Solon Consulting
Food and Beverage Manufacturing Consultants for Regulated Production
Food and beverage consulting only helps if it reaches the floor; ours is engineering-led, aligned with FDA requirements and built around your line, not a slide deck. A food or beverage manufacturing site that adds a new line or changes a clean-in-place circuit can end up with a control system that does not match the actual pipe runs and valve groupings. When that happens, the operations team is left to manage a mismatch between the automation sequence and the physical boundaries that keep product contact surfaces separate. Solon can assess the existing process and facility documents, map the interface between CIP circuits and automation scope, and specify a scope of work that separates process engineering, facility design, and controls integration. That scope becomes the basis for coordinating the technical packages so the owner can commission the system against a single set of interface documents. The work is organized into distinct service areas for process, facility, controls, and startup support, giving the owner a clear way to assign each technical scope to the right specialist. Contact us to define your project scope.
Food and Beverage Consulting Practice Areas
Choose your starting point
Identify Your Primary Challenge
Different operational hurdles require distinct engineering approaches. We map your specific constraints to the right specialist team for process design, utility systems, or controls integration. This targeting helps focus effort on the most relevant technical tasks for your situation and defines scope boundaries explicitly. Selecting the right path aligns project inputs with required technical outputs.
Process and Sanitation Needs
Define hygiene zones and flow paths to address product safety and quality requirements.
Facility and Utility Design
Plan infrastructure layouts that support production while addressing safety rules and code requirements.
Controls and Automation
Configure logic and interfaces to manage batch records and equipment performance reliably within set parameters.
Choose your starting point
Select Your Engineering Discipline
Consolidate your technical requirements under one coordinated framework. We test systems and commission assets to verify they function within their designed parameters before handover to your operations team. This structured approach helps define integration expectations during startup phases and establishes a defined framework for team coordination.
Beverage Production Support
Address fermentation, filtration, and packaging line specifics for liquid products with detailed technical mapping and defined process boundaries.
Distillery Operations
Address distillation columns, spirits storage, and blending processes with attention to operational detail.
General Process Engineering
Address unit operations and material handling across diverse food manufacturing sectors using standard tools.
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Technical Scopes of Work
Regulated manufacturing projects require clear definition of technical tasks before execution begins. Solon can assess site conditions, develop specifications, configure system logic, and test components against stated requirements. Because these scopes are defined separately, you can engage the exact support a facility upgrade or process change needs without committing to a fixed sequence of phases.
Site Assessment
Solon can assess existing documentation and physical conditions to identify technical constraints that influence project scope and boundary definitions.
Specification Development
The team can develop detailed specifications that define deliverables and boundary conditions clearly for all parties involved in the manufacturing upgrade.
System Configuration
Engineers can configure control logic or mechanical layouts to align with approved design documents and specific operational requirements.
Functional Testing
Staff can test systems using defined protocols to verify that components operate within specified limits and tolerances before handover.
Commissioning Coordination
Solon can coordinate final handover activities to facilitate the transition from installation to production operations under owner control.
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Work-Product Examples for Regulated Manufacturing Decisions
When a regulated food or beverage manufacturer begins a capital project, the early choice of which technical specialist leads each scope of work shapes the entire effort. A decision made without a clear map of process, facility, controls, and automation boundaries can hand one consultant a scope that quietly overlaps another's, leaving an interface unowned. Solon can assess the technical scope and produce a structured decision artifact that separates each area and identifies the owner for every boundary. The manufacturer can then assign the right specialist to the right work with a defined handoff between them. This approach keeps the manufacturer in control of the technical direction without assuming that any single firm will cover all disciplines.
Scope Definition Map
A structured document that separates process, facility, controls, and automation work into distinct scopes and names who owns each one. It shows you where one discipline ends and the next begins before you start engaging specialist firms.
Work-product example; actual project scope depends on verified inputs.
Interface Responsibility Matrix
A matrix that lists every technical interface between disciplines and designates the party responsible for each boundary. It clarifies who owns the handoff between process and facility or between controls and automation.
Work-product example; actual project scope depends on verified inputs.
Scope Boundary Checklist
A checklist that captures in-scope and out-of-scope items, assumptions, and exclusions for each scope of work. It gives the manufacturer a side-by-side view of scope boundaries before specialist contracts are signed.
Work-product example; actual project scope depends on verified inputs.
faq
Common Technical Questions
Clear answers help you determine if our technical approach fits your project. We focus on defining scope and coordinating execution, providing straightforward responses that clarify exact service boundaries for your inquiry and help you make informed decisions about next steps for your manufacturing operations today.
Does Solon sell processing equipment directly?
Solon can specify and coordinate equipment procurement, installation support, parts, and startup as technical project support for your facility.
How do you handle regulatory compliance in designs?
We assess your specific regulatory environment and specify systems that align with current codes, leaving final certification to the appropriate authorities having jurisdiction for official approval processes and validation steps.
Can you support both new builds and retrofits?
Solon can develop configurations for greenfield facilities and coordinate modifications for existing lines by addressing the constraints of each specific site through clearly defined technical scopes of work.
What is your role during equipment startup?
We test systems and commission assets to verify performance against design specs so the equipment operates according to the defined parameters before production operations start under your direct operational control.
craft beverage
Craft Beverage Consultants Across Every Discipline
Craft beverage consultants tend to specialize in one lane: recipes, or branding, or accounting. Solon covers the engineering lane across brewery, distillery, winery, cider, RTD, and non-alcoholic production, and coordinates with the specialists you already use.
The practical difference shows up when projects cross disciplines: a recipe change that alters CIP chemistry, an expansion that outruns the glycol plant, a co-packing deal that needs process validation. One engineering consultant who has seen the whole plant keeps those from becoming three separate vendor problems. Sector depth lives on our brewery, distillery, and winery pages.
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Initiate Your Project Definition
Start by mapping your immediate technical needs to our available service areas today. We develop a coordinated plan to address your specific manufacturing challenges for your team. This initial step establishes a defined path for your engineering team to follow and outlines the project lifecycle.