A Costa Rican mill brings in Chinese equipment and solar-plus-storage
For a coffee mill in the Los Santos region — sourced colour sorters and drying equipment in China, plus a commercial solar-plus-storage system, cutting labour and power costs.
Region：China → Costa Rica
Background
The client runs a coffee mill (beneficio) in the Los Santos region with steady harvest volumes, but two long-standing pain points.
First, labour: sorting depends on large numbers of seasonal workers who are hard to recruit at harvest, costly, and inconsistent in standard from batch to batch.
Second, power: commercial electricity in Costa Rica is among the more expensive in Central America, and drying and sorting are precisely the power-hungry stages.
Our role
China sourcing plus technology transfer plus import execution — from manufacturer selection to equipment running.
What we did
- Shortlisted three colour-sorter manufacturers, comparing sorting accuracy (carry-over ratio), throughput and local after-sales responsiveness — not just price
- Ran procurement negotiation, factory audit and pre-shipment inspection (PSI); handled export documents, HS classification and Costa Rican customs clearance
- Designed a commercial solar-plus-storage system against roof area and load profile, with Chinese suppliers shipping and local contractors installing
- Coordinated commissioning and local training: Spanish-language interfaces, spare-parts list, troubleshooting manual
Outcome
Sorting labour fell about 60% at harvest, and the mill's electricity cost dropped roughly 35%. Combined payback on equipment and the solar-plus-storage system is about 3 years.
What we see
When Latin American companies procure Chinese equipment, unit price is rarely the only variable. Spare-part lead times, the repair response mechanism, and whether operating and maintenance documentation exists in Spanish together determine availability across the asset's service life. We confirm each of these during the proposal stage and record them in the technical agreement.