Practical reading before you spend anything.

Written for working manufacturers: real cost bands, honest failure modes, dated sources. No marketing averages, no content for content's sake — we'd rather publish six useful guides than sixty thin ones.

Spares & support2026-07-31 · 7 min

What spare parts to hold for an imported Chinese production line

The three-tier holding strategy: your shelf, the regional buffer, and the channel — with indicative values.

Read →
Budget decisions2026-07-31 · 8 min

New, used, or fix what you have — which one does your budget actually buy?

The capital ladder from US$60k recovery to a US$900k mid line — and the trap at each rung.

Read →
Budget decisions2026-07-31 · 7 min

What a production line really costs — why equipment is only 35–55% of the project

The cost blocks nobody quotes, the landed-and-installed factors, and a worked example.

Read →
Buying decisions2026-07-31 · 8 min

Chinese vs European production lines: a cost and support comparison

Respectful to both — and clear about which offer fits the US$150k–900k class most buyers are actually in.

Read →
First-time buyers2026-07-31 · 9 min

Your first production line: what nobody tells a first-time buyer

The experience gap, the real timeline, one cautionary tale, and the seven questions that protect your capital.

Read →
Sizing guides2026-07-31 · 8 min

Maize mill sizing: 30 vs 60 vs 240 tonnes per day

Realistic off-take, capex bands from US$250k to US$3.5M, and the two-sizes-too-big trap.

Read →
Sizing guides2026-07-31 · 8 min

Sunflower oil line sizing: 20 / 50 / 100 tpd — and when refining pays

The seed decides the line. Crude vs bottled, capex bands, and the Tanzania opportunity.

Read →
Sizing guides2026-07-31 · 8 min

Bottling & filling line sizing for African beverage producers

Speed tiers, PET vs glass vs can, and the two utilities that decide whether you ever run at rate.

Read →
Sizing guides2026-07-31 · 7 min

Concrete block plant sizing for African markets

Manual, semi-auto or fully automatic — 1,000 to 40,000+ blocks/day, US$8k to US$1.5M+.

Read →
Sizing guides2026-07-31 · 7 min

Injection moulding tonnage: sizing the clamp for your product mix

50t to 1,300t+ bands matched to real products — and why 150–350t is Africa's workhorse.

Read →
First-time buyers2026-07-31 · 7 min

Training your operators before the line arrives

The eight-to-sixteen-week window everyone wastes — and how to spend it instead.

Read →
Reference

The production-line glossary

24 plain-language definitions — FOB, FAT, SAT, commissioning, wear parts, consignment stock and the rest.

Browse →

Reading done. Numbers next?

The feasibility call is free, and it comes back with a written band for your specific line.