Solon Consulting · Business and technical consulting
We build the vision, the plan, and the business with you.
Solon is a business-building consultancy and owner’s representative. We step into your operations to guide the decisions that reach across the whole business, from financial planning, regulatory compliance, and staffing to facility design and equipment procurement.
“Solon Consulting essentially built our entire brewery from scratch.” Nate Argroves, owner, Starbase Brewing
02 / Who we are
A consultancy built around the whole business
Advice for the whole business.
Owners come to us with decisions that reach across the whole business: how to plan the budget, how to staff and organize production, how to reach customers and comply with regulation, and how the day-to-day operation should run. We work through those questions with you. The business model and the process have to support each other, so we keep them connected while the decisions are made.
As your owner’s representative, we carry your priorities into discussions with architects, vendors and contractors. That responsibility continues into equipment specifications, procurement and installation support, with commissioning to prepare systems for operation. Our founders also own and run a production business, so our advice reflects the responsibility of making the whole operation work.
03 / Client work
Client experience and projects
What our clients say about working with Solon.
Since 2020, Solon has worked with more than 50 clients, from breweries and wineries to cideries and beverage makers. These clients describe what it meant to work with Solon, from building a brewery from scratch to supporting an operating team. Explore more client testimonials and the project examples below.
Working with Solon
03.01 / Testimonials
Central Machine Works
Brewery design
“Solon Consulting are experts in designing successful breweries and provide top tier services from grain to glass. No one offers better options to meet customer demands at affordable rates.”
Scott Rynbrandt
Head Brewer · Central Machine Works
Istrouma Brewing
Construction and operations
“Solon was exactly what we were looking for to get our brewery on the right path. During construction, they showed incredible work ethic and were able to succeed with the available resources. When it came to operations, Solon Consulting also showed an invaluable amount of experience and knowledge with the ability to convey it.”
Dean Vosloh
Head Brewer · Istrouma Brewing, Baton Rouge
Austin Cocktails
Installation and production support
“Solon Consulting saved us with expert installation services and knowledge that went beyond any of our previous consulting partners. They went above and beyond to ensure we were producing the best product possible.”
Wagon Wills
Operations Manager · Austin Cocktails
Selected projects
03.02 / Projects
Case 01 / Brewery
Balanced Rock Brewing
Planning a new brewery
For this ground-up brewery, Solon planned the cooling system layout, procured the chiller, and coordinated the piping work and installing contractor to make sure the design was built as intended.
Case 02 / Brewery group
Pouring With Heart · Stay Put Brewing
Austin, Texas
Across two brewpub sites, including a remodel, Solon served as project lead and owner’s representative to every prime and subcontractor, covering equipment, HVAC, automation and installation. The project was delivered under budget and ahead of schedule.
Explore more projects, including Augusta Vin winery.
04 / How we help
Put the business plan to work.
A sound plan has to hold up in the market and in daily operation. The work below carries it into practice, from business planning and permitting to designing the process, managing delivery and advising an operation that is already running.
Business planning and capital
Before a facility or equipment commitment, we compare the realistic paths: building new, using existing capacity, or acquiring an operation. Capital requirements, operating costs and payback are worked through so the decision is made with the full picture.
Regulatory and permitting guidance
Permits and compliance shape what the process can be. We map the regulatory path into design decisions, and represent your interests with authorities, architects and vendors as the project moves.
Representing your interests through the build
Keep the schedule, technical requirements and supplier decisions connected to your operating priorities. We coordinate delivery, support installation and commission systems, helping the team prepare for production.
Process design for commercial production
Translate the product and production target into a process your facility can support. Flow diagrams, process descriptions and material and energy balances connect equipment choices with utilities, sanitation and packaging.
A facility designed around the operation
Develop the layout and utility requirements together so equipment placement supports product flow, access and production capacity. Those requirements give the architects and construction team a practical basis for the build.
