Solon Consulting
Food and beverage consulting
Maybe you’re launching a product, adding a line, or rebuilding how an existing plant runs. Before those decisions become equipment orders, someone has to connect the business case, the product, the capital plan and the facility: what you’ll make, how much, where, and what it costs to operate. Solon’s food and beverage consulting works across those decisions as owner’s representatives. That work carries into the process itself: layout, equipment, piping and controls we design and build, installation support and commissioning. For a cleaning circuit change, the pipe drawing and the program need to describe the same valves. Tell us what you make and what’s changing, including any FDA paperwork you need help with. Send us the drawings you have.
Deciding what to make, where, and what it costs to run
How much you plan to sell sets the capacity you need. Capacity sets the building, the utilities and the crew. All three set the capital plan and the monthly operating cost. Solon works through that chain of decisions with you as an owner’s representative.
The product and volume decisions come first
A realistic plan starts with what you will actually make and how much of it the market and your channels can absorb in the first year, not at full ambition. We work with you to test the product idea against production reality: ingredients and their handling, batch versus continuous processing, shelf life and packaging, and cleaning requirements between products. Those answers determine tank sizes, line speeds and labor patterns, and they change what equipment is even worth quoting.
Capital and operating cost, not just purchase price
Equipment quotes are only one line of the money question. A plan you can fund includes the building fit-out, utility upgrades, installation labor, permits, working capital for ingredients and packaging, and the cost of running the operation: energy, water, cleaning chemicals, maintenance and staffing for every shift you plan. We build that picture with you so the capital raise and the production plan describe the same business. Where a phased approach serves you better than one large build, we will say so and plan the first phase around what can actually run.
The regulatory route and who represents you
Food safety registration, FSMA-aligned preventive controls and local health department requirements shape the layout, the cleaning design and your record keeping, so they belong in the plan rather than after it. We help you identify which requirements apply to your product and site, prepare the supporting technical information, and coordinate with your advisers on the submissions. As your representative, Solon also carries the owner-side coordination through execution: resolving questions between suppliers, installers and your team, keeping purchasing aligned with the agreed design, and holding the schedule of decisions so the business opening is not left waiting on disconnected quotes. Our commissioning and startup services cover the handover work at the end of that sequence.
Once the business decisions hold together, the technical work that follows has a purpose it can answer to. The process design, equipment selection, cleaning circuits and controls we design and build in the sections below are how the plan you just funded gets installed and running, and the specifications we write flow directly from the volumes, budget and regulatory route settled here.
Changing the cleaning circuit, power connections or controls?
Which equipment, piping and controls need to change?
Cleaning circuits and the layout of hygiene zones
Changing how you clean the line? Send us the pipe drawing and equipment list, including the areas that need to stay separate for cleaning. We’ll check what needs to change in the design and equipment specifications.
Line layout, power and water connections
Will the new equipment fit, and do you have the power and water it needs? We’ll work through the layout and equipment requirements together before you commit to buying it.
Program the PLC and the screens your operators use
A new machine may need changes to the panel and the way your operators run the line. We build and program control panels, including PLC and HMI integration. For more on programming a food or beverage line, read our food and beverage automation consultant page.
What are you making, and how much?
Equipment for making drinks and processing food
You’re buying equipment to make a drink or process ingredients, and it needs to fit how you work. The machines should follow from your product and volumes, not the other way round. Talk to a beverage manufacturing consultant about the design, equipment purchase, programming and getting the line running.
Fermentation tanks, filters and packaging equipment
What will you ferment, filter and package, and how much do you need to make? Those answers set the equipment and control requirements. Still working on the drink itself? See the beverage development consultants page.
Distilling equipment, spirits storage and blending tanks
Planning a distillery? Bring your equipment list and your plans for storing and blending spirits. We’ll work through what to buy, what needs programming and which permits you need help with.
Equipment for processing and moving your ingredients
What ingredients need to move through the line, and what happens to them along the way? We’ll use that to work out the process and equipment specifications. Our food manufacturing consultant page covers the wider production questions.
What needs doing before you run the first batch?
Before equipment arrives, agree on who’s handling the drawings, purchasing and programming, and who’ll commission it. We can put those jobs together around what you’re making and the equipment you’ll run. The same questions matter when you’re opening a new business and when you’re changing a line that’s already running.
Comparing food and beverage consulting companies? Start here.
Can I buy food and beverage processing equipment from Solon?
Yes, we sell new equipment packages as a dealer and distributor, used and refurbished equipment, and engineered systems. We also build and program control panels, and can include equipment specifications, purchasing, installation assistance and commissioning in the agreed job.
Can you help me with FDA paperwork and permits?
Yes, FDA compliance and permitting are part of the work we do. Tell us what you make and where you’ll make it, along with the paperwork you’re working on. We’ll use your product and site requirements to work out which parts you need us to handle.
Can you design a new food factory or change an existing line?
Yes, we do process design and layouts for new food factories and changes to existing lines. Tell us what you’ll make, which equipment is involved and how much room you have. Include any limits on power, water or gas.
Can you commission the line before we start making product?
Yes, we commission equipment and help get it running. We’ll work through the checks against the agreed design and any control programming needed. Put what your production team needs from us into the plan too, so it’s part of the job.
Buying equipment and getting it running
Buy equipment that fits the line you’re building
Buying a different machine may mean changing the controls too. We sell new, used and refurbished equipment, build and program control panels, and commission systems. Meet the people behind our beverage consulting company, or see our engineering consulting services for the design and other project work we do.
Adding brewery equipment? Send the equipment list and the drawings you have. We’ll work through the process, layout, controls and commissioning the job needs. For work specific to what you make, see our brewery consultant, distillery consultant and winery consultant pages.
Tell us about your plans
Tell us what you’re making, what you want to add or change, and where the project stands today. You can start with the plans you’ve got, and we’ll agree the next step from there.