A multitude of sustainable financing solutions

Financing opportunities for the GWW

The Earth, Road and Hydraulic Engineering is a capital-intensive sector, investments are often substantial, especially on the way to sustainability. SME companies must also have cranes, bulldozers and shovels in order to carry out their profession. Increasingly, they are turning to financing companies for this. Casper Barendse of Activum Finance from Amsterdam: "We are one such financing company and recognize the challenges of GWW'ers."

According to Barendse, these are often SMEs with about five to 30 employees who need such financing. "But the investments in trucks, pontoons and transport equipment are making a solid mark on the budget, especially as a transition to electric develops. Not to mention additional large investments like expensive research equipment." Duncan Dirkzwager, also a partner at Activum Finance, says: "The GWW is one of the sectors we are committed to. We know the industry, are approachable and quick to act. We like to talk to entrepreneurs about their investment wishes, even if only to spar about a logical route. In 99% of cases, after the telephone inquiry, we provide an offer immediately, but we also schedule a personal meeting immediately."

We only look at the investment

Casper identifies an increasing frustration of applicants with traditional funding agencies such as banks. "They can't get hold of the right department, can't schedule an appointment until a long time, have to wait weeks for a proposal or the application is rejected immediately. Home banks usually link the collateral of their debtors; a mortgage, an RC loan and stock financing weigh in when granting financing. We don't; we look only at the investment, using only the property as collateral."

This is not to say that all applications at Activum Finance are financed in the same way. Duncan: "There are various financing options, including financial lease and operational lease; financial lease is a loan where the purchased asset serves as security and with operational lease we buy the desired asset ourselves and rent it to our client. We have a network of some 40 financiers and act as advisor and intermediary. We also offer our own solutions should the market be unable to provide anything. We weigh the options and select the best option for our client." Activum Finance also receives requests for specialized equipment. Casper: "Like during the construction of new locks in IJmuiden, where the entrepreneur had to do underwater welding. He needed a Remotely Operated Vehicle. We understand that he wants to act quickly and get to work immediately."

Activum Finance has existed since 2008 and since then has helped more than 3,000 customers with equipment leasing solutions amounting to 850 million euros. "This includes excavators, trailers, offshore workboats and metalworking machines. But also robots, solar panels 3D measuring techniques and automatic excavators with GPS. We make use of a network of independent financiers from the Netherlands and Belgium, which we expertly select with the best customer conditions and appropriate structure. We do this in a team of eight senior advisors with diverse specialties. We help quickly, clearly and solution-focused. At the same time, we also respond to the retreating movement of traditional financiers, caused in part by the financial crisis of 2008. At the time, this was the reason for us to happily begin offering online financing solutions."