A Funding Lifebuoy Rescues New Zealand Metal Casting Manufacturer

Significant growth threatened to dent Wickham Foundry – debtor finance eased the pressure, helped the owner right the ship and allowed for steady growth.

Wickham Foundry Ltd is a New Zealand-based non-ferrous founder and powder coating business, dealing mainly in casting aluminium, bronze and cast iron.

The foundry manufactures jet boat parts, reduction gear boxes, castings for the fuel industry, park benches and other outdoor furniture. Sole owner John Clark says the business has good steady growth, employs 10 people in Christchurch and has customers all over New Zealand.
The future for John’s business was not so bright 15 years ago, when the breakup of his marriage threatened its very survival: with his ex-wife wanting to walk away from the business and John wanting to continue to trade, he found himself with a debt of $116,000.

In 2006 John bought out Woolston Foundry and amalgamated it with his own company, Rangiora Foundry, to create Wickham Foundry. This amalgamation meant that the size of the business had grown dramatically and John had to service a $300,000 debt. In 2001 John approached Scottish Pacific to provide him with the capital to help Wickham Foundry thrive. A debtor finance facility gave the company the cashflow required to pay its wages and bills.

“I would advise any small business struggling with cashflow to use the factoring system. It’s a helping hand. We may not have survived in the early 2000s without Scottish Pacific,” said John.

“With Scottish Pacifics’ help over the past 13 years, we are now standing alone and have found that by consolidating our debt and by using a revolving credit facility, we are saving up to $3000 per month in fees and interest.
“Our goals are to increase our profit margins each year and of course to reduce debt. Currently the business has good steady growth and we hope to continue this.”

It is not uncommon for business owners to approach them for help after a divorce. Often one partner gets the business and the other the family home – meaning the home is no longer available to secure the business borrowings. Debtor finance can replace the borrowings that were secured by the home in these situations. For more information on how we can assist in this particular scenario, read our article on divorce and business.