Aluminium Joinery MOQ, Lead Time and Payment Terms, Stated
MOQ. Lead time. Payment terms. Buyers check these three numbers before anything else on an aluminium joinery order. Suppliers leave all three vague. So here they are, stated plainly: no minimum order quantity. 30 days. T/T. Six Incoterms. 6-year warranty. This page also explains two things. Why the MOQ figures you find elsewhere for “aluminium” come in the wrong unit. And which clauses to get in writing before you release a deposit.
The rest of this page is about the traps around those five numbers — the unit trap on MOQ, the clock-start trap on lead time, and the deposit trap on payment.
HIMOLON standard terms at a glance
| TERM | HIMOLON STANDARD | WHAT TO CONFIRM AT QUOTE STAGE |
|---|---|---|
| MOQ | No minimum order quantity | Whether your project is priced per unit or per container — the unit changes the freight maths, not the MOQ |
| Lead time | 30 days | When the clock starts — approved drawings, or deposit received. Get it written on the quote |
| Warranty | 6 years | What the 6 years covers — frame, hardware, glazing seals and finish are usually separate items |
| Payment | T/T (telegraphic transfer) | Deposit and balance split, and what triggers the balance payment |
| Delivery terms | EXW · FOB · CFR · CIF · DAP · DDP (Incoterms® 2020) | Named port or named place — DDP to a jobsite address needs the address up front |
| Certification | NFRC · AS 2047 · CE EN 14351-1 · PHI · CSA | Which market certs your jurisdiction requires — a cert pack is issued per project |
MOQ: why the number you find online is in the wrong unit
Search for an aluminium joinery MOQ and you will mostly hit extrusion suppliers, not window suppliers. That distinction decides the unit. An extruder sells aluminium by weight, so its minimum is a tonnage. A window fabricator sells assembled units, so its minimum is a quantity of windows.
| SUPPLIER TYPE | PUBLISHED MOQ | UNIT | PUBLISHED LEAD TIME |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jiangsu profile extruder | 300 kg standard / 500 kg large press | kilograms | 10–15 working days |
| Guangdong profile extruder | 3 tonnes | tonnes | 15–20 days |
| Guangdong cabinet profile maker | Negotiable low MOQ | — | 15–21 days |
| Door frame supplier | 1 metre | length | 2–15 days |
| HIMOLON (finished joinery) | No minimum | units / project | 30 days |
Competitor figures published on supplier product pages, retrieved 2026-09-22. Listed for unit comparison, not as a like-for-like quote.
A 3-tonne MOQ is a real constraint if you are buying billet. It says nothing about how many windows you can order. These are different industries sharing a keyword.
HIMOLON carries no minimum order quantity. That matters most on small or awkward jobs. A single pivot entry door on a private house. A sample batch before a tower award. A replacement run for one elevation. One container mixing windows and doors. On any of those, a tonnage MOQ forces you to buy stock you cannot install.
The practical limit on a small order is freight, not the factory. Below roughly a 20-foot container, the sea freight per unit climbs steeply and consolidation may cost more than the goods. Ask for a landed price per unit at your quantity before deciding that a small order is worth placing.
Lead time: the number is 30 days, but the clock matters more
Standard aluminium joinery lead time is 30 days. The question that decides whether that date holds is not how fast the line runs. It is when the clock starts. Two suppliers quoting “30 days” can be 30 days apart depending on whether day one is the approved drawing or the deposit.
Finished joinery is not an extrusion run. Before anything is cut, the shop drawings go back and forth: opening sizes, mullion positions, hardware selection, glass specification, finish colour. That approval loop sits outside the production clock at most factories, and it is where schedules actually slip. A 30-day lead time with a four-week drawing loop is a ten-week order.
| STAGE | WHO HOLDS IT | TYPICAL RISK |
|---|---|---|
| Shop drawing approval | Buyer / architect | Revision loops — the most common source of slippage |
| Production (30 days) | Factory | Powder-coat queue, glass lead time on non-standard builds |
| Inspection and COC pack | Factory + buyer | Third-party inspection booking |
| Sea freight | Carrier / forwarder | Port congestion, transhipment — outside any factory’s control |
Two things to get written on the quote: the clock-start event, and whether the 30 days includes the certificate pack. Certificates released after the container leaves are the single most common reason a shipment clears the port but fails plan-check. Our cert pack — market certs, test reports and the certificate of conformity — ships with the goods, not after them.
Payment terms: T/T, and the two clauses that protect the deposit
Payment is by T/T (telegraphic transfer). The market convention across the suppliers surveyed is a split: a deposit to release production, and a balance before the container loads. Published structures range from 30/70 to 50/50, with the balance falling due on presentation of loading documents rather than on arrival.
Whatever the split, two clauses decide whether your deposit is protected. First, what triggers the balance payment. Tie it to inspection evidence — photographs, packing list, loading documents — rather than to a calendar date. Second, what happens if production runs long. A lead-time commitment with no remedy is a preference, not a term.
