Equipment Financing
The usual structure for machine tools a shop expects to run for decades.
Industries · Manufacturing
Manufacturing equipment financing
A machine tool sets the ceiling on what a shop can quote. Financing spreads its cost across the production it makes possible — rigging, tooling, and installation included.
The work
Equipment reality
Manufacturing capacity is bought, not wished into place. A CNC machining center, a press brake, or an injection molding machine determines what a shop can take on, and replacing one involves lead time, rigging, foundation work, and operator training. The machines are precise and long-lived, and they often must be ordered before the contract that justifies them is signed.
Financing structures for manufacturing equipment include term loans on individual machines, leases timed to a technology cycle, and sale-leasebacks that pull working capital out of a paid-off floor. The soft costs that travel with a machine tool — rigging, installation, tooling, control software — are commonly included in the same request. Reviews typically weigh the machine's useful life, the shop's revenue history and customer mix, and how the new capacity sits against existing debt.
Eligible equipment
What typically qualifies
- CNC machining centers
- CNC lathes and turning centers
- press brakes and shears
- fiber laser cutting systems
- waterjet cutters
- stamping presses
- injection molding machines
- extrusion lines
- robotic welding cells
- coordinate measuring machines
- surface and cylindrical grinders
- packaging and filling lines
- industrial air compressors and dryers
- overhead cranes and hoists
Structures
Ways to structure it
Equipment Leasing
Fits automation and inspection equipment likely to be upgraded within a technology cycle.
Sale-Leaseback
Pulls working capital out of a paid-off floor to pay for tooling, hiring, or a new contract.
Large-Ticket Commercial Financing
For complete production lines and plant expansions quoted as one project.
Qualification
What lenders typically weigh
- Time in business and the shop's track record with similar work.
- Machine age and serviceability — for used machine tools, support for the control system matters as much as the mechanics.
- Revenue consistency, including how concentrated the shop's customer list is.
- Existing debt across the floor.
- Down payment or equity in owned machines.
Descriptive, not a promise — factors and weightings vary by file.
Checklist
Documents to have ready
- Recent business bank statements — several months is typical
- Business tax returns, typically the last two years
- Interim financial statements — profit and loss, balance sheet
- Vendor quote covering the machine, rigging, installation, and tooling
- Equipment list and debt schedule
- Government ID for the owners
Questions
Asked and answered
Used machine tools are a normal part of this category. Reviews typically consider age, hours, the control generation, and whether the machine is still serviceable and supported. Dealer-refurbished machines and auction purchases are both common paths.
Commonly, yes. When rigging, installation, tooling, or control software is quoted with the machine, it is typically included in the same request and the same schedule rather than paid separately out of cash.
Machine-tool builds often involve a deposit at order and payment milestones before delivery. Structures exist that release funds at those milestones rather than in one sum at delivery; how a given request is handled depends on the lender and the build. Raising the timeline early keeps it from becoming a surprise.
Robotic cells, end-of-arm tooling, and integration work are commonly financed together as one system. Integration is often a meaningful share of an automation quote, and it is typically reviewed as part of the package rather than stripped out.
Related industries
Run the numbers. Then decide.
The calculators and the eligibility check show results on the page — no email required, no contact details collected. When the structure makes sense, the application asks for the equipment, the amount, and your timeline. Terms arrive in writing before anything is owed.