Services: owner-side, operator-led
We build. Not just advise.
End-to-end engineering and executive-level consulting for food, beverage, pharmaceutical, water treatment, and industrial manufacturing: facilities, process, controls, equipment, financials, and startup. We carry the owner-side technical view from concept through first production.
Results, not rhetoric
We own the hard middle between plan and production.
Equipment choices change utility loads. Controls change staffing. Sanitation drives layout. Commissioning exposes every weak assumption. Solon is strongest where those decisions overlap, translating business goals into buildable facility, process, controls, and startup requirements, then staying through handoff so the finished system can actually run.
Built in Austin, Texas by operators, a veteran-owned firm with hands-on production and technical leadership across food, beverage, pharmaceutical, water treatment, and industrial manufacturing.
01 / How we engage
Engagement models
Flexible by design. Scoped to the project.
Every engagement starts with a free consultation. From there we structure the work the way the project needs, and we put it in writing, with clear scope, timelines, and terms.
01
Free consultation
Every relationship starts with a no-cost first meeting: an in-depth look at your operation, goals, and expansion plans, ending in actionable next steps.
02
Hourly consulting
Scoped, hourly technical and engineering work against a defined deliverable. The right structure when the task is bounded.
03
Fixed-scope project
A defined scope, timeline, and price to lead a build, expansion, or recovery from kickoff through commissioning.
04
Retainer & ongoing partnership
Monthly retainer or continuous-improvement partnership for operators who need a steady owner-side hand over time.
02 / Services
Twelve delivery lanes
The work, by the decision it removes.
Each lane is a real specialization with real deliverables, engaged individually or carried across the whole project when work crosses lanes. Titles link to the full service page.
01 Facility design
/facility-engineering-design/
Facility Engineering & Plant Design
Layout, utilities, sanitary and hygienic zoning, and infrastructure planning for new builds and major expansions, serving food, beverage, pharmaceutical, water treatment, and industrial facilities.
- Floor layout & flow planning
- Utility systems: power, water, glycol, steam, drains
- Sanitary & hygienic zoning
- Code & permitting strategy
02 Process engineering
/process-engineering/
Process Engineering
Sanitary and hygienic process flow, equipment sequencing, utility coordination, and debottlenecking for food, beverage, and industrial plants in design or already in production.
- Sanitary & hygienic process flow
- Equipment sequence & line balancing
- Debottlenecking & throughput
- P&ID development
03 Automation
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Automation & Controls
PLC, HMI, and SCADA design with sensor and VFD integration for precise, data-driven process control across any production environment.
- Custom HMI & control design
- PLC & SCADA integration
- Sensor & VFD integration
- Automated valve & loop retrofits
04 CIP & sanitation
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CIP System Design & Sanitation
Clean-in-place performance audits and sanitation-system redesign for food, beverage, and pharmaceutical plants where cleanability is the real constraint.
- CIP performance audit
- Sanitation system redesign
- Chemical, flow & cycle verification
- Cleanability & line clearance
05 Equipment
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Equipment Procurement & Review
Specification, sourcing, and qualification of production equipment, with technical oversight from spec through install across all facility types.
- Equipment specification
- Sourcing & procurement
- International logistics & import
- Qualification & factory acceptance testing
06 Project mgmt
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Project Management & Commissioning
A single accountable lead from procurement through commissioning, startup, and operator training, for any facility type or industry.
- Owner’s representative
- Vendor & trade coordination
- Commissioning & startup
- Operator training & handoff
07 Product dev
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Recipe & Product Development
Formulation through commercial scale-up for beverages and food products including beer, wine, spirits, RTD, soda, non-alcoholic, and specialty food, with QC that holds spec.
- Pilot formulation & sensory
- Commercial scale-up
- QC framework & SOPs
- Shelf-life & batch consistency
08 Operations
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Operations Optimization
Bottleneck elimination, capacity planning, and efficiency work for facilities that need to produce more at lower cost, across all production types.
