Complete factory procurement: from site to commissioning
Procuring a complete factory means buying a coordinated set of packages — process equipment, building, utilities, controls, installation and acceptance — against one design basis. The buyer's main task is defining product, annual output and site status first, then deciding whether to award one turnkey contract or several packages with a named integrator. Price comparison only becomes meaningful once every bidder works from the same scope.
When a project is a complete factory
A project becomes a factory procurement, rather than a machinery or line purchase, when the buyer also needs the building, utilities, site infrastructure or permits delivered or coordinated as part of the same programme.
Typical triggers are a greenfield site, a brownfield conversion that changes the building, or an expansion where new utilities capacity is required before equipment can run.
Recommended sequence
1. Define product, annual output and quality standard. 2. Confirm site status: land, building, zoning and permits. 3. Prepare a process concept and utility load estimate. 4. Choose a contracting model. 5. Issue package RFQs from one revision-controlled specification. 6. Compare technically and commercially on the same basis. 7. Agree FAT, SAT and commissioning responsibilities before award.
Financing evidence — CAPEX estimate, quotations, schedule and risk register — is easier to assemble when it is produced along this sequence rather than afterwards.
Turnkey, EPC or multi-package
A turnkey or EPC contract moves interface risk to one contractor but usually reduces visibility into individual package prices. A multi-package approach keeps prices transparent but leaves the buyer, or an appointed integrator, responsible for interfaces between building, utilities and process.
Neither model is automatically cheaper; the right choice depends on the buyer's in-house engineering capacity and appetite for interface risk.
Factory package checklist
Each package needs its own boundary, owner and evidence before tender.
| Item | What to define | Evidence to attach | Common gap |
|---|---|---|---|
| Site and building | Land status, building dimensions, floor loads, clean/dirty zoning, expansion space. | Site plan, survey, permit status. | Building designed before process layout is fixed. |
| Process equipment | Product, annual output, shifts, recipe range, quality standard. | Process flow, mass balance, layout draft. | Capacity quoted without a measured basis. |
| Utilities | Power, water, steam, compressed air, refrigeration, wastewater. | Load estimate and connection capacity. | Utility upgrades left out of CAPEX. |
| Controls and automation | Automation level, MES/ERP interfaces, data ownership. | Controls architecture and interface list. | No single owner for integration testing. |
| Installation and commissioning | Who installs, trains, starts up and signs off. | Responsibility matrix and commissioning plan. | Turnkey assumed but never written down. |
| Acceptance and aftercare | FAT, SAT, performance tests, spares, warranty. | Draft FAT/SAT protocol and spares list. | Acceptance criteria agreed after delivery. |
Complete factory RFQ fields
The minimum information a factory RFQ should carry before suppliers are approached.
| Field | Why it matters | Example entry format |
|---|---|---|
| Product | Defines process route and hygiene class. | Product type, formats, quality standard |
| Annual output | Sizes equipment and utilities. | Tonnes or units per year, shifts per day |
| Site status | Determines civil scope. | Greenfield / brownfield / existing building |
| Utilities | Drives connection and upgrade cost. | Available power, water, steam, gas |
| Building status | Separates civil from process scope. | To build / to convert / ready |
| Automation | Affects CAPEX, labour and controls scope. | Manual / semi-automatic / fully automatic |
| Country | Affects codes, duties, logistics and service. | Country and region of site |
| Budget | Confirms commercial fit and financing route. | Range in USD, financing status |
| Timeline | Sets tender and delivery sequence. | Target start of production |
Global B2B Group reviews commercial projects of USD 250,000 or more.
Tables are illustrative planning aids, not supplier offers, prices or results. Global B2B Group is not a manufacturer, EPC contractor, lender or insurer; every request is reviewed by the project team before any controlled introduction. Sector-specific projects (cold chain, aquaculture, poultry, greenhouse, feed) are routed to the relevant group specialist platform.