What a Contract Manufacturer Needs in Your RFQ

At Carolina CoverTech, that means stating what the product covers, protects, contains or encloses, and what would constitute a failure: leakage, torn seams, pressure loss, poor fit, or contamination. Two products that look identical on a drawing can require completely different materials and construction if one only needs to keep dust off and the other needs to hold pressure.

• Function: what the product covers, protects, contains or encloses.
• Failure definition: leakage, torn seams, lost pressure, contamination, poor fit, or reduced service life.
• Status: a replacement for an existing item, a build-to-print part from your own drawing, or a new design the manufacturer needs to engineer.



Photos, sketches, or an existing sample are genuinely useful alongside this information. They should not replace it. A sample shows shape; it does not indicate the pressure the product must withstand or the chemical it must resist.

"Outdoor use" and "industrial environment" describe almost nothing about what a coated fabric needs to resist. Environment drives coating chemistry, base fabric strength, seam construction, and hardware selection more than any other single input.

• Temperature range: minimum and maximum operating temperature and any short-duration extremes.
• Weather exposure: UV, rain, snow, ice, salt spray, wind, or standing water.
• Mechanical stress: abrasion, dragging, vibration, or repeated flexing and folding.
• Chemical contact: the exact chemical or product name, concentration, temperature, and whether contact is continuous or occasional. "Chemical resistant" is not specific enough; compatibility changes with concentration and temperature.
• Cleaning: cleaning method and any cleaning chemicals the surface needs to tolerate.
• Service life: how long the product needs to perform and how often it will be installed, removed, or handled.
  

For any bladder, tank, or inflatable structure, pressure and load information is critical. It determines whether the design is feasible before you select materials or seam construction.

• Operating pressure: normal operating pressure and maximum allowable working pressure.
• Test pressure: proof-test pressure and required burst pressure or safety factor.
• Fluid or gas: identity of what is being contained, fill volume, and maximum fill level.
• Cycling: expected pressure cycles over the product's service life and fill and discharge rate.
• Support: whether the product is externally supported, restrained inside a compartment, or free-standing, since the same volume and pressure produce very different stresses depending on external support.
• External loads: lifting, towing, suspension, wind, or personnel loads, and where they apply.

A contract manufacturer should not be expected to infer pressure requirements from dimensions alone. If a design engineer defined the pressure and load case, include them directly. If the manufacturer needs to help define them, say so upfront rather than after the drawings are already in hand.

"Sewn," "welded," or "sealed" describes a process, but not how the seam needs to perform, whether it needs to be airtight, liquid-tight, splash-resistant, weather-resistant, or simply hold the assembly together with no sealing requirement. That performance requirement determines whether RF welding, heat sealing, or industrial sewing is appropriate, as well as seam width, reinforcement, and whether needle holes are acceptable. Details on how the three processes compare are available on our RF welding and heat sealing page.

• Required result: airtight, liquid-tight, splash-resistant, weather-resistant, or structural only.
• Needle holes: state explicitly whether they are acceptable, since sewn construction is not inherently airtight or liquid-tight.
• Reinforcement: corners, fittings, lifting points, and wear zones that need extra material or a wear strip.
• Mixed materials: flag any design that combines a weldable material like PVC with a non-weldable one like canvas, since that determines whether sewing is the only viable joining method.

A note that says "add handles" or "valve here" is not enough for an accurate quote. Each hardware component needs its own specification, and any load-bearing component needs the direction and magnitude of the load it will carry.

• Component list: zippers, hook-and-loop, buckles, straps, webbing, grommets, D-rings, valves, vents, drains, and hose connections, each with type, material, size, and quantity.
• Connection standards: thread type or hose connection standard for any fitting that needs to mate with existing equipment.
• Load direction: for handles or lifting points, state whether they need to position an empty product, carry a packaged product, or lift a filled bladder. These are different load cases, and a handle sized for moving an empty cover may not be able to safely lift a filled one.
  

"Must not leak" is not a usable acceptance standard without a test method. If a product needs to hold pressure or contain liquid, state the test medium, test pressure, hold time, and permitted leakage or pressure loss. Note whether testing applies to every unit or only a first-article sample, and whether a customer witness or inspection report is required. Testing can involve fixtures, calibrated equipment, and drying time, and it can represent a meaningful share of the quoted cost, so defining it upfront avoids a late-stage price change.

State whether the manufacturer is expected to build exactly to your drawings, develop the manufacturing pattern from your specifications, recommend materials and seam construction, or engineer the complete product, including pressure or structural validation. Pattern development from a clear spec is routine fabrication work. Validating a pressure-bearing design is a different scope and a different cost, and naming which one you need avoids a quote that assumes the wrong level of engineering involvement.

If more than one document describes the product, whether a drawing, a CAD file, a specification sheet, or a physical sample, state which one governs if they conflict. Manufacturers regularly receive an undated sketch alongside a sample that does not quite match it. A single sentence naming the controlling document and its revision date prevents the quote from being built against the wrong version.

Custom manufacturing pricing is shaped by tooling and setup costs that spread differently across volumes. State whether you need a single prototype, a small pilot batch, or a production quantity, and give a rough annual estimate if this is likely to become a repeat order.

• Packaging: folded or rolled, maximum package size or weight, palletizing, and any protection needed for valves or fittings during shipping.
• Delivery: target delivery date, ship-to location, and whether partial shipments are acceptable.
• Payment terms: note your expected terms so the quote reflects them from the start rather than requiring a second round to confirm.
  

Some buyers have sourcing rules that eliminate certain manufacturers before a quote is even possible. Berry Amendment compliance for DoD purchases requires fully domestic sourcing and manufacturing of materials. Stating a compliance requirement in the first message, rather than after a quote has already been developed, avoids a wasted round trip. Details on what Berry compliance requires are on our Berry compliance page.

• Berry Amendment / domestic sourcing requirements for DoD contracts 
• ITAR or other export control considerations 
• Medical-grade material or biocompatibility documentation 
• Material certificates, lot traceability, or a certificate of conformance 
• Industry-specific certifications: NFPA fire ratings, food-contact material approval, or a required quality system.

• Product function and how failure is defined
• Dimensions, clearly labeled as equipment size, inside fit, outside fit, flat pattern, or inflated size
• Service environment: temperature, weather exposure, mechanical stress, and exact chemical contact
• Pressure and load case, for any bladder, tank, or inflatable
• Seam performance requirement, stated as a result, not a process
• Complete hardware and fitting list, with load direction for anything load-bearing
• Testing and acceptance criteria, including test method and hold time, if applicable
• Design responsibility: build-to-print, pattern development, or full engineering
• Governing document and revision, if multiple drawings or samples exist
• Quantity, packaging, delivery date, and payment terms
• Compliance requirements: Berry Amendment, ITAR, medical-grade, or certifications

If several of these are still undefined, send what you have. Carolina CoverTech's process, outlined on our Contract Manufacturer page and in our explanation of how contract manufacturing works, is designed to fill gaps like these through real conversations, including our work in bladder specification and rigid-to-flexible conversion. When key information is missing, expect the first quote to be a budgetary estimate with stated assumptions rather than a firm number, since pricing in unknowns as risk is more accurate than guessing.