Harborfield Business Capital arranges financing for machine shops and metal fabricators in Waukesha, WI and Waukesha County, WI: equipment financing for new and used CNC machines, press brakes and welders, inventory financing for raw material, and lines of credit for customers on net-60 terms. The county had 228 fabricated metal manufacturers in 2023 (CBP). Partners decide.
| Fabricated metal manufacturers | 228 employers with payroll in the CBP 2023 file |
|---|---|
| Employees | 7,519 (CBP 2023) |
| Employees per establishment | About 33 (our arithmetic) |
| Industrial machinery repair shops | 54 (CBP 2023) |
| ZIP 53186 fabricators | 28 (ZBP 2023) |
| Manufacturing payroll, all sectors | About $2.99 billion, the largest of any county sector (CBP 2023) |
How Money Moves Through a Job Shop
A job shop buys steel, aluminum or bar stock, runs it through machines it has already paid for, ships the parts, and invoices a customer who may pay 45 to 60 days later. Larger OEM customers may pay later still. Meanwhile machinists are paid weekly and the material for the next order has to be bought now.
Equipment decides the work a shop can win. A shop without a given machine, such as a horizontal mill or a fiber laser, may be unable to quote certain parts competitively, so a machine purchase can be a growth decision as much as a replacement.
CNC Equipment Financing
CNC machining centers, lathes, Swiss-type machines, fiber lasers, waterjets and press brakes are financed as equipment loans or leases, secured by the machine. Rigging, installation and tooling packages can sometimes be included if they appear on the same quote. CNC machine financing options include dealer programs and independent partners; compare total cost over the term, not just the payment.
Welding machines can be financed too: welders, positioners and robotic welding cells follow the same collateral logic.
Used CNC Machine Financing
Some partners finance used machines. Expect questions about the control, spindle hours, year, maintenance records and whether the seller is a dealer, an auction or another shop. An inspection or a run-off video helps. Terms on older machines can be shorter, and a partner may ask for a larger down payment.
How to Finance a Metal Shop: Structures by Need
| Need | Structure |
|---|---|
| CNC machines, lasers, press brakes, welders | Equipment financing |
| Steel, aluminum and bar stock for booked orders | Inventory financing |
| Payroll and material while customers pay on net 45 to 60 | Line of credit |
| A larger building fit-out or buying another shop | Term loan |
A Net-60 Order, Worked Through
Illustration only: a shop books a $120,000 production order. Material costs $34,000 up front, and the order takes six weeks of a crew whose payroll runs $18,000 a week. Parts ship at week six and the customer pays 60 days later, so about $142,000 goes out more than three months before the $120,000 arrives, and the shop is carrying the next orders at the same time.
A revolving line sized to two or three overlapping orders, plus inventory financing for large material buys, can help the shop take the order without stalling everything else.
What Partners Review for Manufacturers
- Receivables aging by customer, plus bank statements
- How much revenue depends on the top two or three customers
- Machine quotes or listings with year, control and hours
- Existing equipment debt
- Statements and returns when the request is large
Fabricators and Machine Repair in Waukesha County, WI
Manufacturing had the largest payroll of any sector in Waukesha County, WI in 2023, about $2.99 billion across 825 establishments (CBP). Fabricated metal product manufacturing, which includes machine shops, accounted for 228 of those establishments and 7,519 employees, about 33 per establishment (our arithmetic). Just 21.1% of them had fewer than five people on payroll. ZIP 53186 had 28 (ZBP 2023).
Commercial and industrial machinery repair and maintenance added 54 establishments and 461 employees. Nonemployer Statistics counted 71 fabricated metal and 33 machinery repair businesses without payroll in 2024 (the latter at the broader NAICS 2022 code 81131), separate from the CBP counts. For the wider county picture, see the Waukesha, WI figures page; other industries are on the industry overview.
