Post-harvest line sourcing
How to source a complete produce packing and pre-cooling line
A packhouse is one process, but it is usually bought from several kinds of suppliers. This guide shows how to specify the whole chain — from the receiving dock to the cold room — so every proposal answers the same questions and the interfaces between suppliers do not become the project's weak point.
Short answer
Start from the product and the peak, not from machines: crop and varieties, peak tonnes per day and per hour, field heat on arrival, grading rules, pack formats and the temperature the product must reach before dispatch. Write those into one project brief, decide which parts a turnkey integrator, equipment makers and a refrigeration specialist will each own, and send every bidder the same RFQ. A qualified engineer must confirm the cooling and process design for your crop and site before you award.
What does a complete post-harvest line include?
A complete line connects seven stages. Each stage sets limits for the next one, so they are specified together even when different suppliers deliver them:
- Receiving: weighing, sampling, bin or crate tipping, and buffer space for harvest peaks.
- Handling and washing: dry or water handling, washing, sanitising and drying where the crop and market require it.
- Sorting and grading: by size, weight, colour and visible or internal defects, to your own grade rules.
- Packing: cartons, trays, punnets, bags or bulk, with labelling and checkweighing.
- Palletizing: manual or automatic stacking, strapping, corner boards and pallet labels.
- Pre-cooling: removing field heat quickly — for example forced-air, hydro, vacuum or ice cooling, depending on the crop.
- Cold storage and dispatch: holding temperature and humidity, controlled atmosphere where justified, and loading into the cold chain.
Established makers describe their own offerings in different parts of this chain — for example optical sorting, grading and packing (TOMRA Food, GREEFA, MAF RODA, UNITEC), tray sealing and packaging (JBT Marel / Proseal) or storage atmosphere control (Van Amerongen). They are named here only as examples of solution categories; Global B2B Group has no partnership with them and does not rank or vet them.
Key point: Buy the chain as one process, even when it is delivered by several suppliers.
Which product data must be fixed before anyone quotes?
Suppliers can only size equipment from your product data. Missing data is replaced by their assumptions, and assumptions differ between bidders — which is why quotes become impossible to compare.
- Crop, varieties and their share of volume; fragile or sticky varieties called out separately.
- Season length, average and peak tonnes per day, and the peak hour within the peak day.
- Incoming form: bins, crates or bulk; field temperature on arrival; soil, debris and moisture load.
- Wash, sanitise and dry needs, and the hygiene rules of your target markets and customers.
- Grading criteria: size bands, colour, defect classes, internal quality, and who signs off a grade.
- Pack formats and materials, units per hour per format, and how many changeovers per shift.
- Target product temperature before dispatch, storage days, humidity, and whether controlled atmosphere is needed.
Key point: Peak hour, field heat and pack mix size the line — averages do not.
How do you specify sorting and grading equipment?
Specify the result, not the camera. State the grade rules, the defect classes that must be detected, the throughput per lane at your peak and how grading accuracy will be tested at acceptance — with your own product, sampled and re-inspected by hand. Makers such as TOMRA and GREEFA publish the produce categories their systems are designed for; ask each bidder to confirm in writing that your crop and defects are covered.
Ask how the grading recipe is set and changed, who trains your quality team, and what data the system records for traceability and customer claims.
Pre-cooling, cold storage and controlled atmosphere: what is the difference?
Pre-cooling removes field heat fast, soon after harvest. Cold storage then holds a temperature and humidity. Controlled-atmosphere (CA) storage additionally manages oxygen and carbon dioxide to slow ripening for certain crops over longer periods. They are related, but they are different engineering scopes, often from different specialists — atmosphere control is a field of its own, as makers like Van Amerongen describe.
The right cooling method and capacity depend on the crop, its temperature and humidity needs, the airflow path through your packaging, throughput, storage days and route to market. Packaging and cooling must be designed together: a carton without suitable vents can defeat forced-air cooling. A qualified refrigeration engineer must validate the cooling load and method for your crop and site.
