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Engineering to define and develop your industrial investment
Before committing to an industrial asset or a plant modification, you need a clear picture of the technical scope, information gaps, permits and delivery sequence. IPE can support that assessment and develop the engineering through agreed design and site-support stages. Each proposal defines the deliverables, interfaces and exclusions.
Your situation
Where IPE enters the project
Acquiring an existing plant
You need to know what you are buying: the condition and documentation of the plant, what must change for your process, which permits apply and what the change may cost. We audit the documents, survey the plant and set out options, estimates and the permitting route.
Building a new plant
You need a design basis, a layout, a cost estimate and a permitting route before you commit, then documents contractors can price and build from. We develop the engineering in stages, from study to detail design, and prepare the permit documents in Slovakia.
Upgrading, converting or relocating
You need to change a running plant, convert it to another product or move it, with as little disruption as can be planned. We survey the existing condition, design the tie-ins and prepare documents for shutdowns, dismantling or re-erection.
What you receive
Deliverables and the decision each phase supports
You can engage us for one phase or for several. Each proposal lists the deliverables, battery limits and exclusions.
| Phase | Main deliverables | The decision it supports |
|---|---|---|
| Study and due diligence | Audit of the existing plant and its documents, options, capital and operating expenditure (CAPEX/OPEX) estimates, permitting route and schedule | Whether to buy or proceed, and on what budget |
| Basic engineering | Design basis, mass and energy balances, process flow diagrams (PFDs), piping and instrumentation diagrams (P&IDs), equipment list and data sheets, plot plan – the scope often called front-end engineering design (FEED) | Technology and layout fixed; long-lead equipment can be ordered |
| Permitting in Slovakia | Permit documents for the procedures that apply to the project, for example environmental impact assessment (EIA), building permits and integrated pollution prevention and control (IPPC) permits; coordination of the applications, and representation before the authorities where agreed | Whether and when to build, once the authorities have issued their decisions |
| Detail design | Coordinated design documents and 3D model, isometrics, steel, civil, electrical and control documents, bills of quantities, tender packages | Contractors selected on comparable, complete documents |
| Construction and start-up support | Designer's supervision, answers to site queries, documents for trial operation and inspections, where included in the scope | Readiness for acceptance and operation |
| As-built | Documents and 3D model updated to the plant as built | A reliable basis for operation and the next change |
The Slovak permitting route depends on the project type; for projects started before the new Building Act took effect on 1 April 2025, transitional provisions may apply. IPE prepares and coordinates the applications; the public authorities issue the decisions.
Selected cases
Three investments, with IPE's role and status
Corden BioChem: an acquired plant converted to a new feedstock
Situation: an acquired second-generation ethanol plant to be converted to molasses, reusing existing tanks, racks and buildings. IPE's role: document audit, coordination of the laser scan, revised process documents and detail design in packages. Package 5 – pipe bridges and a 50 m loading platform, 104 t of steel – was issued for construction on 3 July 2026. Conversion ongoing; stated production target about 140,000 litres per day.
Read the case
SIAD: a plant designed abroad, permitted in Slovakia
Situation: a CO2 recovery plant designed abroad had to be approved and permitted under Slovak rules. IPE's role: documentation audit, approval inputs and defined engineering for trial and permanent operation. Acting for SIAD, IPE obtained the temporary-use permit for trial operation (4 August 2023) and the air-protection consent for permanent operation (30 January 2024).
Read the case
U. S. Steel Košice: a process change in a regulated, operating site
Situation: chromium-free passivation on two tinning lines of a running steelworks, with a change of the integrated permit. IPE's role: basic engineering, permit documents, detail design, manuals and designer's supervision. Final acceptance of IPE's work signed for line EC2 on 11 April 2017; acceptance protocol for line EC1 signed on 31 October 2024.
Read the caseHistorical permitting example: for TSR Slovakia, acting as the investor's representative, IPE obtained the zoning decision for a scrap yard at Strážske in July 2010, the railway-siding and building permits in September 2010 and the occupancy decision in August 2011 – 13 months from zoning decision to occupancy decision, under the procedures in force at the time. It does not predict the duration of today's procedures.
Risk
Risks we help identify and manage
We describe the risks we can see, the interfaces we manage and the documents we deliver. We do not guarantee permit decisions, cost, schedule or uninterrupted production; each proposal states what IPE is responsible for.
Unknown conditions in an existing plant
We audit the available documents and survey the plant – where useful with a 3D laser scan, by IPE or by our scanning partner – before we design, so that reuse of existing equipment is checked against the actual condition.
Laser scanningA design made abroad
A licensor's or supplier's design must be approved and permitted under Slovak rules. We review the documentation, list what is missing and prepare the approval and permit inputs within our agreed scope.
SIAD caseThe permitting route
We identify the procedures that apply to the project early, prepare consistent permit documents from the design, and answer the authorities' questions with the engineers who know the design.
PermittingInterfaces between disciplines and contractors
Interfaces are listed and agreed; disciplines coordinate in a 3D model with clash checks where the project calls for one; every document is checked by a second engineer before issue.
How we workHow the work is controlled
Working terms
- A written scope with deliverables per phase, battery limits and exclusions in every proposal
- A named project manager and a project and quality plan with milestones
- Reviews with you at agreed milestones, controlled document issue and revisions
- Documents in Slovak and English; Czech and Russian where required
- Confidentiality, design guarantee, intellectual property and design rights: defined in each proposal
- A project archive going back to 2006
- Company
- Industry & Project Engineering s.r.o., Michalovce, Slovakia
- Since
- 2006
- Managing directors
- Ing. Andrej Potocký, Ing. Radovan Mandzák, Arumugam Amruthalingam
- Shareholders
- Slovakia Technology Investments a.s. (51 %), TECHNIS, s.r.o. (49 %)
- Quality
- EN ISO 9001:2015, SGS, certificate SK07/0134
- Contact
- ipe@ipe.sk · +421 56 286 2001
What we need to propose a scope
The asset and its location; the change you plan; the decision or design stage you are at; the information already available (drawings, process description, permits); your target dates.