When a $4.2 million contract landed on Marcus Rivera's desk, he had 30 days to mobilize. The project required two tower cranes and a fleet of concrete pumps his company didn't own. Bank financing would take months. Equipment rental would eat 35% of his margins. He needed a third option.
A Dallas construction firm secured $275,000 in equipment financing to take on a major commercial project, cutting rental costs by 40% in the first year.
Apex Builders had been renting heavy equipment for every major project since 2019. Marcus Rivera, the company's founder, ran the numbers after losing a bid: equipment rental had cost his firm $890,000 over three years.
"Every project, we'd price in rental costs, and it made us 15-20% more expensive than competitors who owned their rigs," Rivera explains. "We were winning fewer bids, and the ones we did win had razor-thin margins."
The downtown Dallas high-rise project was different. At $4.2 million, it was the largest contract Apex had ever been offered. But the equipment requirements — two tower cranes, three concrete pumps, and a fleet of smaller machinery — would cost $180,000 in rentals alone over the 14-month build.
Rivera applied through FundLocal on a Tuesday afternoon. By Thursday morning, he had three competing offers from equipment financing lenders.
The winning offer: $275,000 at 7.2% over 60 months, with the equipment itself as collateral. Monthly payments came to $5,460 — less than half what he'd been paying in monthly equipment rentals.
"The speed was what got me," Rivera says. "I've sat in bank lobbies for hours filling out paperwork that went nowhere. This was a 15-minute application and two days to funding."
Year one savings: $112,000 in avoided rental costs after accounting for loan payments and maintenance.
Bid competitiveness: Apex won 3 additional contracts in the six months following the equipment purchase, worth a combined $6.8 million.
Asset building: The equipment retains roughly 70% of its value after year one, building the company's balance sheet for future financing.
Rivera's crew broke ground on the Dallas high-rise two weeks ahead of schedule. The project is currently on track for completion in Q3 2026.
"I spent three years renting equipment and watching my margins disappear. FundLocal got me funded in 48 hours, and now I own the rigs that are building a 12-story tower in downtown Dallas. That changes everything for a company like mine."
Apex Builders plans to expand into Austin and San Antonio markets in 2027, leveraging the equipment portfolio as collateral for a working capital line of credit. Rivera estimates the owned equipment will save his company over $300,000 annually compared to the rental model.
"The math is simple," he says. "Own your tools, own your margins."
Overview
Apex Builders needed heavy equipment for a 12-story mixed-use development in downtown Dallas. Traditional bank loans required 6 months of paperwork. FundLocal matched them with a lender in 48 hours.
Industry
Location
North Texas
Amount
$275,000
Solution
Equipment FinancingReady to explore your options?
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