Key point: Do not let a storage quote stand in for a pre-cooling design.
Utilities, site, people and controls
- Electrical supply and backup, water source and quality, wastewater handling, compressed air.
- Floor space, clear height, flow from dirty to clean areas, dock doors and future expansion.
- Hygiene design: cleanable surfaces, drainage, washdown routines, pest control.
- Labour: operators per shift, skills available locally, training plan before start-up.
- Controls and traceability: batch or lot codes from grower to pallet, line data, integration with your ERP or warehouse system.
- Energy use of cooling and drying, stated by each bidder under the same assumptions so you can compare running cost.
Turnkey integrator, OEMs or specialists — who covers what?
There is no single right model. The table shows what each type of supplier may cover and what you must verify in every case. It describes typical roles, not any named company.
| Supplier type | May cover | Buyer must verify |
|---|---|---|
| Turnkey line integrator | Design and supply of the full line, including bought-in modules, plus installation and commissioning | Which parts they make vs. subcontract; single-point responsibility in the contract; references for your crop |
| Equipment OEM | Its own machines — e.g. sorters, graders, packers or sealers — with standard interfaces | Who owns interfaces to upstream and downstream equipment; local service and spare-parts access |
| Local system integrator | Conveying, layout, controls, installation and local support around OEM machines | Engineering depth; who carries performance risk for the whole line |
| Refrigeration / cooling specialist | Pre-cooling, cold rooms, refrigeration plant, and in some cases controlled atmosphere | Cooling-load basis for your crop and peak; energy assumptions; refrigerant and local code compliance |
| Packaging specialist | Pack formats, materials, tray sealing, labelling, palletizing | Fit with cooling airflow, customer specifications and changeover times |
Key point: Whatever the model, one party must own each interface in writing.
RFQ and specification checklist
Send every bidder the same package. A proposal that skips an item is incomplete, not cheaper.
- Product data sheet: crop, varieties, season, average and peak volumes, incoming form, field temperature.
- Process requirements per stage, from receiving to dispatch, with the result each stage must deliver.
- Grade rules and pack formats, with units per hour and changeovers per shift.
- Cooling targets: product temperature before dispatch, time allowed, storage days, humidity, CA if needed.
- Site data: drawings, utilities, water, floor space, hygiene zones, local codes.
- Scope split: what each supplier delivers, and who owns every interface.
- Acceptance: factory and site acceptance tests with your product, measured against the stated results.
- Commercials: price breakdown by stage, installation, commissioning, training, spare parts, warranty and after-sales support.
Use the free planner below to turn your inputs into a list of the questions and data this RFQ still needs.
How to compare packing line CAPEX and energy cost fairly
Line prices are only comparable when scope is identical. Ask for a cost breakdown by stage, list what each bidder excludes, and add back missing items — civil works, utilities, freight, installation, training and spares. Ask each bidder to state energy and water use at your peak under the same assumptions, then compare lifecycle cost, not purchase price. This guide does not give price ranges: they depend on crop, capacity, automation level and country, and any figure without your data would be a guess.
Key point: Normalise scope first; only then compare price.
From packhouse idea to a running line: the buyer journey
Whether you are planning a new packhouse or upgrading an existing line, the steps are the same. Each one produces something the next step needs.
- Project brief — crop, peak, site, scope, timing and budget band, written down in one place.
- Specification readiness — check which data is still missing before any supplier is contacted.
- Supplier-neutral RFQ — one package sent to every bidder, with the same scope and acceptance rules.
- Supplier comparison — scope normalised, exclusions added back, lifecycle cost compared.
- Financing options — mapped only if the project is eligible and only with your consent.
- Execution — site readiness, installation, commissioning and acceptance against measured results.
Use the brief builder below to start, then check readiness before you submit a project request.
Key point: Every step depends on the one before it — skipping the brief only moves the gaps into the bids.
