Senior Automation Expertise, Without the Full-Time Cost.
Most small and mid-size manufacturers can’t afford a full-time automation director — but they face the same complex integration, equipment, and data challenges as the big players. A Capnetix retainer gives you 35 years of hands-on expertise on call, augmented by AI-assisted analysis, for a predictable monthly investment.
Do Any of These Sound Familiar?
- Your line goes down and nobody knows why — and the OEM's support line takes days to respond.
- You're about to buy new equipment and aren't sure it will integrate with what you already have.
- Your data lives in five systems that don't talk to each other and reporting is done manually.
- Your startup has great software talent but nobody who's actually run a production floor.
- You're reshoring or scaling up and need to design automation into the process from the start.
- You've been quoted $200K+ by a large integrator for work that doesn't need that overhead.
Choose the Level of Engagement That Fits Your Needs
All tiers are month-to-month. No long-term contracts required to get started.
Essential
$1,500 – $2,500 / month
~4–6 hours of engagement per month
- Monthly strategy or review call
- Async Q&A via email
- Issue triage and vendor guidance
- Priority scheduling for urgent situations
Growth
$3,500 – $5,500 / month
~8–12 hours of engagement per month
- Everything in Essential
- Active project support and design review
- Equipment and vendor RFQ evaluation
- OEE and data system assessments
- AI-assisted root cause and gap analysis
- Monthly written findings summary
Partner
$7,000 – $10,000 / month
~15–20 hours of engagement per month
- Everything in Growth
- Embedded fractional automation director
- Database and MES/SCADA schema design
- Systems architecture and integration planning
- On-site visits (local only)
- Team coaching and knowledge transfer
What Capnetix Can Bring to Every Retainer Engagement
No topic is too narrow or too broad. Here are examples of where we engage with clients.
Equipment Integration
PLC, IIoT, SCADA, MES connectivity and protocol issues.
Database & Data Architecture
Historian, OEE, ERP, tool control schema design and cleanup
Production Analytics
Yield, downtime, scrap — find the signal in your data
Vendor & RFQ Review
Evaluate bids before you sign — avoid expensive mistakes
AI-Assisted Diagnostics
Rapid root cause analysis using modern AI tools
Team Development
Upskill your engineers with hands-on coaching
Common Questions:
How is this different from hiring a consultant for a project?
Project consultants show up, deliver a report, and leave. A Capnetix retainer means you have a senior expert who knows your operation, answers questions in real time, and catches problems before they become expensive projects.
What if I need more hours in a given month?
Unused hours don’t roll over, but burst capacity can be arranged at a pre-agreed hourly rate. We’ll discuss this upfront so there are no surprises.
Do you work with companies that have no existing automation?
Yes. Whether you’re designing automation into a new line or modernizing a legacy facility, the engagement starts with understanding where you are and what outcome you need.
Are you available for on-site visits?
Partner-tier clients can schedule on-site visits local to the Boston area. Travel and expenses are billed separately and agreed in advance. Remote-first is the default for all tiers.
Let's Talk About Your Operation.
A 30-minute discovery call costs nothing and you’ll walk away with at least one concrete idea you can act on immediately — whether we work together or not.
Not sure which tier is right? The discovery call will help us figure it out together.