Nate Smith of Absolute Machinery discusses values of plastic extrusion and injection molding equipment, and what he’s seeing during the COVID-19 pandemic and beyond.
About this segment of Blackbird TV
Guest: Nate Smith, Owner, Absolute Group of Companies. To learn more about our guest, visit AbsoluteMachinery.com, or call 508-792-4305.
Recorded: October 21, 2020
Published: November 23, 2020
Segment transcript
I’d like to introduce Nate Smith from Absolute Machinery in “warchester.” David, thank you, Worcester Massachusetts. This segment is being recorded mid-October 2020, we’re somewhere in the throes of a pandemic, and we understand that there’s been different impacts in different industries. What are you seeing in the plastic injection molding in the space that you’re in right now relative to equipment values, in the covid state? Well we see some fluctuation over the last 24 months and during this Covid time the machinery, the demand is there. We’re in the segments of the PPE equipment. There’s increased demand for disposables, medical devices are being manufactured, and we see a demand that’s frankly doubled. So as far as the surplus equipment’s concerned, it’s difficult to find in the market. We are complemented by a sister division Absolute Hiatian, supplying new machinery to industry and that seems to have done very well in this pandemic. That’s great. We’re seeing that in other segments, as well. So if you had one message to hand out to an ABL, or or a traditional bank who’s lending into the space that you’re in, with collateral in the plastic or injection molding industry, would you say that their collateral is pretty safe right now? Yep. Well the asset-based lender, the lenders that are out there, their collateral for the most part is safe. There is, in the U.S. market and throughout the world, eighty percent of the applications can be done on general purpose machines. Where there is some exposure is that remaining 20 percent segment in the molding machinery where you have—whether it be a liquid silicone high speed packaging machinery—various other machines within that 20 percent segment, where there is exposure because it’s built for a specific purpose and if that purpose goes away then the value is at risk but generally speaking in the plastics industry indeed the machines are are maintaining their value. That’s fabulous and it’s what we’re seeing mirrored in other industries. Nate, thanks for your time today. Thank you.