Turnkey vs. modular packhouse line: questions to decide
Turnkey means one contract for the whole line. Modular means separate packages per stage — for example sorting, packing and refrigeration from different suppliers. When those packages meet, someone must own the joins, which is usually when an integrator is needed.
- Does your team have the engineering time to manage several suppliers and their interfaces?
- Who will carry performance risk if the line misses its throughput — one contractor or several?
- Is the best sorter, packer and cooling supplier for your crop likely to be the same company?
- For a retrofit: which existing equipment stays, and who guarantees that new and old work together?
- Will local service be easier with one contractor or with each specialist directly?
Key point: Choose the contract model based on who owns the interfaces, not only on price.
Interfaces and responsibility matrix
Most packhouse disputes happen at the joins between suppliers. Agree an owner for each interface in the RFQ, before any bids come in. The table lists questions to settle, not a recommended split.
| Interface | Question to settle in the RFQ |
|---|---|
| Receiving → washing / handling | Who supplies the infeed, and at what flow and bin or crate type? |
| Sorting / grading → packing | Who matches grader outlets to packing stations, and how are recipe changes passed on? |
| Packing → palletizing | Who owns case conveying, labelling and pallet patterns? |
| Palletizing → pre-cooling | Do pallet patterns and packaging vents match the cooling airflow? Who signs that off? |
| Pre-cooling → cold storage | Who controls product temperature at hand-over, and how is it recorded? |
| Controls and traceability | Who integrates the data from each machine, and who owns the software and its updates? |
| Utilities | Who brings power, water, compressed air and drainage to each machine's connection point? |
Key point: One named owner per interface, in writing.
Seasonal capacity vs. peak-day capacity
A line sized on season averages will queue product on peak days, and queued product loses quality while it waits for packing and cooling. Ask bidders to size against your peak hour, and to state what happens when the inflow goes above it.
- What is the peak hour within the peak day, according to your harvest records?
- How many peak days are there in a season, and how much product can wait safely, and for how long?
- Can a second shift or a buffer store absorb the peak instead of more machines?
Measuring product damage and yield loss
If you cannot measure losses today, you cannot judge whether a new line reduces them. Agree the measurement method before bids, so acceptance tests use the same yardstick.
- Which defects count as handling damage, and who classifies them?
- Where along the line will samples be taken, and how often?
- How is pack-out (marketable share of incoming weight) recorded, before and after the project?
- Which drop heights and transfer points does each bidder consider, and how will they show it?
Sanitation and food-safety design questions
- Which food-safety standards do your customers require, and which edition applies?
- How are product-contact surfaces cleaned, and how long does a full clean take?
- How is wash water treated, monitored and recorded?
- Where are the boundaries between raw and packed zones, and how do people and pallets cross them?
- Which materials and drainage details does each bidder propose for wet areas?
These are questions for your RFQ. Your food-safety lead and the bidders must confirm the answers for your site.
What a pre-cooling system supplier should receive
Cooling method selection is an engineering decision. The supplier can only make it well if you give it the same data set every bidder gets.
- Crop, varieties and their sensitivity to water, chilling and humidity.
- Arrival temperature, target product temperature and the time allowed to reach it.
- Peak hourly throughput into the cooler, not the daily average.
- Pack types and pallet patterns, including vent openings.
- Storage days after cooling, and whether controlled atmosphere is in scope.
- Available power, water and space, and local refrigerant rules.
Key point: Give every cooling bidder the same data set, then compare their stated assumptions.
Installation utilities and site readiness
- Electrical supply and connection points for each machine and refrigeration plant.
- Water supply, treatment and drainage capacity for washing and cleaning.
- Compressed air, if needed, and who supplies it.
- Floor loading, levels, drains and building openings for installation.
- Lifting, access and storage space for equipment on arrival.
Ask each bidder for a utilities schedule, and confirm who prepares the site before installation starts.
