What kinds of manufacturing lines do you work on?

Any of them. We work with manufacturers of any size and any industry — food, consumer products, industrial, you name it. If you've got a line, we can look at it.

Do you only do new automation, or do you support existing equipment?

Both. A lot of our work is fixing, maintaining, and getting more out of equipment that's already on your floor — not just selling you something new. If your current setup can be improved without a full overhaul, that's usually where we start.

What is your service area?

Northern Massachusetts, New Hampshire, and Southern Maine.

How fast can you get to us in an emergency?

We handle emergency troubleshooting and repair — mechanical, electrical, pneumatic, and hydraulic — and we respond fast when a line is down. Reach out and we'll get you a real timeframe based on where you're located and what's going on.

How does pricing work — project-based, hourly, retainer?

Initial consults and sales calls are free. Engineering and design work is billed at $175/hr, troubleshooting and repair at $150/hr, and travel at $125/hr. Equipment, materials, and consumables are quoted separately based on the job.

Do you offer preventive maintenance programs?

We can, but it's not the core of what we do — we're primarily an on-call resource for when your in-house team is stuck or stretched thin. Scheduled maintenance is available in special cases if that's a better fit for your operation.

What consumables do you supply, and can you match what we currently use?

Labels, tapes, and shrink films, primarily through Decker Tape Products. That covers everything from basic box-sealing tape to hazard labels, pallet protection, and specialty security tape. We can match your current specs or help you source the right product for a new application. Reordering works either on-call or on a subscription schedule.

Can you work around our production schedule so we don't lose runtime?

Yes — that's part of what we plan for during the design phase. We work with you to figure out timing, floor space, and personnel needs before anything gets installed, and phase in bigger changes so you're not stuck shutting the whole line down at once.

What does a typical project look like from first call to running line?

It starts with a site visit — we walk the floor, look at your current process, production speeds, and where you're headed. From there we usually flag quick wins before getting into bigger design work. Once we agree on goals, we move into sourcing equipment, coordinating with vendors, and building anything custom that's needed. Then it's delivery, installation, commissioning, and training your team on the new setup.

Do you build custom machines, or only install off-the-shelf equipment?

Both. We'll always look for the simplest off-the-shelf solution first. But when nothing off-the-shelf solves the problem, we design and build custom equipment to fit.

How long does a custom build take?

It depends. Off-the-shelf integrations tend to move fast. Custom builds involve some R&D, and that part is genuinely variable — some go smoothly, others take a few iterations to get the process right. We'll be upfront with you about where a project stands and won't promise a fixed timeline we can't back up.

What if our product needs to stay "handmade" or keep a certain identity?

We build that into the design requirements from the start. If part of what makes your product special has to stay done by hand, we figure out exactly what that means — what has to stay manual and what can be automated — before we design anything.

Do you help with factory layout, not just individual machines?

Yes — we design the flow of product through your facility, from raw goods coming in to finished product ready to ship. That includes organizing maintenance tool rooms and repair part storage, not just the production line itself.

We're short-staffed and can't find enough help — can automation actually solve that?

Often, yes. A lot of our projects start exactly there — a client can't find enough people to run a manual process, and automating it frees up the staff they do have for higher-value work.

What if we just want to get more out of the equipment we already have?

That's a common starting point. Sometimes it's a simple flow fix — for example, moving product straight from where it's made into packaging instead of dropping it into a bin that then has to be re-sorted. Small changes like that can meaningfully increase throughput without buying new equipment.

Do you require a deposit or commitment before starting design work?

Yes — once we've done the initial site visit and identified quick wins and design goals, we need a financial commitment to move into detailed design, sourcing, and custom build work.

What size manufacturer do you typically work with?

Our sweet spot is 10 to 250 line employees, but we work with smaller shops that are growth-minded and larger operations too — even if they've got some in-house capability already.

Who typically reaches out to you — do we need to already know exactly what we need?

Not at all. We hear from CEOs, plant managers, operations managers, maintenance managers, and sometimes safety or HR staff dealing with an ergonomic or hazard issue. You don't need a fully scoped project — a lot of engagements start with 'something's not working right' or 'we think there's a better way to do this.'

Will bringing in automation mean cutting jobs?

Not necessarily — a lot of our projects are about freeing up staff for higher-value work, not replacing them, especially for manufacturers who are already struggling to find enough labor. Worth talking through your specific situation so we can be straight with you about what a project would actually mean for your team.