T/T bank charges also catch buyers out. Sender and beneficiary usually each pay their own side, unless the quote says otherwise. On a small order those fixed fees are a meaningful slice of the invoice.
One more variable worth pinning down: how long the quoted price holds. Extrusion suppliers commonly price as a base metal rate plus a fabrication charge. The metal component tracks a published ingot index. One Guangdong supplier in this survey states it plainly: “ingot price plus processing fee, ingot price set at the day’s rate.” So a quote issued today and accepted six weeks later may not be the same number. Ask two questions: the quotation validity period, and whether the price fixes at order or at material purchase.
Delivery terms: six Incoterms, and what each one moves
We ship on all six of the terms buyers actually ask for: EXW, FOB, CFR, CIF, DAP and DDP under Incoterms® 2020. The rule behind them is simple. Move from EXW towards DDP and both cost and risk transfer later. The price goes up accordingly.
| TERM | SELLER PAYS | RISK TRANSFERS | BUYER DOES |
|---|---|---|---|
| EXW | Nothing beyond packing | At our works | Everything: collection, export, freight, import |
| FOB | To port, export clearance, loading | On board at named port | Main freight, insurance, import |
| CFR | Freight to named port | On board at origin | Insurance, import clearance, duties |
| CIF | Freight + minimum insurance | On board at origin | Import clearance, duties, inland delivery |
| DAP | Carriage to named place | On arrival, ready to unload | Import duties and taxes, unloading |
| DDP | Everything including duties | At named place of destination | Unloading only |
The choice is a cash-flow and control decision, not a price decision. FOB suits buyers with their own forwarder and a rate agreement. CIF suits buyers who want freight handled but will manage their own import. DDP suits buyers who want one landed number and no customs administration. But it prices in duty at the rate current on the quote date. Confirm who absorbs a tariff change before you sign.
One clause inside CIF catches people out. CIF obliges the seller to buy insurance, but only minimum cover. If your cargo value warrants all-risk cover, name the clause in the contract rather than assuming the default protects you.
Warranty: 6 years, and the four lines to get in writing
The warranty is 6 years. Length matters less than scope, and scope is where claims are won or lost. A window has four failure populations, and a warranty that covers “the window” without naming them leaves each one arguable:
- Frame and profile — finish integrity, thermal break integrity, joint crimping. Powder coat and anodising carry different expectations; the finish standard (AAMA 2605 or Qualicoat) is what gets tested.
- Hardware — hinges, friction stays, multi-point locks, handles. Often covered by the hardware maker’s own warranty rather than the fabricator’s, so ask whose name is on it.
- Glazing seals — sealed unit failure shows up as internal condensation between the panes. This is the most common claim and the one most often excluded.
- Installation — almost never the manufacturer’s liability unless installation was in scope. Water ingress at the perimeter is usually a flashing defect, not a window defect.
Ask for the scope as a list, not a sentence. Six years on the frame but twelve months on the seals is a different product from six years across all four.
Conclusion
No MOQ. 30 days. T/T. Six Incoterms. 6-year warranty. Those five numbers are the starting point, not the finish. What decides whether a project runs smoothly sits next to them. When the production clock starts. What triggers the balance payment. Whether the cert pack travels with the container. Which four items the warranty names. Ask for those in writing. That holds whether you are buying one door or a full tower of aluminium joinery. You will separate a factory from a trading desk faster than any price comparison.
tilt and turn windows carry our full published specification and trade terms;
thermal-break performance across 17 systems is set out in the
thermal break bi-fold door specification.
FAQ
Is there really no minimum order quantity?
No minimum, including single-unit and sample orders. The constraint on small orders is freight economics, not factory policy. Below roughly a 20-foot container, the landed cost per unit rises sharply. Ask for a landed price at your quantity before you order.
Does the 30 days include shipping?
No. It covers production through to a packed, inspected order ready to load. Sea freight is separate and depends on the lane. Confirm on the quote when the 30 days starts: drawing approval, or deposit. Also confirm whether the certificate pack falls inside that window.
Can you ship DDP to a jobsite rather than a port?
Yes — DAP and DDP both deliver to a named place, which can be a jobsite address. Give the delivery address at quotation stage. We price inland haulage and duty into the DDP number, so an address supplied later changes it.
Which Incoterm should a first-time importer choose?
CIF if you have a customs broker and want freight handled. DDP if you want one landed number and no customs administration. FOB only if you already have a forwarder and a freight rate, because FOB leaves you carrying the main carriage and the insurance.
Do the certificates come with the shipment?
Yes. We release market certs, test reports and the certificate of conformity with the goods, not after dispatch. Certificates that arrive after the container has sailed are a common cause of plan-check failure on site. Confirm which certs your jurisdiction requires at quotation stage — we issue the pack per project.