Commissioning acceptance criteria
Acceptance should prove the result you bought, with your own product, not just that the machines run.
- Throughput at the stated peak hour, with your crop and pack mix.
- Grading accuracy against your own grade rules.
- Product temperature reached within the time allowed after pre-cooling.
- Damage and pack-out measured with the agreed method.
- Cleaning completed within the agreed time.
- Training delivered, documentation handed over, and spare parts on site.
Key point: Tie payment milestones to measured acceptance, not to delivery.
Service, spares and lifecycle cost
The cheapest bid can become expensive in season if spares or service are far away. Compare bids on total lifecycle cost, using the same assumptions for every bidder.
- Recommended spare-parts list, prices, and where the parts are stocked.
- Response time for service in your country during the season.
- Energy, water, labour and packaging use at your peak, under stated assumptions.
- Software licences, updates and remote-support terms.
- Wear parts and expected maintenance hours per season.
Procurement timeline and dependencies
Each step needs the output of the previous one. Durations depend on the project, the suppliers and the site, so this guide does not give any.
- Specification — the brief and RFQ package are complete.
- Supplier bids — every bidder answers the same package.
- Technical and commercial evaluation — scope normalised, clarifications closed.
- Site readiness — building, utilities and permits are ready for installation.
- Installation — equipment set up and interfaces connected.
- Commissioning — acceptance tests with your own product against the agreed criteria.
Key point: A late specification or site delays every step after it.
How Global B2B Group works for the buyer
- Supplier-neutral: the team works on the buyer's side and has no preferred-vendor arrangements.
- Human-verified: the team reviews each brief before any supplier is contacted.
- Managed outreach: the team contacts suitable suppliers on your behalf. We never connect buyers and suppliers directly.
- Disclosure: buyers pay nothing. Global B2B Group is paid by the selected supplier, only after a project proceeds. Suppliers do not pay to be included in a shortlist.
- Financing: mapped only for eligible projects and only with your consent. Global B2B Group is not a lender.
- Assisted sourcing applies to projects of USD 250,000 or more. Supplier suitability, pricing and availability are always verified directly.
Preliminary planning aid — not an engineering design or a quote
Build my project brief
Four short steps. Fields marked Needed are what our team needs before supplier outreach; everything else is optional. Nothing is sent or stored on this page — no contact details are asked for here.
Check RFQ readiness: 0 of 8 needed items
- Missing: Crop or product
- Missing: New build or retrofit
- Missing: Project stage
- Missing: Peak throughput
- Missing: Pre-cooling / storage scope
- Missing: Site country
- Missing: Target commissioning
- Missing: Budget band
Readiness only means the brief is complete enough for review. Quantities, design, supplier suitability, pricing and availability all require direct verification.
Questions and data for your RFQ
- State the crop and main varieties — every supplier sizes equipment from this.
- Provide peak tonnes per day and the peak hour from harvest records.
- State operating hours and shifts on a peak day.
- Record field temperature on arrival and the time from harvest to the packhouse.
- Define grade rules: size bands, colour, defect classes and who signs off a grade.
- List pack formats, units per hour and changeovers per shift.
- Set the target product temperature before dispatch and the time allowed to reach it.
- State planned storage days and humidity needs.
- State the project country for codes, utilities and local service.
- Prepare a site plan with utilities, floor space and dock positions — bidders otherwise assume their own.
- Define the scope split and who owns each interface between suppliers.
- Require factory and site acceptance tests with your own product, plus training, spare parts and after-sales terms.
"Submit a project request" opens the RFQ builder with these answers filled in; you review them and add contact details there before anything is sent. Free, no purchase obligation.
Free planning tools
Free for any project size, with no subscription or purchase obligation. Results are planning aids, not quotes or engineering designs.
Sector-specific projects
Global B2B Group plans and sources integrated post-harvest projects. Narrow single-sector scopes go deeper on the group's specialist platforms.
Frequently asked questions
Who manufactures complete fruit and vegetable packing lines?
