Protest Spotlight

(This regular feature highlights protests decided by the Government Accountability Office.)

Agency: Army Materiel Command

Awardee: AHR Metals

Protester: ThermoAir Spray Booths

What GAO found: ThermoAir Spray Booths protested its elimination from a competition for four spray/bake booths at Anniston Army Depot, arguing Army Materiel Command improperly ruled its quotation unacceptable and was biased against ThermoAir.

"ThermoAir appears to argue, at best, that the Army’s requirement that vendors provide all information required under the solicitation is evidence of bias, as the required information should have been 'evident,'" GAO writes. "The protester’s allegation fails to meet the high standard for demonstrating that an agency’s actions were tainted by bias." GAO denied the protest.