I've come to really value the things I see written here (soapboxes notwithstanding)

After my co-worker and I discussed it some more, I think he's happier
with the idea of us (me) building it from scratch, based on information
openly available. That way we can tailor the system to their feedstock
and volume.

So, from here, I need information and plans. It seems fairly straight
forward, I just have to get it compiled. Maybe at least this way he
won't be throwing excess money at it for the sake of the 'pre-packaged'
solution.