Several established makers offer large parts of a line, and some act as turnkey integrators, but few make every component themselves. Ask each bidder which modules they manufacture and which they buy in, and who carries responsibility for the whole line.
Should I buy a turnkey packhouse or separate machines?
A turnkey contract gives one point of responsibility but less choice per stage; separate packages give choice but leave the interfaces to you or an integrator. Decide based on your team's engineering capacity and on who will own performance risk.
What data do suppliers need to size a vegetable or fruit packing line?
Crop and varieties, peak tonnes per day and per hour, incoming form and field temperature, grade rules, pack formats and changeovers, cooling targets and site utilities. Without these, each supplier assumes its own values.
Is pre-cooling the same as cold storage?
No. Pre-cooling removes field heat quickly after harvest; cold storage holds the product at a set temperature and humidity. They need separate design and often separate equipment.
When is controlled-atmosphere storage needed?
Only for certain crops and longer storage periods where slowing ripening is worth the extra cost and complexity. A qualified specialist should confirm whether your crop, storage time and market justify it.
Which pre-cooling method is right for my crop?
It depends on the crop, packaging, throughput, target temperature and time allowed. Forced-air, hydro, vacuum and ice cooling each suit different products. A refrigeration engineer should validate the method and load for your site.
Can you tell me what a packing line will cost?
Not reliably without your data. Cost depends on crop, capacity, automation, cooling scope and country. The free CAPEX calculator helps you build a planning estimate from your own assumptions; real prices come from comparable proposals.
How do I compare proposals from different line suppliers?
Send everyone the same RFQ, require a cost breakdown by stage and a list of exclusions, normalise scope, and tie acceptance to measured results with your own product.
Does Global B2B Group sell or recommend specific equipment?
No. The team is supplier-neutral: it structures the RFQ, contacts suitable suppliers on the buyer's behalf and organises proposals for comparison. Manufacturers named in this guide are examples only, not endorsed or vetted suppliers.
Is the service free for buyers?
Yes. The planning tools are free for any project size with no purchase obligation. Optional assisted sourcing applies to projects of USD 250,000 or more.
What information is needed for a fruit packing line RFQ?
Crop and varieties, new build or retrofit, peak throughput, pack types, pre-cooling and storage scope, site location, target commissioning date, budget band and any existing drawings. The brief builder on this page shows which items are still missing.
How do I compare packhouse equipment quotes?
Make sure every quote answers the same RFQ, add back excluded items, check who owns each interface, and compare lifecycle cost — energy, water, spares and service — not only purchase price.
How do I coordinate line and cold-storage suppliers?
Name one owner for each interface in the RFQ, agree how product temperature is handed over between pre-cooling and storage, and make sure pallet patterns match the cooling airflow. On a modular project, an integrator or your own engineer usually takes this role.
Is a project under USD 250,000 eligible for assisted sourcing?
No. Assisted sourcing applies to projects of USD 250,000 or more. The free tools, including the brief builder and readiness check, stay available for any project size.
Plan your post-harvest project — or submit an RFQ
Use the free tools to plan the line, then share your brief. Our team structures one RFQ for the whole chain, contacts suitable suppliers on your behalf and organises the proposals for like-for-like comparison. We never connect buyers and suppliers directly.
Free for buyers, no purchase obligation. Optional assisted sourcing applies to projects of USD 250,000 or more. Supplier matching, availability, pricing, compliance, financing and performance are all subject to verification.
Manufacturer pages cited (checked 14 October 2026)
Next in this series: How to build a decision-ready industrial RFQ: a practical guide to comparable bids and better project decisions
Overview framework: Start with the Outcome: A Practical Framework for Better Agrifood Procurement
General planning guidance only — not an engineering design or a quotation. Manufacturer pages describe each maker's own offering; naming them implies no endorsement, vetting or partnership. Cooling and process design must be validated by qualified engineers for your crop and site.
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