Official UK procurement notice
250293 AMIC Chemically Assisted Ion Beam Etching (CAIBE) Tool
Authority: Queen's University Belfast (Education)
What is being bought
Published requirement descriptionQueen's requires a Contract for supply, installation and commissioning and ongoing maintenance of a Chemically Assisted Ion Beam Etching tool; and the provision of associated ancillaries, consumables and complimentary goods. The machine will be situated in the factory of the future, Global Point, Newtownabbey.
CPV: Laboratory, optical and precision equipments (excl. glasses)
The lotProcurement structure
single lot · value publishedLot #1AwardedRenewalPublished value£1,782,000
What it takes to wini
How this buyer will score bids.
The evaluation criteria and weights exactly as published on the notice, grouped by family (price, quality, social value and so on).
Evaluation split and conditions of participation as published; the tender pack may add morei
How this buyer will score bids.
The evaluation criteria and weights exactly as published on the notice, grouped by family (price, quality, social value and so on).
- Simple description: Mandatory Technical Requirements - Pass/Fail Desirable Technical Characteristics - 7% Project Methodology - 5% Servicing, Maintenance and Technical Support - 5% Contract Management and Contract Review Requirements - 5% Sustainability and Supply Chain Resilience - 5% Added Value Propositions - 10% System Capability - 15% Extended Warranty - 8% Price - 40% For a comprehensive breakdown of the award criteria and weightings please refer to the tender documents
Procedure terms & legal framework
From the official record- Procedure method
- Open procedure
- Legal basis
- UKPGA · 2023/54 Procurement Act 2023
- Procurement category
- Goods
- Notice status
- Awarded
- Procurement threshold
- Above threshold (FTS publication)
- Regulatory regime
- Standard
- Commercial structure
- Stand-alone contract (no framework)
- Competition type
- Competitive procedure
- GPA / WTO covered
- Yes (GPA, CPTPP)
- Recurring procurement
- Unspecified in notice
- First published
- 25 Nov 2025, 09:13 GMT
- Last source update
- 1 Jul 2026, 08:44 BST
- Award evaluation window
- Submission end – 15 Apr 2026
- Authority reference
250293- FTS notice number
2026/S 000-015323- Latest notice
- Contract details notice (UK7)
- Classification (CPV)
- Delivery area
- Official registry OCID
ocds-h6vhtk-05e7eeFind a Tender
- Risks
It is known that there may be potential development to the equipment and it’s application which may result in additional ancillary equipment or system development, which cannot be adequately quantified or estimated at this time.
Whilst it is not possible to understand at the point of writing the specification what the additional developments or integration might be, what impact this may have on the performance of the contract or what the level of impact may be; it is recognised that this may potentially happen in future and as such may lead to a modification of the contract to facilitate these risks arising.
How it was run
Official notice- Submission deadline
- 18 Mar 2026, 16:00 GMT
- Submission channel
- Official e-sourcing portal
- Electronic submission
- Allowed
- Accepted languages
- en
in-tendhost.co.uk/queensuniversitybelf… ↗
Suppliers must download the tender documents and submit their response at the above address
Timeline
25 Nov 2025 → 1 Jul 2026 · 10 dates- Planning notice published331 days ago25 Nov 2025, 09:13 GMT
- Market engagement289 days ago5 Jan 2026, 23:59 GMT
AMIC is expanding its core capabilities in Digital Factory, Smart Design, Sustainable Polymers and Composites, Nanotechnology and Photonics.
As part of this project, Queen's University Belfast is seeking expressions of interest from suppliers as we wish to procure a CAIBE Tool.
Queen's staff wish to engage with suppliers prior to procuring this equipment to: 1 - gain a better understanding of what the market can offer and if the market can respond to a tender meeting our requirements. 2 - identify potential suppliers able to provide the requirement. 3 - understand potential lead times. 4 - gain an understanding of the commercial profile for the requirement.
A pre-market engagement questionnaire has been published here: in-tendhost.co.uk/queensuniversitybelf… ↗
Interested parties are asked to complete and return this questionnaire via the In-Tend platform.
Queen's may then contact suppliers for further discussion of the information received in the questionnaire. Queen's do not guarantee that they will speak to every supplier who submits a return. Participation in the pre-market engagement exercise is not a pre-requisite to participation in any future tender exercise, however, the information provided may be used to inform decisions around the tender exercise. Queen's welcome all participation in this Pre Market engagement exercise.
