This article explains how small manufacturers and metal fabricators in Loveland, Colorado finance production equipment. It covers Larimer County, CO manufacturing counts (435 employers in 2023), financing from quote to install, a press brake worked against shop hours, bank, builder and equipment-funder options, used machines and a checklist.
The Short Answer: Match the Loan to the Machine's Working Life
Production equipment is financed as equipment financing: a loan or lease secured by the machine, paid over a term shorter than the machine's useful life. The funder can value a press brake or a fiber laser because there is a market for used ones, which is what lets a small shop finance a machine that costs more than its yearly profit. Material for the orders the machine will run is a separate, shorter need, suited to a line of credit.
A partner reads two things above all: whether the shop's existing work can carry the payment, and whether there is new work waiting for the machine.
Manufacturing Equipment Loans Beside Larimer County, CO Factory Counts
County Business Patterns counted 435 manufacturing employers in Larimer County, CO in 2023, with 13,799 employees and $1.21 billion in payroll; 45.3% had fewer than five employees (Census County Business Patterns 2023). Fabricated metal product makers, the group that includes machine shops and fabricators, numbered 79, and commercial machinery repair shops 28. Nonemployer Statistics counted 628 manufacturing businesses without paid employees for 2024 (Census Nonemployer Statistics 2024).
The machine shop page covers CNC machines and material lines in detail.
Manufacturing Equipment Financing From Quote to Install
- Get a written quote with model, options, controls, delivery date and warranty.
- Price rigging, foundation work, power and installation separately.
- List tooling, dies and software as their own lines.
- Show the work the machine will run: contracts, purchase orders or repeat jobs.
- Submit the request, then wait for a partner to say which other records it wants.
Partners differ on soft costs. Some finance installation and tooling with the machine; others finance only the machine, leaving the rest to the shop's cash or a line.
A Press Brake Purchase Worked Against Shop Hours
Illustration only, invented figures: a fabricator buys a press brake for $186,000 plus $8,000 in installation, $194,000 in all. Spread over 84 months at an invented 8.75% annual rate, that comes to roughly $3,097 a month (our arithmetic). At an invented shop rate of $95 an hour, the machine needs to bill about 33 hours a month to cover the payment (our arithmetic).
That number is the clearest way to judge the purchase. If the shop is turning away bending work now, the hours are there; if the machine would sit idle half the week, the payment comes out of other work's profit.
Choosing the Term on a Large Machine
Illustration only, invented figures: a $420,000 fiber laser expected to work for about 10 years costs about $8,617 a month over 60 months or $6,651 over 84 months at an invented 8.5% annual rate (our arithmetic). The shorter term costs less in total; the longer one leaves more cash each month while the laser builds a customer base. Both end well inside the machine's working life, which is the test that matters.
Power, Foundations and Floor Space Before the Machine Arrives
Large production machines bring costs that never appear on the dealer's quote: a dedicated electrical service, a reinforced foundation or pit, compressed air, chip handling and the rigging to set the machine in place. A shop that discovers these after the funding is arranged has to pay them from cash. Pricing them early, and asking whether a partner will include them, keeps the request honest. A leased building adds one more step: the landlord's consent to the electrical and foundation work, in writing, before anything is cut or poured.
Machinery Finance From a Bank, a Builder or an Equipment Funder
Banks finance machines for shops with full financial statements and a relationship. Machine builders run captive finance programs that may carry promotional terms on their own machines. Independent equipment funders specialize in machines and may work with shorter histories. The Colorado lender-types guide compares these groups, and a term loan can fund a larger expansion that includes building work.
Used Production Machines and Rebuilds
Used machines carry lower prices and are financed against appraised value, sometimes on shorter terms. Illustration only, invented figures: a $68,000 rebuilt machining center with a new control may be valued closer to its rebuild price than its age suggests, if the rebuilder documents the work. A partner may ask for an inspection report and the rebuilder's warranty.
What to Put in a Fabricator's Equipment Request
- The machine quote, installation and tooling lines.
- Current machine utilization and the work the new machine will take on.
- Customer list and the share of sales from the largest customer.
- Recent bank statements, tax returns and financial statements.
- Existing equipment loans and leases.
Call (970) 238-5212 or send the request form with the quote in hand.
By Rowanrun Business Loans · Updated
