---
title: "Supply of Plant and associated Services"
ocid: "ocds-h6vhtk-029b71"
canonical_url: "https://d3tenders.com/contract/?ocid=ocds-h6vhtk-029b71"
markdown_url: "https://d3tenders.com/contract/ocds-h6vhtk-029b71.md"
json_url: "https://d3tenders.com/contract/ocds-h6vhtk-029b71.json"
source: "Find A Tender Service"
current_stage: "Award"
buyer: "THE MINISTER FOR THE CABINET OFFICE ACTING THROUGH THE CABINET OFFICE"
published: "2021-03-12"
---

# Supply of Plant and associated Services

Buyer: THE MINISTER FOR THE CABINET OFFICE ACTING THROUGH THE CABINET OFFICE  
Current stage: Award  
OCID: ocds-h6vhtk-029b71

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## Summary

The Cabinet Office, acting through the Minister for the Cabinet Office, has awarded a contract focused on the supply of plant machinery and associated services, specifically aimed at producing medical equipment, which falls under the health industry category. This procurement process, conducted as a limited procedure due to extreme urgency caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, has now reached the award stage. The contract, valued at approximately £1,639,650, was signed on 20 July 2020, and concerns the acquisition of machinery to enable the production of UK-compliant non-medical face coverings and potentially medical-grade masks in response to public health needs. The delivery is set to occur within the UK, addressing critical supply chain vulnerabilities identified during the pandemic.

This procurement presents valuable opportunities for businesses engaged in manufacturing and supplying medical equipment and personal protective equipment. Companies equipped to provide production machinery or those involved in the logistics, assembly, and distribution of such equipment would be well-positioned to capitalise on this government initiative. The urgent nature of this contract reflects the need for resilience in local supply chains as the UK seeks to enhance its domestic manufacturing capabilities amidst global disruptions, thereby creating a conducive environment for growth and innovation in the sector.

## Notice

The Cabinet Office will contract with a supplier to procure plant machinery which can be utilised for the production of UK-compliant non-medical face coverings (and Type IIR medical-grade masks in extremis), which are required to support the national effort to combat Covid-19.

### Lot Information

Lot 1

The Cabinet Office will contract with a supplier to procure plant machinery which can be utilised for the production of UK-compliant non-medical face coverings (and Type IIR medical-grade masks in extremis), which are required to support the national effort to combat Covid-19.

Options: 12 months from the installation and acceptance of all DCR machines purchased + 6 months extension option.

### Procurement Information

1. The COVID-19 outbreak is a Public Health Emergency of International Concern as declared by the World Health Organisation on 30 January 2020. The WHO Director-General characterised COVID-19 as a pandemic on 11 March 2020. As of 6 April 2020, scientific knowledge regarding the disease and its transmission is still emerging, however the WHO advises that COVID-19 transmission can occur via 'infective respiratory droplets' and wearing a mask represent one prevention measure that can limit the spread of viral diseases such as COVID-19. 2. In April 2020 the UK did not possess any face covering manufacturing capability and was reliant on securing supplies from overseas producers. Problems were experienced in obtaining reliable supplies of medical PPE-grade masks in a global market due to the disruption to the supply chain caused by the pandemic. There was a concern that insufficient volumes of non-medical masks would become available or, if available, they would be of inferior quality or charged at exorbitant prices. Analysis by Cabinet Office (CO) in late April 2020 highlighted that the average price of respirator masks was PS3.14 (medical-grade) and Type IIR (medical-grade) was PS0.67, whilst non-medical was PS0.51 per unit. During a normal trading period the cost of a Type IIR mask would be approximately PS0.05 per unit, sourced from China. 3. In April 2020 Cabinet Office (CO) considered it crucial in the public interest to source face covering production machinery in order to secure the UK's domestic manufacturing capacity to: a. produce medical grade masks immediately (if necessary); b. create an immediate and reliable supply of high-quality non-medical face coverings at affordable prices for the domestic market; and c. create national resilience to supply chain shocks within a global market. This was because in April 2020 there was a considerable shortage of medical and non-medical PPE globally, there was real fear that items available would be impounded at boarders so domestic production was urgently required to mitigate the impact of COVID-19. 4. Accordingly, CO worked with the trade association for UK manufacturing to identify a supplier that was capable of providing machines which could make non-medical or medical-grade masks. Therefore the machines could be diverted to produce medical-grade masks for the NHS if necessary. 5. Therefore, an accelerated PCR procurement, was impossible. Any delay in engaging the market ran the risk of failing to secure production machinery (given the international demand for such equipment and the timelines involved in securing them). That would have caused knock-on delays to the production of face coverings in the required timeframe so undermining HMG efforts to mitigate Covid-19 risks in the UK. 6. Accordingly, CO purchased ten lines of production machines from Crossgates Press Limited t/a DCR Machines (DCR Machines). 7. CO is satisfied the tests permitting use of a direct award procedure (Regulation 32(2)(c)) are met (the explanation is set out in section VI.3 additional information):

## Key Details

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Publication source | Find A Tender Service |
| Latest notice | https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/005120-2021 |
| Notice type | Award Notice |
| Procurement type | Standard |
| Procurement category | Goods |
| Procurement method | Limited |
| Procurement method details | Award procedure without prior publication of a call for competition |
| Tender suitability | Not specified |
| Awardee scale | SME |
| All stages | Award |

## Dates

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Publication date | 12 Mar 2021 |
| Submission deadline | Not specified |
| Future notice date | Not specified |
| Award date | 19 Jul 2020 |
| Contract period | Not specified |
| Recurrence | Not specified |

## Values

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Tender value | Not specified |
| Lots value | Not specified |
| Awards value | Not specified |
| Contracts value | £1,639,650 |

## Status

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Tender status | Complete |
| Lots status | Cancelled |
| Awards status | Active |
| Contracts status | Active |

## Buyer

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Main buyer | THE MINISTER FOR THE CABINET OFFICE ACTING THROUGH THE CABINET OFFICE |
| Locality | LONDON |
| Post town | South West London |
| Postcode | SW1A 2HQ |
| Country | England |
| ITL 1 | TLI London |
| ITL 2 | TLI3 Inner London - West |
| ITL 3 | TLI35 Westminster and City of London |
| Local authority | Westminster |
| Electoral ward | St James's |
| Westminster constituency | Cities of London and Westminster |
| Delivery location | Not specified |

## Supplier

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Number of suppliers | 1 |
| Supplier names | CROSSGATES PRESS LIMITED T/A DCR MACHINES |

## CPV Codes

### Divisions

- 33 - Medical equipments, pharmaceuticals and personal care products

### Codes

- 33100000 - Medical equipments

## Release History

- 12 Mar 2021 at 22:56 - Award - Award Notice - https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/005120-2021

## Notice URLs

- https://www.contractsfinder.service.gov.uk/Notice/2ecda880-c198-48b0-b90e-ef6ba50d1b50
- https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/cabinet-office

## Provenance

This Markdown file is an alternate public rendering of the D3 Tenders contract record. The canonical page is https://d3tenders.com/contract/?ocid=ocds-h6vhtk-029b71. The underlying structured data is available as OCDS JSON at https://d3tenders.com/contract/ocds-h6vhtk-029b71.json.