Most of the food processing tenders that reach us are not lost on price. They are lost on the technical envelope: a bid that quotes machines when the tender asked for a line, or one that leaves the testing and commissioning clauses unanswered because the supplier behind the bidder never provided the paperwork. If you are preparing a submission, it is worth knowing what the evaluation committee is going to open first.
The tender is written around output, not around machines
A public tender for a tomato paste plant, a dairy, a fruit juice line or a flour mill almost always states a capacity: tonnes per hour of raw input, or litres per hour of finished product, or bags per shift. That single figure governs everything downstream. It sets the size of the receiving and washing stage, the evaporator surface, the filler speed and the cold store volume.
Bids come apart in the middle of the line. A supplier quotes a generous crusher and a generous filler, puts an undersized pasteuriser between them, and the plant can never reach the rated figure written into the contract. We size every stage against the stated output and show the calculation, because an evaluator who can follow the arithmetic has less reason to score you down.
Ask for the raw material specification
Tenders frequently name a capacity without naming the input. Tomato solids vary, milk fat varies, grain moisture at intake varies enormously by region and season. If the tender document does not state it, raise it as a clarification question during the query window rather than guessing. A plant designed for one moisture assumption and fed another will underperform, and the contract will hold the supplier to the number, not the assumption.
What the documentation set has to contain
For food equipment, the compliance file usually runs wider than the machine list. Expect to provide:
- A manufacturer authorisation letter naming the bidder and the specific tender reference.
- Material certificates for product contact parts, normally stainless steel with the grade stated. Do not write "food grade" and leave it there; name the grade.
- An electrical specification matched to the destination supply, with motors, control panels and switchgear built for it rather than adapted after arrival.
- A spare parts list for the first two years, priced, so the buyer can compare running cost and not only capital cost.
- Certificates of origin, packing list and commercial invoice for the shipment itself.
We prepare this file in the format the tender asks for. If the document specifies a template, we fill in that template rather than attaching our own, because a committee working through dozens of bids will not transcribe your format into theirs.
Factory acceptance testing is a clause worth reading twice
An increasing number of institutional tenders require a factory acceptance test before shipment, sometimes witnessed by the buyer or by an inspection agency. This is a good clause for everyone. It means the line is assembled and run under load in our works, with the buyer present or with a third party issuing the report, and any problem is found on our floor rather than on a concrete slab several thousand kilometres away.
If the tender allows a witnessed test, price the travel into the bid. If it requires a third party inspection, name the agency you will use. Silence on this clause reads as an inability to comply.
Installation, commissioning and the training obligation
Public buyers care about what happens after the container is opened, because their auditors will ask. Most tenders for processing plant include an installation and commissioning obligation and a training obligation, often with a stated number of operator days. Quote them separately and visibly. A bid that folds them into the machine price looks cheaper on the first page and less credible on the third.
We commission on site and train the operators who will run the line, and we keep the same engineers reachable afterwards. For a plant that is expected to hold its rated output for years, the first three months of adjustment matter more than any specification sheet.
Shipping from China, and the questions that come with it
Our plants ship from the eastern and southern Chinese ports. For most destinations that means a straightforward container movement, but the tender may specify incoterms that shift the risk boundary, and it may require inspection at load port. Both are workable; both need to be priced. Where the destination is landlocked, we route through the nearest transit port and quote the inland leg as part of the delivered price rather than stopping the price at the quay.
What to send us when you are bidding
Send the tender document itself, not a summary. We read the technical schedules, the compliance annexes and the evaluation criteria, and we come back with the machine list, the plant layout, the delivered price and the lead time, in a form you can attach to your submission. If the deadline is tight, say so in your first message and we will tell you honestly whether it can be met.