Delivering a state-of-the-art manufacturing facility is usually a multi-national undertaking. Receiving long-lead items, such as process and packaging equipment produced internationally, at the right time requires robust procurement, scheduling and logistics.
And that’s under the best of circumstances.
Widespread and ongoing tariff uncertainty only adds to typical supply chain challenges, creating a nightmare scenario for procurement teams at design-build firms striving to fulfill their clients’ budgetary and scheduling goals.
Or at least one would think.
But that’s not necessarily the case, said Rob Fineman, Senior Sourcing Manager at Haskell, a perennial Top 5 performer in Engineering News-Record’s rankings of the top Food & Beverage and Industrial contractors and designers.
“We’re helping guide our clients through the procurement process, which is no different than before tariffs were an issue,” Fineman said. “We are not focusing on U.S.-owned businesses; we are currently working with and plan to continue to work with many international businesses.”
With 80 team members, including 15 devoted to sourcing, Haskell’s Preconstruction group has relationships with original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) and equipment brokers in the United States and overseas. While purchasing domestically is one option for clearing tariff hurdles, it’s not a panacea.
International procurement remains a significant option for numerous reasons, including project owners’ existing OEM relationships, the predominance of equipment manufacturers in Italy, France and Germany, price and speed to market.
“Companies that have experience with a certain vendor often don’t want to change,” Fineman said. “We work with pretty much everybody. This is a very global business.
“Ultimately, this is project management work. It’s identifying risks, working through the risk matrix – identify them, classify and sort them, then mitigate them.”
As tariffs fluctuate, prices are essentially an uncontrollable factor that Haskell addresses with project owners by communicating frequently and transparently. Schedules are equally important, and Fineman said he and his team were doing all they could to mitigate import snags.
They found that equipment brokers were not necessarily comfortable tracking and paying tariffs levied when equipment entered the U.S. Haskell has taken on the responsibility of dealing with Customs and Border Patrol to eliminate variables at the port of entry and expedite delivery of critical path items.
“We’re working through how to best handle the transaction of the tariffs in order to make sure the payment process doesn’t hold up any shipments through Customs,” Fineman explained. “This adds value to our clients who may not be used to doing that yet.”
CTA: At Haskell, we take our clients’ goals as our own. We innovate constantly to ensure that we deliver world-class solutions with the best possible effectiveness, efficiency and performance. Contact us to discuss your facilities needs.
