Family-Owned Manufacturer Gains Competitive Edge with Financing

Erie Molded Packaging (EMP) is a family-owned custom and standard injection molded parts and packaging provider with more than 40 years in business. In a marketplace dominated by larger companies, EMP has experienced rapid growth and success in recent years—driving the need to scale quickly with new equipment and software in order to remain competitive. Although EMP has a positive relationship with their primary bank, they saw the upcoming acquisitions as an opportunity to diversify their funding sources. They also needed more flexibility than a traditional lender typically offers, like the ability to make milestone installment payments with multiple vendors as equipment is ordered, built, and delivered.

 As a family-owned business in a competitive field, downtime is lost business for EMP, so it was important to work with a lender who could move quickly on their equipment financing needs and who they could rely on for years to come. With a team dedicated solely to manufacturing companies, First American’s specialized knowledge and capabilities provided EMP with the assurance that the context of their needs and goals would be understood. After discussing their options, First American provided EMP with a financing solution and customizations to fit their needs, including deposits and installation payments to get the equipment into production immediately and help ensure on-time delivery. Once the financing was in place, the First American Project Manager handled the administrative tasks for EMP’s projects, like coordinating the distribution of all vendor payments and assisting with the end-of-term process—allowing EMP to purchase their equipment outright at lease-end.