- Bottleneck & capacity analysis
- Lean process improvement
- Quality control programs
- Supply-chain & sourcing optimization
09 Water & utilities
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Water, Wastewater & Utility Systems
Process water treatment, wastewater treatment system design, cooling media piping, and utility loop engineering for manufacturing and industrial plants.
- Process water treatment & filtration
- Wastewater treatment system design
- Cooling media piping design
- Utility loop balancing & commissioning
10 Pharmaceutical
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Pharmaceutical & Regulated Facilities
cGMP facility design, validation planning, and process engineering for pharmaceutical, biotech, and highly regulated manufacturing environments.
- cGMP facility design
- IQ / OQ / PQ validation planning
- Cleanroom & controlled environments
- Regulated process engineering
11 Packaging
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Packaging Line Design & Integration
Filling, labeling, sealing, and secondary packaging line design for food, beverage, and industrial products, integrated with upstream process and optimized for changeover.
- Line design & equipment selection
- Filling, sealing & labeling systems
- Upstream process integration
- Line efficiency & changeover planning
12 Strategy & finance
/business-strategy/
Business Strategy & Financial Planning
Executive-level planning for owners and operators: feasibility studies, investor-ready financial models, P&L analysis, growth strategy, and capital planning grounded in real production costs.
- Feasibility studies & market analysis
- Investor-ready financial modeling
- P&L analysis & cost structure
- Growth strategy & capital planning
03 / Sectors we serve
Craft to industrial scale
Same discipline, in your production context.
If you know your industry, start here. Each route lands on a page built around your equipment, your regulations, and your production reality, backed by the same owner-side engineering and project discipline.
Brewery Consulting
Startup planning, expansion, production cleanup, and commissioning for breweries from three barrels to a hundred thousand.
Winery Consulting
Crush pad to bottling line: cellar infrastructure, glycol cooling, and harvest-ready startup.
Distillery Consulting
Still-house design, process, and controls for new and scaling distilleries.
Food & Beverage Manufacturing
Owner-side engineering for food processors, RTD manufacturers, contract co-packers, and the broader beverage industry.
Pharmaceutical & Biotech
cGMP facility design, validation planning, and regulated process engineering for pharma and biotech manufacturers.
Water & Wastewater Treatment
Process water, wastewater treatment, and cooling media piping design for manufacturing and industrial facilities.
Packaging Facilities
Filling, labeling, and secondary packaging line design for food, beverage, and industrial products.
Industrial Processing
Engineering, operations, and project management for industrial and specialty processing facilities beyond traditional food and beverage.
We also serve cideries, RTD manufacturers, kombucha producers, nutraceutical manufacturers, grain millers, contract co-packers, and specialty food processors, spanning local startups and international producers. See all industries served →
04 / How we work
Four phases, one team
Partners in execution. We don’t walk away.
Phase 01
Discovery & Strategy
A deep dive into your business goals, operational challenges, and financial targets, so the engineering strategy aligns with your vision.
Phase 02
Engineering & Design
The strategy becomes detailed technical plans, P&IDs, electrical schematics, and equipment specifications: the buildable blueprint for the project.
Phase 03
Execution & Management
We manage the whole execution, coordinating certified specialized installers while providing rigorous oversight on every weld, wire, and connection.
Phase 04
Commissioning & Hand-off
Every system is run to specification and your team is fully trained before the project is complete, ensuring a seamless transition to production.
Federal & government
As a veteran-owned SDVOSB firm, Solon also delivers owner-side technical and engineering work for federal and regulated facilities.
05 / Common questions
Before a first call
Answers to the most common questions.
Q.01What exactly does Solon Consulting do?
Q.02Who do you work with?
Q.03How do you structure services and pricing?
Q.04What’s involved in the free consultation?
Q.05How does Solon differ from other consultants?
Q.06Do you work with pharmaceutical and regulated facilities?
Q.07What do water treatment and wastewater services include?
Ready to engineer your vision?
Whether you are starting with a clean sheet of paper or transforming an existing operation, the first meeting is free. Tell us where the work is.
Austin, Texas · info@consultsolon.com · 814-386-0413