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Purpose The purpose of this paper is to develop a model of analytic hierarchy process (AHP), a multiple criteria decision-making method, to assist selecting suitable machine configurations for special purpose machines (SPMs) from available alternatives.Design/methodology/approach The necessary criteria and sub-criteria were identified and used in the developed model. The assessment process was carried out by constructing the hierarchy of four levels. Then, pairwise comparison matrices were created for each level to compute the weights for the alternatives. The model was programmed and implemented by software for practical use.Findings Different scenarios were obtained from the assessment process of the developed AHP model showing the influence of changing the relevant importance of the elements in the hierarchy on the selection of SPMs configurations. Selection of the suitable scenario was also affected by some factors of manufacturing preferences and industry recommendations such as cost and production rate.Originality/value This is a new application of AHP method which assists decision makers to select suitable configurations for SPMs, and reduce the time required for designing SPMs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]