This Pre Market Engagement exercise is not a call for competition and does not commit Queen's to proceed with a formal procurement. Queen's is not obligated to adopt supplier feedback into the process.
- Tender notice published245 days ago19 Feb 2026, 14:55 GMT
- Next notice expected240 days ago23 Feb 2026, 23:59 GMT
- Submission deadline218 days ago18 Mar 2026, 16:00 GMT
- Award decision expected by190 days ago15 Apr 2026, 23:59 BST
- Contract starts176 days ago30 Apr 2026, 00:00 BST
- Assessment summaries sent144 days ago1 Jun 2026, 00:00 BST
- Standstill ends134 days ago10 Jun 2026, 23:59 BST
- Latest notice published113 days ago1 Jul 2026, 08:44 BST
Notice history
11 events · 5 releases on Find a Tender · since 25 Nov 2025- Preliminary market engagement notice published25 Nov 2025, 09:13 GMTUK2
- Preliminary market engagement notice published26 Nov 2025, 08:30 GMTUK2
- Tender notice published19 Feb 2026, 14:55 GMTUK4
- Published value updated19 Feb 2026, 14:55 GMT
- Status changed to active19 Feb 2026, 14:55 GMT
- Procurement method changed19 Feb 2026, 14:55 GMT
- Deadline published: 18 Mar 2026, 16:00 GMT19 Feb 2026, 14:55 GMT
- Contract award notice published1 Jun 2026, 09:32 BSTUK6
- Status changed to complete1 Jun 2026, 09:32 BST
- Contract signature expected11 Jun 2026, 23:59 BSTscheduled
- Contract details notice published1 Jul 2026, 08:44 BSTUK7
Published amendments (1)
The URL containing the survey has been updated. Please complete and return the survey at the following address. https://in-tendhost.co.uk/queensuniversitybelfast/aspx/Home
Routine re-releases (5)
- 2025-11: 2 releases · 25 Nov 2025, 26 Nov 2025
Commercial outcome & contract awards
Published awards, contracts and bid statistics, not a forecast| Awarded to | Value | Date | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| scia Systems GmbH11 Jun 2026 – 10 Jun 2031 · up to 11 Jun 2041Extensions: options to extend beyond this period for the provision of maintenance, ancillaries and complimentary goods for further periods of up to 10 years or the end of useful life of the equipment · Options: options to extend beyond this period for the provision of maintenance, ancillaries and complimentary goods for further periods of up to 10 years or the end of useful life of the equipment | £1,523,640 inc. VAT | 29 May 2026 | Awarded |
Contracts
250293 AMIC Chemically Assisted Ion Beam Etching (CAIBE) Tool · scia Systems GmbH
- Signed
- 16 Jun 2026
- Value
- £1,523,640 inc. VAT
- Period
- 16 Jun 2026 – 15 Jun 2031 · up to 16 Jun 2041 with extensions
- Status
- active
- Extensions
- options to extend beyond this period for the provision of maintenance, ancillaries and complimentary goods for further periods of up to 10 years or the end of useful life of the equipment
- Options
- The right to additional purchases while the contract is valid. options to extend beyond this period for the provision of maintenance, ancillaries and complimentary goods for further periods of up to 10 years or the end of useful life of the equipment
No agreed KPIs: Not required to publish as the contract value is below £5m.
Bid statistics published by the authority
| Bids | SME | VCSE | Valid bid range |
|---|---|---|---|
| 3final-stage tenders | 1 | 0 | — |
Contracting authority & participating public bodies
Bidders & participating suppliers
1 commercial party on the notice- scia Systems GmbHAwarded supplier
Official documents & specifications (6)
Official links; attachments are not copiedTender pack and attachments
- Bidding documents and specifications Suppliers must download the tender documents and submit their response at the above web address
Notices published for this procedure
- Contract details notice Contract details notice on Find a Tender
- Contract award notice Contract award notice on Find a Tender
- Tender notice Tender notice on Find a Tender
- Preliminary market engagement notice Preliminary market engagement notice on Find a Tender
- Preliminary market engagement notice Preliminary market engagement notice on Find a Tender