A manufacturing project is a capital budget, a supply chain and a labour plan financed together. Lenders underwrite all three, and the incentives that make a site competitive usually arrive on a different timetable from the debt. Sequencing the analysis correctly is half the work.
| Route | Where it fits | What it turns on |
|---|---|---|
| SBA 504 | Owner-occupied real estate and long-lived equipment, in a bank plus CDC debenture structure. | Eligible fixed assets and the borrower contribution rules, which rise for a new business or a special-purpose property. |
| SBA 7(a) | Acquisition, working capital, equipment and some construction; the most flexible federal route for an operating business. | Size standards, owner-occupancy and repayment ability from the business itself. |
| USDA OneRD / B&I | Projects in eligible rural areas, where the guarantee helps a lender hold a longer term. | Rural eligibility, tangible balance-sheet equity of 10 to 25 percent under 7 CFR 5001.105(d), and a feasibility study above $1,000,000 for a new business. |
| Conventional bank or credit union | Experienced sponsors with strong balance sheets, and projects too large for the federal ceilings. | Coverage, leverage, sponsor liquidity and the appraised value of the collateral. |
| State and local incentives | Tax abatement, training grants, infrastructure participation and financing authorities, negotiated with the site decision. | The incentive package is normally tied to committed jobs and investment, and is documented before the site is announced — not afterwards. |
| Equipment financing | Production lines and long-lived machinery, sometimes separated from the real estate. | Useful life against the term, installation and commissioning cost, and residual value for special-purpose equipment. |
Economic development authorities negotiate against committed jobs, wages and capital investment. Those commitments become contractual, with clawbacks attached, so the employment and investment figures in an incentive application should come from the same model the lender sees — not from an optimistic version prepared for the announcement. Where a public body is the applicant for grant funding to support the project, the Rural Business Development Grant route has its own scoring on need and jobs.
Utility capacity is the constraint most often discovered late. Confirming available power, gas, water and effluent capacity at the specific parcel — in writing, from the provider — belongs in the feasibility phase, because the cost of extending any of them can exceed the land price.
Our manufacturing work spans advanced manufacturing, food and beverage processing and the other process industries listed under services.
Last reviewed September 2026. Programme figures are quoted from the sources below; everything else is professional commentary.
Independent market, throughput and site analysis for manufacturing projects. Fixed fee quoted in one business day.
Schedule a Qualification Zoom Manufacturing feasibility studiesLegal disclosure. Wert-Berater, Inc. offices are mailing addresses only. Following the COVID-19 pandemic the firm has elected to work remotely; its office locations receive mail and are not staffed for visitors or in-person meetings. Headquarters mailing address: 1968 South Coast Hwy, Ste 2382, Laguna Beach, CA 92651.
Wert-Berater, Inc. is an independent provider of feasibility studies and other related services. The firm does not provide financing or equity investment advice, and does not arrange, broker, or place debt or equity capital of any kind.
All appraisal assignments are performed by Bruce E. Jones, MAI, ASA-GC, BCA, CMEA, a member of the Appraisal Institute since 2006, a staff member of Wert-Berater, Inc. and owner of Special Purpose Realty Valuation.