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cnx_vinyl/docs/finance/total-investment.md
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grabowski 20c8d283d5 Rebase costs on USD/THB; add timelines and first market data
Currency
- Base currency moves from EUR to USD and THB throughout. Rates at
  5 Aug 2026: 1 USD = 33 THB, 1 EUR = 1.155 USD, 1 GBP = 1.35 USD.
  EUR/THB lands at ~38, so existing THB research needed no change.
- Vendor quotes keep their original currency with a USD/THB equivalent
  alongside, so they stay checkable against the source PDFs.
- Full vision ~4.7-8.9M USD; phased entry ~1.7-2.9M USD.

New documents
- production-timeline.md: order turnaround stage by stage. Launch
  8-14 weeks, mature 5-10, repress 2-3. Quantifies the in-house
  galvanics turnaround claim the repo had asserted without a number,
  and flags artwork as an unmodelled fourth approval gate.
- project-timeline.md: calendar to first paying release, ~Q4 2028.
  Critical path is BOI certificate to press order to build to
  commissioning. Two findings: Newbilt build time is absent from the
  repo yet carries ~40% of the schedule, and the BOI rule may be
  over-serialised since duty exemption attaches at importation rather
  than at contract signature.

First market data (ResurRec, Bangkok)
- Invoice-derived prices, a factory tour, and a confirmed fleet of one
  Newbilt Classic 12" automatic plus one semi-automatic.
- Price ladder recorded at 300/500/1000-3000/3000+ units. Decomposes
  to roughly 34-50k THB fixed per title and 535-780 THB variable per
  unit, which is 4-7x the price this model assumes.
- The incumbent presses 230-350k records/yr but buys every stamper as
  an import. That single constraint plausibly explains their 150-unit
  floor, their flat discount ladder and their large-run lead time, and
  it is what an in-house galvanics line attacks. Logged as an open
  question on whether galvanics should move from phase 5 to phase 1.
- Inferences are marked as inferences; the whole set is one buyer and
  one plant, and the model is deliberately left unrebased until a
  second data point exists.

Corrections
- Gross margin arithmetic did not follow from its own inputs. Restated
  as ~1.95 USD at the midpoint with the 0.75-3.15 spread shown; the
  previous "40 to 55%" was not supported.
- Direct cost low total 1.50 to 1.45 USD; contingency THB high 40M
  to 38M.
- README indexes the construction RFQ, which was missing.
2026-08-06 12:22:40 +07:00

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Raw Blame History

Total Investment: Rough Picture

Everything priced or estimated so far, rolled into one view. Blocks marked "estimate" have no vendor confirmation; the rest trace to quotes or the researched ranges in this repo. Treat all figures as budgetary with a wide margin (plus or minus 30 to 50% on the estimates) until RFQs replace them.

Currency: USD and THB. FX at 5 August 2026: 1 USD = 33 THB. Vendor quotes issued in another currency are kept in that currency wherever they appear next to their source document, and converted here at 1 EUR = 1.155 USD and 1 GBP = 1.35 USD. Original figures compiled July 2026; the underlying THB estimates are unchanged, because EUR/THB at ~38 is where it was when they were made.

Full vision, all blocks

Block USD THB Basis
Newbilt semi-auto line, full Duplex 350k – 370k 11.5M – 12.2M 2024 quote EUR 200,500 (~USD 232k) + quoted 2nd press/extruder ~USD 115k; expired, needs re-quote
2 automated presses (Pheenix AD12) 580k – 920k 19.1M – 30.5M unverified ~USD 340k/press indicative + delivery and commissioning
Galvanics line (Digital Matrix) 320k – 650k 10.7M – 21.4M six-figure-USD turnkey inference from vendor research
Zero-discharge water treatment (ZLD) 90k – 240k 3.0M – 8.0M utilities CSV option row
Stamper prep (Sibert VSP, VSF, VSC) 60k – 170k 1.9M – 5.7M estimate, pricing unpublished
Mastering and cutting room (Agnew lathe and head, cutter amps, console, room treatment) 290k – 580k 9.6M – 19.1M estimate, bespoke market
Metrology and QC stack (confocal, profiler, XRF, inline vision, audio station) 350k – 810k 11.5M – 26.7M estimate, phaseable
Utilities, solar, HVAC, racking baseline 730k – 1,270k 24.0M – 41.6M reviewed utilities CSV, THB-native
Building ~1,500 m² plus civil works 650k – 1,100k 21.4M – 36.2M estimate at 12,000–20,000 THB/m² Thai industrial construction plus ~20% site works
Land 6–8 rai, if purchased 360k – 970k 12.0M – 32.0M estimate at 2–4M THB/rai industrial; leasing cuts this to near zero upfront
Traceability and factory software 60k – 170k 1.9M – 5.7M estimate
Freight, installation, training (non-Newbilt equipment) 120k – 230k 3.8M – 7.6M estimate
Working capital, PVC stock, spares 120k – 230k 3.8M – 7.6M estimate
Subtotal ~4.1M – 7.7M ~135M – 254M
Contingency 15% ~0.6M – 1.2M ~20M – 38M
Total, full vision ~4.7M – 8.9M USD ~155M – 294M THB

Phased entry

A credible launch phase is far smaller, roughly 1.7M to 2.9M USD (~57M to 95M THB):

  • Newbilt Single system (not Duplex yet)
  • Bridge stampers from Stamper Discs, so no galvanics line at launch
  • Basic QC (microscope, benchtop PVC lab, sampled listening), full metrology deferred
  • Leased building instead of purchase, modest first solar array
  • Galvanics, automated presses, full metrology, and the biomass boiler follow as revenue-funded or second-round expansions

The planning already supports this: the Duplex-ready hydraulics, the bridge-supplier role for Stamper Discs, the staged electric-to-biomass steam path, and the phaseable metrology stack are all documented for exactly this reason.

What moves the number

  • BOI: machinery duty exemption applies across most of the equipment blocks, and the solar and automation spend converts into CIT-exemption headroom; the application precedes every purchase order (see boi.md)
  • Buy vs lease on land and building swings roughly 1.0M to 2.1M USD (~34M to 69M THB) of upfront capital, and also moves the launch date by about three quarters — see project-timeline.md
  • Biggest uncertainty bands: metrology (partly a choice of ambition), the mastering/cutting room (bespoke vendor, no public pricing), the automated presses (single unverified price point), and land
  • Currency exposure is real and is not modelled here. Revenue is mostly USD/EUR from export customers, the cost base is mostly THB, and the largest single equipment block is EUR-denominated and unhedged against an order that will not be placed for roughly a year (see project-timeline.md). A 10% move in EUR/THB between now and the Newbilt order is worth ~USD 25–35k on that line alone. Ask for the re-quote to state its currency and validity period.
  • Every band narrows only with RFQs; the supplier map in equipment-suppliers.md lists who to ask