Is it better for the equipment manufacturer to purchase the tower internals, or should the owner do it themselves?

Any of several methods will work; it depends on whether the client has advantages in this area. For the procurement of tower internals, whether it is carried out by the equipment manufacturer, the owner, or the general contractor, the technical specifications must be approved by the owner. Due to the need for a high degree of compatibility between the interface between the tower internals and the tower equipment, close coordination is required between the suppliers of the tower internals and the manufacturers of the tower equipment, and this coordination process involves a significant amount of work. Equipment manufacturers have relatively weak capabilities in terms of technical control and coordination for tower internals. The better approach is for the general contractor to carry out the procurement, with Party A participating in the technical bid negotiations and approving the Technical Specifications; the general contractor shall assume all responsibilities, including coordination, quality control of the tower internals, and warranty.

Is the specialization of tower internals another factor as well? Do equipment manufacturers also outsource the tower internals themselves? ? ?

Initially, both the tower and its internal components were manufactured by specialized factories and installed thereafter. Later, as specialized design and manufacturing of tower internals became common, the tower manufacturers stopped producing such components; instead, the owners were responsible for purchasing them and having them delivered to the equipment manufacturer for assembly. Nowadays, with the rise of EPC contracts, the general contractor handles the procurement of all components, but the owner remains in charge of technical negotiations and the signing of technical agreements.

Yes, the internal components of towers require specialized software for calculation and design, and only specific specialized manufacturers can handle this task.

Each approach has its advantages and disadvantages. When the owner handles the procurement, there are advantages in terms of volume, as it is easier to control costs and quality; however, this requires the owner to have strong coordination and management skills； Purchased by the equipment manufacturer, it simplifies the owner’s project management, but it is difficult to control quality and costs.

Purchased from equipment manufacturers; replacement after a few years is also an issue

It is best for the owner to make the purchase, to facilitate maintenance and replacement in the future. There are specialized areas of expertise; manufacturing plants are generally not good at producing the internal components specific to tower equipment, as these components affect the hydrodynamic calculations related to the towers, and such manufacturers lack the capability to design and produce them. Often, it is necessary for the manufacturer to take overall responsibility, and they also outsource this task. Once there’s a problem with the internal components, it’s really troublesome to fix.

This post was last edited by wanlirn on 2021-12-2 11:13. Do you mean tray internals when you refer to tower internals? A tower tray is not just some valves and gauges; it’s a very complicated component. If the client comes up with such an idea, it’s likely they want to shift the responsibility to the manufacturer. It’s best to avoid taking on contracts like these. Some components inside the tower can be even more expensive than the tower itself, which isn’t cost-effective. It will cause endless problems in the future.

Avoid triangular disputes. No middlemen to make profits from the price difference