A permanent installation is built in situ — pipework, equipment, and controls are installed directly in the building, often making them difficult and costly to modify or relocate. A modular process skid is designed as a discrete, moveable unit that can be disconnected and repositioned if your process or facility changes.

Modular skids also allow parallel construction — your facility can be prepared while the skid is built off-site simultaneously — which significantly shortens overall project timelines. This is an approach Noreside uses routinely to help clients hit commissioning dates without compromising on build quality or documentation.

Almost any process step can be skid-mounted. Common applications include CIP (clean-in-place) systems, mixing and blending, dosing and metering, heat exchange, filtration, pressure testing, and utilities distribution. In pharmaceutical and food environments, skids are widely used for any step that requires repeatable, validated, and cleanable process control.

Noreside has experience across all of these application types. If you have a process step in mind and want to understand whether a skid-mounted approach makes sense, our engineering team is happy to discuss the options at no obligation.

The most common material for food, beverage, and pharmaceutical skids is 316L stainless steel for product-contact pipework and surfaces, with 304 stainless steel used for structural elements and non-contact components. The grade is selected based on the process fluid, cleaning chemicals, temperature, and the hygiene standard required.

For more aggressive applications — high-chloride environments, concentrated acids, or ultra-pure water systems — duplex stainless or specialist alloys may be specified.

All fabrication at Noreside is carried out in-house by qualified welders working to documented procedures. We hold full material traceability records on every wetted component and can provide certificates as part of the standard documentation package.

This depends on the application and destination market. Typical documentation packages include pressure vessel or pressure system compliance (PED in Europe), material traceability certificates for all wetted parts, weld records and inspection reports, surface finish documentation, and factory acceptance test (FAT) records.

In pharmaceutical environments, skids are often built to ASME BPE or EHEDG standards and require full IQ/OQ validation support documentation. Food-grade skids should meet EHEDG hygienic design principles as a minimum.

Noreside produces full documentation packages as standard — not as an optional add-on. We understand that for regulated industries, the paperwork is as important as the pipework, and our project engineers manage documentation in parallel with fabrication so nothing holds up handover.

A hygienic skid is designed and built specifically for environments where contamination control is critical — food processing, dairy, pharmaceutical, and nutraceutical applications. Every design decision, from pipe slope and drain points to clamp fittings and surface finish, is made with cleanability in mind.

Hygienic skids use sanitary clamp connections rather than threaded fittings, fully drainable pipework layouts, polished internal surfaces, and dead-leg-free design to eliminate areas where product or cleaning fluid can pool and harbour bacteria.

Hygienic design is a core specialism at Noreside — not an adaptation of standard industrial practice. Our team designs to EHEDG principles from the outset, and our fabrication facility is set up specifically for stainless steel hygienic work.

CIP stands for clean-in-place. A CIP skid delivers hot water, caustic, and acid cleaning solutions through your pipework and vessels in a controlled sequence — cleaning the system without dismantling it. The skid contains the tanks, pumps, heat exchangers, dosing systems, and controls needed to manage the full cleaning cycle.

CIP skids are standard in food, beverage, dairy, and pharmaceutical production where frequent, validated cleaning between batches is required. Typical lead times for a turnkey CIP skid range from eight to sixteen weeks depending on complexity.

CIP skid fabrication is one of Noreside's most frequently delivered project types. We design and build CIP systems to suit both new facilities and retrofits into existing production lines, and can integrate the skid controls with your wider site automation if required.

Lead times vary with complexity and the current fabrication schedule. A straightforward single-duty skid — a CIP supply unit or a simple dosing skid — typically takes eight to twelve weeks from order to factory acceptance test. Multi-skid systems, skids with extensive instrumentation, or projects requiring third-party inspection add time.

The best way to get an accurate timeline is to engage early — even at concept stage — so that design, procurement of long-lead items, and fabrication can be sequenced properly. Noreside works with clients from early feasibility through to commissioning, which means lead time risks are identified and managed before they become programme problems.

A FAT is a formal test carried out at the fabricator's workshop before the skid is shipped. The client or their representative witnesses the skid being run through its operational sequences — verifying that instruments read correctly, control logic behaves as specified, safety interlocks function, and the system meets the agreed performance criteria.

Identifying and resolving issues at FAT stage is significantly cheaper and faster than doing so after installation on site. It also provides a documented baseline for subsequent site acceptance testing (SAT) and validation.

Every skid Noreside delivers goes through a structured FAT process. Clients are welcome — and encouraged — to attend in person at our Kilkenny facility. We find that a witnessed FAT builds confidence in the system before it ever reaches site, and typically results in a smoother and faster site commissioning.

Yes. Skids can be modified to add capacity, incorporate new instrumentation, upgrade controls to current standards, or adapt to a changed process. In regulated environments, modifications must be managed through a formal change control process and re-validated where required.

Noreside carries out skid modifications and upgrades on both our own fabrications and third-party equipment. We begin every modification project with a thorough assessment of the existing system — condition, documentation status, and compliance — before any scope is agreed, so there are no surprises during execution.