When it comes to acquiring food production equipment, financing solutions to support growth are few and far between, with banks and suppliers alike often reluctant to lend towards the purchase of new machinery or equipment. One major exception is JBT whose own finance group, JBT Equipment Finance, offers funding support at very competitive rates and structures to enable the leasing, purchase or refurbing of food and beverage processing technologies.
The only major machinery and equipment manufacturer and marketer that offers a captive finance option to customers, JBT through JBT Equipment Finance (JBTEF) facilitates access to credit often denied by banks for leasing or purchasing processing solutions.
“Unlike trucks or front-end loaders, food equipment and automated guided vehicles are unique assets that banks don’t readily understand, so they are generally uninterested in financing them,” explains Rich Cainan, JBT’s Director of Customer Finance. “If you are looking to buy a new freezer, oven, portioner or injector, Banks tend to be happy to let JBTEF do this financing. One of our most popular financing products is an Operating Lease that allows the customer to return or trade in equipment at the end of the term for a larger or more technologically advanced machine, something largely available only at JBT Equipment Finance”.
“We are also very competitive. It’s a rare day that a bank can beat our financing. So the other benefit to the customer is you are going to get the best deal from us.”
Complementary support
JBT Financing works with “Mom & Pop” producers and also some of the biggest names in the global food and beverage industry. But regardless of size, JBT Financing’s most popular financing plan are operating leases with a capped purchase option; a popular structure, unavailable from banks, that was introduced in response to customer demand.
There are three options at maturity for caps, explains Cainan. The customer can buy the equipment for no more than the cap (normally 14%-18% of the leased equipment), they can renew the lease which could include a refurb paid for by JBTEF, or they can trade in or return the equipment, receiving replacement machinery from JBT in the process.
“It’s a great deal for the customer and that’s why we do so much business,” says Cainan. “A lot of the time, customers are growing, and they need bigger and better equipment to meet that growth. But at the same time, they will be under pressure from the bank over growing inventory and receivables. Financing your JBT equipment with JBTEF is a great solution because we are complementary to the bank and we do not compete with the bank on their line of credit.”
Covering costs
JBT Financing additionally offers significant benefits for new equipment. Typically, food processing equipment can have a build out time from 1-6 months. JBT Financing will fund the progress payments for the customer during assembly, offering a very competitive interest rate.
JBT Financing packages are not just limited to heavy duty machinery. JBT Financing solutions also cover soft costs, such as tax, installation and shipping, with JBTEF typically able to include 100% in their financing package. “This is a big deal because banks normally don’t want to finance soft costs or will usually ask for 20% in advance,” says Cainan. “In addition, we can include non-competing (non-JBT) equipment as part of the financing package. That means JBTEF will finance the entire new production line and most soft costs – something our competitors do not offer.”
JBT Financing Solutions are available directly from JBT Equipment Finance or from allied partners worldwide.