Lead Times: What Takes Long and What to Order First

Projects rarely fail on equipment price; they fail on schedule. A handful of items have lead times long enough to determine the commissioning date, and they are predictable.

Typical long-lead items

Item	Typical lead time	Why
MVR compressor	16–30 weeks	Custom impeller, motor, testing
Titanium autoclave	20–36 weeks	Alloy supply, heavy fabrication, certification
Rectifier / transformer	10–20 weeks	Copper and laminations, custom tap ranges
Glass-lined reactors	12–24 weeks	Specialist lining and testing
Large titanium or duplex fabrication	12–20 weeks	Welding qualification, material availability
Standard PP/316L tanks and skids	6–12 weeks	—
Instrumentation	4–12 weeks	Some analysers much longer

Sequencing rule

Order by lead time, not by importance. The compressor and the autoclave should be released as soon as the process basis is frozen, even if the balance of plant is still being detailed. Everything else can be adjusted later without moving the commissioning date.

What freezes the design

You cannot release long-lead equipment without a frozen process basis: flow, duty, liquor composition, temperature and pressure. That is precisely what the pilot is for. If you are buying a demonstration plant before piloting, expect to change the specification once — and build that into the contract.

Practical buffer

Add four to six weeks for FAT, documentation and shipping, and another two to four for customs and site receipt. Buyers who plan to the supplier’s ex-works date are consistently late.

On payment terms

Long-lead items usually require a deposit at order and a progress payment at material purchase. Plan cash flow around that; a 30/70 split on delivery is not realistic for a compressor.

Tell us your target commissioning date and process basis, and we will return a schedule with the critical path marked.