Automation and controls we design and build
Control panels, PLCs and operator interfaces designed around your process, so conditions like temperature and pressure are visible and your team can run production with confidence.
Improve the way your operation works
Improving an operation can mean changing the process or the equipment, or working through how distribution is organized, how the team is staffed and how daily decisions are made. We advise on those questions as they arise, and when the work calls for it we review the operation on site and help turn the findings into practical changes, with ongoing advisory support available.
Clean-in-place consulting · Equipment services · Industrial automation consulting · Recipe and beverage development · Start a beer brand
05 / Industries
How the work applies to what you make
A winery plans around harvest; a beverage line suits its product and distribution; a brewery’s brewhouse and cellar have to work together. The same consulting and technical practice applies to each setting.
Solon works as brewery consultants, distillery consultants and winery consultants, as food and beverage consultants and food manufacturing consultants, and as industrial automation consultants, food engineering consultants, beverage manufacturing consultants and engineering consultants. Behind that work are PLC and HMI integration, food processing plant design, CIP consulting, beverage development consulting, equipment supply, commissioning and startup services, operations consulting and help to start a beer brand. For federal set-aside work, Solon is an SDVOSB engineering firm.
Brewery consulting
Distillery consulting
Winery consulting
Beverage production design
Food manufacturing consulting
Government services
06 / Featured
Planning resources and technical tools
Understand the decisions before you commit
Use these guides to examine planning and procurement choices, and the calculators to explore technical sizing and capacity. They can help you frame the questions to bring into a project discussion.
Brewery startup guide
Plan the path to opening a brewery
A staged brewery startup guide covering company formation, funding, permits and the first commercial batch. See how the decisions and dependencies fit together.
Automation investment guide
Automation investment guide
Consider the work automation would change, the cost of the system and the expense of integrating it. The guide explains how those factors affect a payback estimate.
Equipment procurement guide
Compare the purchase with the cost to operate
Compare capacity, controls, maintenance and future expansion needs alongside the purchase price. This guide helps you look beyond the initial quote.
Glycol sizing calculator
Glycol sizing calculator
Explore cooling demand and glycol sizing, then discuss the assumptions alongside your equipment specifications. Use the result as a starting point for the system design.
Brewery capacity planner
Brewery capacity planner
Consider brewhouse, fermentation and packaging capacity alongside power, water and cooling. Use the planner to explore which part of the operation may constrain the production target.
07 / Common questions
Beginning an engagement
Working with Solon
Q.01What should I bring to the first call?
Start with what you want the business or project to achieve, where it stands and what has already been decided. Plans, equipment information and a target date are useful if you have them. We can discuss the decisions ahead and the kind of support that fits.
Q.02Who will I actually be working with?
You work directly with our founders and their team. Kirby and Matt built this practice around business planning, design and owner’s representation, and they also run a production operation themselves. That operating experience shapes the advice you receive, because they understand what a decision means for cash, schedule and daily production.
Q.03Can I hire you by the hour or on a monthly retainer?
We offer hourly project work, monthly advisory or project management retainers, on-site work and equipment supply. The arrangement depends on the responsibility and support your project needs; we discuss that scope before arranging the work.
Q.04Can we bring you a government solicitation?
Yes. Share the solicitation and the required scope so we can discuss the work. Review our capability statement for contracting qualifications and registration details relevant to the opportunity.
Q.05Can you work with a project outside the United States?
Our experience includes projects outside the United States. Tell us the location, project stage and support needed so we can discuss an appropriate scope.
Q.06How do you choose equipment and handle the purchase?
We start with the operating requirements and specify the equipment against them. Capacity, utilities, sanitation and controls affect whether an option fits the facility. We source and supply new, used and refurbished equipment and work through those requirements when comparing quotes.
Let’s talk about the business you want to build.
Share what you want to achieve, whether you are shaping a new business or changing an existing operation. Tell us where the project stands and which decisions need support so we can discuss how Solon can help.