Machinery from China, spec, voltage and service

For a firm putting one machine or a short line into an existing plant: processing, packing, food, wood, metal, plastics. The goal is that the machine runs on your voltage, with parts that can be replaced, and with landed cost that fits the plant maths.

A used machine is not new from a catalogue. It needs hours, status, a separate review and different papers. We do not mix it with new in the same quote. A machine redesign is OEM product development. Moving existing production is moving production to China.

Papillon runs sourcing and import. Power connection, grid hook-up and training you define locally or with the maker if that is a contract line. Do not assume a turnkey handover is included.

A purchase order is not a machine name and a price. Without a spec the factory sends the configuration on stock. You see that when the truck stops in front of the hall.

For a standard machine the trial is at the factory, on your material if that is agreed. Approval is written: what was done, which measure, which speed. A message that it works is not a record. A video without a measure sheet is not a trial.

If the machine is from a drawing, tool and non-standard part are separate lines, with ownership in the contract. The unit does not start until the trial is approved. Shortlist research usually takes 1–3 weeks. Spec alignment and trial often 2–5, and make longer than boxed goods, often beyond 4–10 weeks. That is said in the quote, not after the deposit.

A plant visit before a large deposit looks at the machine on the line, not a meeting room. Who holds parts stock, whether voltage is the one in the offer, whether instructions are in a language your operator can read.

EXW means you take risk and organisation early, often at the factory gate. FOB moves part of the path to the port onto the seller. CIF changes who pays freight, it does not cancel your duty to check what is insured. For heavy equipment an error in terms costs more than a machine price gap. Terms are chosen before the deposit.

Freight may need an open platform, breakbulk or a special truck, not a standard carton container. The forwarder enters the plan as soon as size and weight are known. Shipping from China to Serbia covers usual sea of about 35–52 days. A machine often leaves that frame when size does not fit.

Packing is part of spec: crate, corrosion protection, centre-of-gravity mark. Sea and road after the port are not a hall. Pre-shipment inspection looks at whether the crate is the one in the contract and whether the parts are in it.

The machine arrives and does not fit the hall doors. Transport size must be compared with entrance, lift and the path inside before the deposit. A catalogue drawing without that check is a costly surprise at unload.

The second fall is a trial on the factory’s material, while you process another. A result that works on their sample does not prove your cycle. If material matters, it is sent before the trial, not after a claim.

The third fall is the remaining payment before a parts list. A wear part that is not named becomes a new order, a new date and a stopped plant. That is why the payment schedule follows the trial and the list, not a crate photo at the door.

A spare part that is not in the first crate arrives as a new shipment. The contract holds the list, date and who pays freight. Warranty on the frame and warranty on a wear part are not the same sentence. An oral warranty in chat is not a warranty.

On sourcing execution above 2,000 USD independent quality control is standard. On a machine that means a trial and a parts list, not only a crate photo. Below the threshold scope is agreed, but a machine without a trial is still not a wise exception.

HS must be correct. The Serbia China FTA from 1 July 2024 can lower duty with a COO, not automatically. If the market needs a conformity mark, that is not a last-minute sticker. The frame is on CE marking. Papillon does not issue that mark.

Landed cost adds machine, crate, special freight, duty, VAT and a spare set. Local install you engage goes separately. Put in the brief what the machine does, plant voltage, hall entrance size, date and whether it is new or used.

Machinery from China does not look like a carton of small goods. Before the deposit the spec holds voltage, frequency, connection, size, weight, what the machine does on trial and which spare part goes in the same shipment. A trial on your material, or on an agreed material sample, is approval. A hall film is not a trial.

Incoterms write who dismantles, who loads and how far the price goes. EXW leaves loading on you. FOB pushes it to the port. Neither includes foundation, power and commissioning at home. That is your team or a separate contract. Papillon runs sourcing and papers, not a service network in place of the maker.

Pre-shipment inspection looks at whether the machine on the truck is the one from the trial, with the agreed parts, not a similar model. On sourcing execution above 2,000 USD independent inspection is standard. A machine almost always crosses that threshold.

A heavy machine fills FCL by weight and lashing points, not by catalogue. LCL rarely makes sense except for a spare part. Sea is about 35–52 days after readiness. Plant research takes 1–3 weeks, trial another 2–5 if a material sample must reach the factory. The factory calendar can add weeks before the trial.

HS and COO enter landed cost in two scenarios, because the agreement from 1 July 2024 does not apply without paper. The invoice must name the model and serial number you approved. Another number on the bill of lading stops the rest of the story before commissioning.