Your process layout and equipment list transfer directly. The three things below are where US programmes actually lose time — and none of them is the building.
The three expensive misreads
Carrying over a Chinese or Mexican schedule with MEP priced for in-house crews — in the US that scope goes to licensed subcontractors at US labour rates.
Assuming there is a national code. Every jurisdiction adopts its own edition with local amendments, so a schedule that does not name the city or county is not a schedule.
Buying equipment on a CE or CCC mark. Neither is a US listing, and the remedy can only be performed after the equipment is installed in its final location.
What we take on
Siting and preconstruction
Site comparison, confirming the jurisdiction and its adopted code edition, schedule and budget assessment.
Engineering and plan review
Civil, structural and MEP design; conversion of Chinese or European packages to US codes, and support through plan review.
Building general contracting
New industrial buildings, warehouses and support facilities — concrete, slabs and envelope.
Steel structures
Detailing, supply coordination and erection; we settle the shop-inspection route for overseas fabricators up front.
MEP under licensed subcontract
Executed by licensed US trades; we hold the interfaces, the drawings and the schedule.
Equipment arrival and approval
NRTL field-evaluation route and vendor documentation, started while the equipment is still being built.
You cannot self-perform the licensed trades
Electrical, HVAC/refrigeration and plumbing are licensed occupations in most states, and the licence sits with a person and a firm — not with your project.
In Texas, electrical and air conditioning & refrigeration contractors are licensed state-wide by TDLR (an electrical contractor licence requires a licensed master electrician on staff); plumbing sits with TSBPE. South Carolina is the opposite: the general contractor is licensed at state level, with a per-job bid limit set by the licence group.
For a newly formed US entity this is the first gate. No financial history means a low licence group, and a low group cannot bid an industrial building. Settle it before you commit a date.
Permitting is local, not federal
There is no national building authority. The Authority Having Jurisdiction is normally the city or county, adopting its own code edition and amendments, running its own review on its own clock.
Some requirements are state-level and easy to miss entirely. In Texas, a commercial project with a total estimated construction cost of $50,000 or more must be registered with TDLR and reviewed by a Registered Accessibility Specialist, with inspection after construction — running in parallel with, and independently of, the city permit, with a late fee if registered after completion.
Imported equipment cannot be energised until a US body says so
The National Electrical Code requires listed equipment to be installed per its listing (NEC 110.3(B)); the 2023 edition requires non-listed equipment to be evaluated to provide equivalent safety. CE and CCC marks do not satisfy this.
The route is a field evaluation by an NRTL or field evaluation body under NFPA 790 / 791. It is site-specific, one-time, and must be performed after installation at the final location — it cannot be cleared before shipment.
- Twelve imported machines means twelve evaluations, all between mechanical completion and start-up.
- Acceptance rests with the AHJ. A field label is the usual route, not a guaranteed one.
- Start during fabrication and write the cost and responsibility into the purchase order.
We run a free pre-shipment review of an imported equipment list: the likely approval path per item, the vendor documents to secure before payment, 50 Hz exposure, and where each item lands on the schedule.
Two budget lines owners routinely miss
Special inspections. Under IBC Chapter 17 the owner — expressly other than the contractor — employs the approved inspection agencies. It is an owner-side budget line, not part of the contractor's price.
Voltage and frequency. US industrial supply is typically 480 V / 60 Hz. Rotating equipment runs about 20% faster at 60 Hz; power draw rises roughly as the cube of speed. A transformer fixes the voltage, not the frequency. Decide per machine, in the purchase order.
Who we are
CTECP was founded in Mexico in 2016 and works in the United States through CTECP INC, with locations in Houston and Dallas, Texas, and Greenville, South Carolina. Clients include BMW, Magna, Faurecia, CRRC, Whirlpool and Leoni.
What we are built for is the crossing itself — taking an engineering package produced in China or Europe through US code acceptance, holding licensed US subcontractors to that drawing set, in English · Español · 中文.
Frequently asked questions
Can a foreign company build its own plant in the United States?
Yes, through a US entity — but it cannot self-perform the licensed trades. Electrical, HVAC/refrigeration and plumbing must be executed by licensed US contractors. The general contractor's value is holding them to the engineering.
How long does permitting take in the US?
There is no national answer. The local Authority Having Jurisdiction controls it and adopts its own code edition and amendments. A schedule that quotes a duration without naming the city or county is an estimate, not a plan.
Why does imported equipment delay US projects?
CE, CCC or manufacturer certificates are not a US listing. Equipment usually needs a field evaluation by an NRTL under NFPA 790/791, performed after installation at its final location — so it lands at the end of the programme. Start it during fabrication.
Are licensing rules the same in Texas and South Carolina?
They are opposites. Texas licenses the trades at state level and leaves GC registration to cities; South Carolina licenses the general contractor at state level with a per-job bid limit. A multi-state programme needs both qualification exercises.
Can you take only part of the scope?
Yes — full EPC, building general contracting, the steel package, or only the equipment arrival and approval coordination.
How do we start?
Send the location (or shortlist), approximate footprint, intended scope and target production start. Written reply within two business days, at no cost.