How do we know this will actually pay off?

Fair question, and not one we'll dodge. We can walk through the numbers with you — current costs, expected efficiency gains, and a realistic timeline — before you commit to anything. The initial consult is free specifically so you can get real answers before spending anything.

Questions to Ask Before Hiring an Automation Integrator

Name: AutoIC LLC
Telephone: 603-748-6216
Price range: $$

Ken deAlmeida

7/14/20263 min read

Bringing in an outside integrator to automate part of your line is a real commitment — money, time, and a certain amount of trust that a stranger understands your operation well enough to improve it instead of disrupting it. Most of the automation projects that go sideways don't fail because of bad engineering. They fail because of a mismatch that could have been caught with the right questions upfront.

Here are the questions worth asking before you sign anything.

"Will you work with what we already have, or is this a full replacement?"

Some integrators default to ripping out and replacing everything, partly because it's simpler for them to design a system from scratch than to work around your existing equipment. That's not always wrong, but it's not always necessary either. A good integrator should be willing to look at what you already have and tell you honestly what can stay, what should be upgraded, and what genuinely needs to be replaced — instead of assuming a bigger project is automatically a better one.

"What happens to production while this is being installed?"

This is one of the most common fears manufacturers have, and it's a fair one. Ask specifically how the integrator plans to minimize disruption — is the work phased? Can it happen during off-hours or planned downtime? What's the realistic worst-case scenario for how long you'd be affected? An integrator who can't answer this clearly hasn't planned it out yet, which is a bad sign before the work has even started.

"What's the simplest version of this that actually solves our problem?"

Watch for integrators who jump straight to the most sophisticated, most impressive-sounding solution. Sometimes that's genuinely necessary. Often, it's not — the goal should be the simplest system that meets your actual requirements, not the flashiest one. If every conversation trends toward more complexity and more cost without a clear reason tied back to your goals, that's worth questioning.

"What does your design process actually look like?"

A serious integrator should be able to walk you through their process before you commit: how they gather requirements, how they scope the project, what a site visit involves, and where in the process a financial commitment is required to move forward. If the answer is vague, or if they're ready to quote a full project after a five-minute phone call with no site visit, that's a red flag — good design work requires actually seeing your floor.

"What happens if this involves custom-built equipment?"

Custom builds carry more risk and uncertainty than off-the-shelf equipment, and any honest integrator should tell you that upfront rather than promising a fixed timeline they can't guarantee. Ask how they handle the R&D side of custom work — do they expect it to go smoothly, or are they upfront that some builds take a few iterations to get right? An integrator who promises a perfectly predictable timeline on a custom build is either inexperienced or not being straight with you.

"Do you support what you install, or is that someone else's problem after commissioning?"

Some integrators treat the relationship as over once the equipment is running. Ask directly what happens after installation — is there support if something goes wrong? Is maintenance available, and on what terms? A partner who plans to be reachable after the invoice is paid is a very different kind of relationship than one who disappears after commissioning.

"Can you give us real references, not just testimonials on your website?"

Testimonials are easy to curate. Ask to actually speak with a past client, ideally one with a similar scale or industry to yours. A confident integrator will have no problem connecting you, and a real conversation will tell you more in ten minutes than any case study will.

"What's your pricing structure, and what's NOT included?"

Get clarity upfront on what's billed hourly versus project-based, what travel costs look like, and what's quoted separately (equipment, materials, consumables are common ones). Surprise costs later are one of the fastest ways to sour a good working relationship — ask for this in writing before work begins.

"What size manufacturer do you usually work with?"

An integrator whose typical client is 10x your size (or a tenth of it) may not have their processes calibrated to your scale. This isn't about finding someone who's worked with your exact industry — it's about finding someone whose usual project size and complexity roughly matches yours, so their process actually fits your reality.

Why these questions matter more than the pitch

Any integrator can make a compelling pitch. Fewer can answer these specific, practical questions clearly and honestly on the spot. The answers tell you more about how the actual project will go than any sales conversation will — because they get at how the integrator handles the parts that are hardest to fake: uncertainty, disruption, and what happens after the sale.

Thinking through a project and want a straight answer to any of these? Check out our FAQ page or get in touch for a free consult — happy to answer all of the above about how we work.

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ken@autoicllc.com

603-748-6216