annually on January 1 by pre-set percentages" - Where should the pre-set percentages be indicated in the bid response?

Answer:  The pre-set percentage increase should be indicated on the pricing form on the last page in the area for the aluminum calculation.

2. On page two of the tender under the heading orders, the tender wording states...  "subject to any minimum charge per order specified in the tender for the setting up of the machinery, dies, etc.." Where should minimum charges be indicated in the bid response?

Answer:  Again, the minimum charges should be displayed on the pricing form.  
There should be a separate paragraph following the aluminum pricing paragraph where they can indicate this.

3. How will tender pricing be evaluated and totaled to compare competitive bids?

Answer:  If candidates can meet the requirements such as aluminum specs, reflective sheeting, etc., the cost will be a major contributing factor in awarding eh contract.

4. Are reference required to be submitted with the bid?

Answer:  Yes, we require a minimum of two references.

******************************************************************************************

This is a tender notice only.  In order to submit a bid, you must obtain official 
tender documents from the New Brunswick Opportunities Network, another authorized tendering service or as indicated in the tender notice.

RETURN TO:
CENTRAL TENDERING BRANCH
P.O. Box 8000   
Fredericton, N.B.  
E3B 5H6
 
Marysville Place
Room Number 205, 20 McGloin Street 
Fredericton, N.B.
E3A 5T8

Fax: (506)444-4200  

Public opening of bids will take place on closing day at 14:00 Atlantic Time, in Marysville Place, Room 205, 20 McGloin Street, Fredericton, N.B. E3A 5T8.

All bids must be stated in Canadian Funds.

All tenders must be F.O.B. destination, freight prepaid.

Sales taxes should not be included in the unit, extended or total prices.

This Invitation is being conducted under the provisions of the Public Purchasing Act and Regulation as of the date of the issuance of the Invitation.  Bidders may obtain a copy of the Act and Regulation from The Queen's Printer, Province of 
N.B., P.O. Box 6000, Fredericton, N.B.  E3B 5H1

The Atlantic Provinces Standard Terms & Conditions for Goods and Services apply to this procurement and are considered to be incorporated into this document. By submitting a bid, you agree and accept these terms and conditions. Current "Atlantic Provinces Standard Terms and Conditions" are available on the New Brunswick Opportunities Network, the Council of Atlantic Premiers' Website or from an authorized service provider.

QUESTIONS:
Written questions relating to this opportunity may be submitted to the address provided below via email by clicking on Questions.  Please be sure to include the solicitation/tender number in the subject line.
EMAIL ADDRESS: bidquestionssoumissions@gnb.ca

NOTE:  This email account is strictly for the receipt of questions on 
open opportunities. This email is not for the submission of bids. 

A bidder must obtain official bid documents from a distribution service, authorized  by the Minister of Supply and Services, in order to submit a bid.  The current authorized distribution services are the New Brunswick Opportunities Network (NBON) (operated by the Department of Supply and Services, Province of NB), BIDS (operated by Tendering Publications Ltd.) and MERX (operated by Mediagrif Interactive Technologies).  Failure to submit the official bid documents or provide proof that the official bid documents were properly obtained will result in 
rejection of the bid.  In order to facilitate the evaluation process, Bidders are 
requested to respond in the same format as the official bid documents.

For procurements which are not subject to the provisions of one or more of the 
interprovincial procurement agreements, the Province of New Brunswick reserves the right to apply Provincial or regional Preferences, consider local content in the evaluation of bids and/or refuse to consider bids from vendors from other jurisdictions when it is considered to be in the best interests of the Province. 
 When determining the use of these conditions, the Province will consider, among other factors, the extent to which New Brunswick vendors have access to equivalent procurement opportunities in those jurisdictions and the treatment accorded by those jurisdictions to bids from New Brunswick vendors.  The Province will be the sole judge of whether these conditions will be used and the extent to which they will be applied.

All discounts quoted will be considered to be without limitations.

Payment of invoices is the responsibility of the department or organization to 
whom the goods are shipped or services are supplied.

