Interoffice Memorandum
DATE: May 9, 2025
TO: Mayor Jerry L. Demings and County Commissioners
FROM: Carrie Mathes, CFCM, NIGP-CPP, CPPO, C.P.M., Manager II, Procurement Division
CONTACT: Mark Ikeler, P.E., Manager II, Water Reclamation Division
PHONE: 407-254-9705
SUBJECT: Approval to Award Contracts for the Provision of Liquid Polymer for Wastewater Treatment
ACTION REQUESTED:
title
Approval to Award Contracts for the Provision of Liquid Polymer for Wastewater Treatment to Polydyne, Inc., a subsidiary of SNF Holding Company, and CedarChem, LLC, a subsidiary of Solenis International, LLC, on a sole source basis. The estimated total award amount of both contracts is $3,000,000 for a one-year term. Further request Board authorization for the Procurement Division to renew the contracts for four additional one-year terms. ([Utilities Department Water Reclamation Division] Procurement Division)
body
PROCUREMENT:
The contracts will provide liquid polymer used in wastewater thickening and dewatering to multiple water reclamation plants.
FUNDING:
Funding is available in account numbers 4420-038-1351 4153, 4420-038-1355 4153, 4420-038-1357-4153, and 4420-038-1360-4153.
APPROVALS:
The Water Reclamation Division concurs with this recommendation.
REMARKS:
Orange County currently procures liquid polymer for wastewater treatment through a combination of purchase orders and term contracts. These procurements have been solicited on a site-by-site, polymer-by-polymer basis inclusive of rigorous full-scale lab testing for each water reclamation facility operated by Orange County. Multiple rounds of lab testing ensure that we select the polymer that has the highest efficacy per pound resulting in a lower unit cost and the highest rate of dewatering. To facilitate a more agile process and cost savings, the County is seeking to consolidate all polymer contracts using master agreements to pre-qualify firms for ongoing competition. Under the current strategy, lab testing is conducted every three to five years. The use of a new master agreement will allow for more frequent lab testing resulting in higher efficiency on-demand and lower costs without sacrificing competitive pricing among known competitors in this niche market.
At this time there are only two firms known to produce the quantity and quality of polymers required for our wastewater applications, Polydyne, Inc., a subsidiary of SNF Holding Company and CedarChem, LLC, a subsidiary of Solenis International, LLC. For the past decade, every publicly advertised site-specific formal solicitation has resulted in an award to one of these two firms. Since 2020, solicitations for polymers have only resulted in participation from these two firms. In March of 2025, the Procurement Division publicly advertised a Notice of Intent to Sole Source advising the public of its intent to award two master agreements to the two only known sources, due to limited competition in the market. The county notified 7,590 firms with both broad emphasis on firms associated with water and wastewater and specific emphasis on firms in polymer manufacturing. Firms were provided with the requirements and asked to come forward if able to meet them. The result of the posting confirmed the County’s findings, only Polydyne, Inc., a subsidiary of SNF Holding Company, and CedarChem, LLC, a subsidiary of Solenis International, LLC asserted the ability to meet requirements.
Inquiries to potential firms that declined resulted in the following:
Brenntag SE: After seeking further information, did not express interest.
CarboNet: After seeking further information, replied indicating they may have technology in future development but are unable to compete at this time.
Kemira Global: After seeking further information, did not express interest.
USALCO: Replied indicating no interest.