First Key will help your company successfully navigate through the many activities and decisions that face a new brewery start up or expansion.
Our technical services cover everything you need to transform your brewery dream into a real functioning brewery. Whether building an entirely new brewery or modifying an existing one, we work closely with you, your local architects and engineers, and our trusted network of construction management firms to develop a brewery that can meet projected sales volumes and whose layout is designed for optimal material and process flow. Depending on the scale and nature of your project, our services can involve daily on-site project management and support, or a series of site visits combined with remote support.
Design
We manage all brewing and packaging process engineering, utilities engineering and documentation. We work with suppliers, architects and civil engineers to create customized site and equipment layout drawings, process flow diagrams (PFDs), and piping and instrumentation diagrams (P&IDs) and even a recommended spare parts list to ensure all elements are considered and seamlessly integrated. We also consider the updated packaging and utilities needs in the case of an expanding brewery, providing a documentation package that is customized to your needs.
Procure
We take care of all brewery equipment (process, packaging, utility and supporting) and supplies (ingredients, packaging materials, and others) selection and procurement, including evaluation of vendor proposals and negotiation of final purchase agreements. We also review supplier drawings, equipment layouts, piping drawings, and integrate them into the engineering master plan.
Build
We partner with contractors, trades and construction management firms to oversee development and construction/renovation of the site and building, to make sure that all brewery systems are sufficiently supported and housed.
Commission
We coordinate and oversee the installation, commissioning and start-up of all equipment (both new and retained), sources spare parts, and develops start-up procedures, operating and quality manuals for the brewery. We work closely with vendors, contractors and trades to perform dry and wet tests (including trial brewing and product testing), as well as provide the required performance evaluations to ensure the new and retained brewery systems operate to intended performance specifications, and are ready to reliably take on the challenges of daily operation.
