Board handling and sheet lifting finance
Moving full sheets by hand is the most common cause of injury and damage in a panel shop, and handling equipment is finally being bought to fix it.
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Can you finance a board handling and sheet lifting?
Yes, though the answer varies enormously across the category. A vacuum tube lifter or a scissor lift table is a modest purchase that funds most easily within a larger machine order. An automated panel storage and retrieval system is a major capital installation funded as serious plant, with the usual questions about what is machine and what is building steelwork. Both are fundable. The mistake is assuming handling can be added to a saw or nesting deal after the agreement is written — once the paperwork is done, it is a separate application for a small amount.
Used kit: Yes for lifters and tables; storage systems are usually bought new with the machine
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What would a board handling and sheet lifting cost per month?
Asset finance is quoted on a flat rate, so that is what the buttons show, with the equivalent APR beside it. Your exact rate depends on the asset, the term, the deposit and the lender.
Prime is an established, profitable business with clean credit. Specialist covers newer businesses and credit that needs explaining — the asset itself carries part of the risk, which is why finance is often available where an unsecured loan is not.
Representative example: on Hire Purchase, borrowing £25,000 over 48 months at a 5.15% flat rate (equivalent to 9.9% APR representative), you would repay around £628 a month; total amount repayable approximately £30,150, of which £5,150 is the cost of finance. This calculator is for illustration only — it is not a quote or an offer of finance, and the rate and repayments you are offered will depend on the asset, term, deposit and your circumstances. CW Asset Finance is a credit broker, not a lender, and may receive a commission from the lender that funds your agreement. All finance is subject to status, affordability and lender approval.
Rates shown are indicative flat rates with the equivalent APR alongside — the two are not the same number. Indicative only and does not constitute a quote or an offer of finance. Subject to status and lender approval.
How lenders treat it
These applications are judged on whether the equipment is a machine or an installation. A vacuum lifter, a lift table or a powered trolley is portable and recognisable, but low in value, so as a standalone it drops towards soft asset territory and the decision rests on your accounts. Automated storage systems are the opposite: large, serial-numbered, from known manufacturers and clearly identifiable, but they involve racking and gantry steelwork bolted into your building, which a funder treats as a fixture and will not advance against fully. The workable approach on big installations is to split the quote between the moving machinery, which is the gantry, vacuum head and controls, and the fixed racking. On small items, bundle them with the saw they serve.
Makes and models we fund
Examples of the machines we are asked to fund. This is not an exhaustive list — if what you are buying is not here, it does not mean we cannot fund it. Your supplier quote is what the agreement is written against.
| Machine | What it is |
|---|---|
| Homag Storeteq S-200 | Automated panel store with lifting gantry |
| Homag Storeteq storage systems | Storage and retrieval for cutting rooms |
| Biesse Winstore | Automatic board store feeding beam saws |
| Holz-Her Store Master 5110 | Panel storage system for cabinet factories |
| Schmalz Jumbo vacuum lifters | Tube lifters for moving sheets by hand |
| TAWI vacuum lifters | Vacuum lifters for board and panel handling |
| Barbaric board handling systems | Lifting and feeding aids for panel shops |
| Aerolift vacuum beams | Vacuum beams for crane handled sheets |
| Edmolift scissor lift tables | Lift tables for loading saws and benches |
| Hymo lift tables | Powered tables for safer board handling |
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Who buys one
Cabinet and panel processing shops where two people are lifting every sheet onto the saw, and businesses facing a manual handling problem after an injury or an insurance review. Automated storage is bought by high-volume manufacturers where a nesting machine or beam saw is waiting on material and an operator is spending half the day finding and fetching boards.
Get a quoteor call 0333 772 4864
How it is treated for tax
Bought on hire purchase, business plant and machinery normally qualifies for capital allowances on the full cost even though you pay for it monthly, which is a large part of why hire purchase is the common structure. On a finance lease you generally set the rentals against profit instead. The rules change between budgets and your position depends on how you trade, so treat this as the direction of travel and get your accountant to confirm the detail before you commit.
Board handling and sheet lifting finance questions
Can a vacuum lifter go on the same agreement as my saw?
Yes, provided it is on the same invoice and the agreement has not already been drawn up. That is by far the easiest route, because the lifter rides along with an asset the funder values highly. Once the saw agreement is signed, the lifter becomes a separate small deal that is disproportionately awkward.
Is automated panel storage worth financing?
It depends on whether material handling is genuinely your constraint. Where an expensive saw or nester sits idle while someone fetches board, the payback can be compelling. Where the machines are already running flat out, the money may be better spent elsewhere. Price the idle hours before committing to the investment.
Does racking count as part of the asset?
Usually not. Fixed racking bolted to your floor is treated as a fixture with little recovery value, so funders exclude or discount it. The gantry, vacuum head, drives and control system are the machinery and carry the advance. Ask the supplier to separate the two on the quote.
Can I finance handling equipment for safety reasons alone?
Yes, and it is a perfectly good business case. Manual handling injuries carry real cost in claims, absence and insurance loading. Underwriters do not require a productivity argument, but explaining the driver helps, particularly where the purchase follows an incident or an insurer recommendation.
Are second-hand lifters fundable?
Small used items usually fall below funder minimums and are better bought outright or added to a larger order. Larger used handling systems can be funded where the manufacturer is recognised and the controls are supported. As always, a legitimate invoice and clear title are the baseline requirements.
Get a quoteor call 0333 772 4864
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Not an offer of finance. All finance is subject to status, affordability and lender approval.
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