Award of contracts: no contract shall be awarded and no payment shall be made to a vendor unless authorized by the Minister or his delegates. The Minister may make an award to the preferred vendor conditional on the negotiation and acceptance of a detailed contract between the Province and the vendor. In such cases, should the detailed contract negotiations not be completed in a reasonable period of time, the Province reserves the right to discontinue negotiations with the vendor and subsequently enter into negotiations with the second preferred vendor.

No right or duty, in whole or in part, of the vendor under a contract issued may be assigned or delegated without the prior consent of the Central Purchasing Branch.

Unless the Central Purchasing Branch has determined otherwise prior to tender closing, all prices must be extended and totalled.


Direct Deposit
The province of New Brunswick is now using Direct Deposit as the standard
method of government payments.  Suppliers are required to provide bank account information (and email address if available) for remittance.
Please send the completed Direct Deposit Form to the New Brunswick Internal 
Services Agency as indicated on the form.

The province of New Brunswick reserves the right to negotiate pricing, value added and other savings opportunities with the successful proponent at time of award and throughout the contract.

ESTIMATED QUANTITY CONTRACT  
To be delivered as and when required for the period indicated at the request of the department.  Quantities or dollar values stated are an estimate made in good faith and may vary considerably.  The Province of N.B. reserves the right to purchase more or lesser amounts depending on requirements.


PUBLIC SAFETY, MVB DEPUTY REGISTRAR
Argyle Place
364 Argyle Street

Fredericton
New Brunswick
E3B 1T9


1: Unit of measure : Each
 Quantity: 1
 Organisation id : 9609032
 Description  : 
  Estimated quantity contract for Motor Vehicle License Plates for the Department  of Public Safety, Motor Vehicle Branch, as per the attached specifications.  

This is to be a 5 year contract extending from January 1, 2013 through December 31, 2017.   The Province of New Brunswick also reserves the right to renew the contract for two additional one year periods.
The contract will be awarded to one supplier based on the total overall price.
PLEASE NOTE: There is a pricing form and Certificate of Tender Fo m attached which needs to be filled out and included with the tender submission.
  A sample must be included with the tender submission.

This procurement is subject to the World Trade Organization Agreement on Government Procurement.

No totals required.


Tony McCoy
Central Tendering Branch
Section Centrale des appels d'offres
P O Box 8000 - C.P. 8000

Fredericton
New Brunswick
E3B 5H6


1 (506) 444-4113
1 (506) 444-4200

Monday, 10 February 2014

Saint John Telegraph Journal (Saturday February 8, 2014)


Saint John Telegraph Journal

Saturday February 8, 2014


Drop front licence plate


Robert Lockhart’s campaign to eliminate the front vehicle licence plate is highly commendable, particularly with the provincial debt now accumulating to some $10 billion for a population of less than one million. No amount of savings can be too small to help relieve this astronomical indebtness.

Public Safety Minister Bruce Northrup is on record as stating that there are other priorities than dealing with this issue. But that indicates that there is a price, either in time or money, to affect this and the minister says that the authorities are working to find out all the facts. Utter bureaucratic rubbish!

It’s a no brainer - the plate manufacturer simply stops stamping out a second plate and the licence offices merely dispense the single plate to vehicle owners. What could be simpler?

The argument that a two Iicence-plate system is a deterrent to law offenders is also highly debatable. Many States and provinces have and are switching to a single plate and there is no evidence that the apprehension rate by the police in dual plate societies is any more successful. As for the "gas and dash-at the pumps prevention argument, the rear licence only is all the gas teller gets to see anyway as the vehicle escapes.

A crusade to get this off centre might be in order whereby New Brunswick drivers could merely remove the front plates from their vehicles. Surely the “under staffed" police authorities have more “priorities" than to monitor this public protest.

Considering the province's financial state, along with the major loss of highway tolls, this is just another redundant little luxury we can't afford any-more.

Quebec, which has not had a two licence-plate system for more than 50 years, also has a system whereby an annual sticker renewal is not used, eliminating the cost of printing and dispersing millions of these stickers every year to vehicle owners.

Bill Pony
Woodstock, New Brunswick