Understanding the needs of clients is just one reason why leasing specialist Finlease’s services continue to be popular among businesses seeking equipment finance.
For new businesses starting up in the earthmoving sector, finding the funds to finance equipment purchases is one of the first obstacles.
NSW-based Bryant Civil was one such company, formed in 2020 to service regions in and around Shoalhaven on the state’s south coast.
The versatile operation is involved in a whole gamut of tasks, including house and driveway cuts, pool excavation, rural driveways, sub- divisions, car parks and various small building projects.
Director Chris Bryant boasts about 20 years’ experience in the industry, starting off as a labourer with another civil construction company straight after leaving school.
After completing the necessary certificates and moving on up to run some civil projects, he attained enough skills, acumen, and more importantly, the desire, to start up his own business.
Like any fledgling enterprise, initial progress was slow and steady, but as word of mouth of its proficiency spread, so too did the number of contracts, with notable projects so far including the Warden Head Lighthouse Upgrade, the Berry to Bomaderry Bypass, and some smaller tasks within the HMAS Albatross naval station.
“We currently have a fleet of two trucks, five excavators and one Posi-Track,” Chris said.
“I started off with a 5-tonne excavator which I used just doing weekend jobs for mates, then eventually picked up more work, which led to purchasing a truck. Our fleet has expanded due to the amount of work we have.
“The business currently consists of two directors — myself and my wife Melissa — along with six employees.”
Through it all, Chris said the assistance from equipment and machinery finance and leasing specialists Finlease has proved invaluable when it came to stocking up the fleet.
“We approached another broker for finance as well as a finance company, but they weren’t very accessible,” he said.
“Then we heard from Luke Carroll from Finlease, who reached out to us after coming across our Instagram page.
“Luke was a breath of fresh air. He has been so helpful since the first contact was made.
“Luke went above and beyond to get our loans approved and settled in a timely manner, and he continues to do so.
“He will drive down to site for us to sign loan documents, he will always liaise with who we are purchasing from, our accountant and whoever he needs to make all our purchases and leases a seamless and stress-free experience for us.
“There is a great relationship with Luke; he takes a genuine interest in our business and goes out of his way to make our life easier.
“Applying for finance through Finlease is always an easy simple process, the team is flexible and works with us and our needs.”
As for Luke, going above and beyond for clients like Chris was all in a day’s work.
“We keep hearing from our customers that the banks can be hard to approach, especially for newer businesses in a growth phase,” he said.
“In addition, when they do engage with a bank, they quickly realise equipment finance isn’t really the bank’s speciality … whilst we deal with it every day.
“The other one we hear is that their bank manager has left so they have to start all over again with a replacement!
“So when we come along with the ability to help grow their fleet, make securing good finance outcomes easy and be on the journey with them for the long term, we’re like a breath of fresh air.”
Luke said businesses could also lean on Finlease for advice.
“It’s pretty common for us to have seen a similar scenario for another customer previously, so we can pass on some words of wisdom or provide the right contact for them to talk to,” he said.
“And yes, I’ll regularly go meet clients at their job site or outside normal business hours because it’s about making it easy and allowing them to get on with their business. We really do look to put ourselves in their shoes.
“There’s obviously competition around, but I think my customers like that I’m from the local area with a genuine interest in supporting local business owners on their journey. I don’t believe many other brokers enjoy the same level of connection to the area.”