Flintview Business Capital in San Luis Obispo, California helps machine and fabrication shops describe an equipment, expansion or receivables gap, and passes the request to funding partners, who decide on approval and terms.
At a glance
- Fabricated metal products
Fabricated metal product manufacturing (incl. machine shops), San Luis Obispo County, CA: 52 employers, 747 paid employees (CBP 2023)
- Manufacturing
Manufacturing, San Luis Obispo County, CA: 469 employer establishments, 7,897 paid employees (CBP 2023)
- Manufacturing payroll
Manufacturing payroll, San Luis Obispo County, CA: $500.4 million (CBP 2023)
- Machinery repair
Commercial and industrial machinery repair, San Luis Obispo County, CA: 16 employers (CBP 2023)
Machine Shop Financing and a Second Shift: Notes for San Luis Obispo, CA Machine Shops
Machine shop financing for a second shift is mostly payroll and tooling: operators, a lead, inserts and fixtures, and sometimes lighting or HVAC changes for the extra hours. The machines already exist; the question is whether the work is there. Customer purchase orders and a forecast of hours answer it.
A second shift is a working capital request, often paired with a business line of credit for material. See working capital loans.
A partner will ask how long the work behind the second shift is expected to last. A multi-year supply agreement reads differently from a single large order, and a shop that can show both its current backlog and its record with the customer gives the partner something concrete.
CNC Machine Loan: Fiber Lasers, Saws and Material Runs at a San Luis Obispo, CA Machine Shop
A CNC machine loan for a fiber laser, saws and material is equipment plus inventory. The laser is the collateral for its own loan; saws are smaller equipment; and the sheet or bar stock for a big run is inventory paid down as the parts ship.
Illustration only, invented figures: a $260,000 fiber laser over 84 months at an annual rate of 8.75% comes to about $4,150 a month; a $38,000 saw would be a separate, shorter agreement (our arithmetic).
Fiber lasers also bring facility costs: power supply, an assist-gas system, fume extraction and floor space for sheet loading. An installer's site survey before the order lists those costs, and including them in the request keeps the financed amount from falling short of the real total.
Metal Shop Loans: CMM Inspection Gear and a Larger Bay
Metal shop loans for CMM inspection equipment and a larger bay pair a precise instrument with a building change. A coordinate measuring machine needs a stable, climate-controlled space, so the bay work and the CMM are often planned together.
Illustration only, invented figure: a $72,000 CMM with software and installation. The bay expansion would be a term loan request with the contractor's bid and the lease or deed.
Inspection capacity can limit how much work a shop can ship. A shop that sends parts out for inspection, or that holds parts waiting for its only CMM, can show the delay and its cost; that is what the new machine would remove.
How Does Leasing Machinery Work? A San Luis Obispo, CA Machine Shop Example: Saws and Bar Stock
Leasing machinery works by paying to use the machine over a set term, with an end-of-term choice: buy it, return it, or renew. A shop leasing saws and buying bar stock separately is splitting a long-lived asset from a short-lived one.
Illustration only, invented figures: a lease of $3,100 a month for 60 months totals $186,000 before any buyout (our arithmetic). Compare that with a loan for the same machine at its full price, and with $26,000 of bar stock financed as inventory and paid down as the parts ship.
Some leases include maintenance and some do not; some let the shop upgrade the machine mid-term. Read the end-of-term terms closely: a fair-market-value buyout can cost more than expected if the machine has held its value.
Machinery Finance Bank: What San Luis Obispo, CA Machine Shops Should Know
A bank that finances machinery reads the shop's financial statements, its customer concentration (how much of the work comes from one or two customers), the machine's resale value and the shop's experience with that kind of machine. Non-bank equipment lenders read many of the same things and may put more weight on the machine itself.
Illustration only, invented figures: a $145,000 CNC lathe over 84 months at 9% is about $2,333 a month (our arithmetic). Customers that pay 60 days after delivery leave the shop carrying labor and material for two months on every job, which is the receivables gap a line of credit can carry.
County Business Patterns counted 52 fabricated metal product manufacturing establishments in San Luis Obispo County, CA for 2023, with 747 paid employees and $48.1 million in annual payroll; the manufacturing sector as a whole had 469 establishments and 7,897 paid employees. Machine loans and leases are set out under equipment financing; ZIP 93401 sector counts are on the San Luis Obispo, CA page, and the trade index covers contractors and repair shops.
The five-axis mill article works through an invented purchase and the records behind it.
By Flintview Business Capital ยท Updated