PRO005080– Purchase, Refurbishment, SMR of Specialist Vehicles

United Utilities Water Limited is launching a competitive flexible procurement process under the Procurement Act 2023 to establish a multi-supplier framework for the purchase, refurbishment, life extension, service, maintenance and repair of specialist wastewater and network vehicles. The procurement is being run as an Invitation to Negotiate rather than through a separate Conditions of Participation Questionnaire stage.

Supplier suitability requirements, including financial standing, good standing, sustainability, health and safety, quality and cyber-security compliance, are incorporated within the ITN and assessed on a pass/fail basis. The framework is designed to provide United Utilities with a structured, commercially controlled route to market for operationally critical specialist vehicles used across wastewater networks, treatment works, pumping stations, depots, roadside environments and other operational locations.

These vehicles support activities such as sewer cleaning, jetting, vacuum recovery, de-silting, wet-well cleaning, sludge and silt removal, emergency draw-off, industrial cleaning and reactive network support. The tender is split into two specialist vehicle lots.

Lot 1 covers Combination Sewer Cleaning Units, including vacuum tanker jetters, compact jetting-vacuum units, Vactor units and high-volume jet-vac units. The initial forecast requirement for Lot 1 is 34 units, although future requirements may vary depending on operational need, asset condition, budget availability and internal approvals.

Lot 2 covers High Vacuum Units, with an initial forecast requirement of 3 units. Both lots include not only new vehicle supply, but also refurbishment, life extension, service, maintenance and repair, spares, technical support, documentation, handover, training or familiarisation, and controlled hire contingency support where required.

The intended commercial model is ownership-led for the core fleet. Lot 1 covers the supply and lifecycle support of Vacuum Tanker Jetters and Vactor Units / High Volume Jet-Vac Tankers for United Utilities’ wastewater operations.

The scope includes new supply, refurbishment, life extension, SMR, spares, diagnostics, technical support and controlled hire contingency. Lot 2 covers the supply and lifecycle support of High Vacuum Units for United Utilities’ wastewater and network operations. The scope includes new supply, refurbishment, life extension, SMR, spares, diagnostics, technical support, training, documentation and controlled hire contingency where required.