Dematic Financing

Dematic, a KION Group company headquartered in Atlanta with global engineering operations, is one of the largest suppliers of warehouse automation systems in the world. The product portfolio spans automated storage and retrieval systems, conveyor and sortation lines, robotic picking cells, goods-to-person systems, and integrated warehouse management software. These are not single-machine purchases. A Dematic project is typically a multi-phase capital program where the system's value comes from how its components work together to hit a specific throughput target.

Financing Dematic systems requires a lender who understands project-based equipment finance, not one applying a standard forklift underwriting template to a $2 million integrated AS/RS with software, installation, and commissioning embedded in the contract. We work with lenders who have financed Dematic, Honeywell Intelligrated, and similar integrated-automation systems and know how to structure the advance against the equipment components versus the software and services in a bundled project contract.

Our minimum is $50,000. Application-only processing is available up to approximately $400,000. For the Dematic project segment, most transactions fall above that threshold and require full financial documentation, but the underwriting timeline with lenders who understand automation projects is still measured in days, not weeks.

Facilities adding Dematic automation alongside Automated Storage & Retrieval System (AS/RS) Financing from other suppliers can often structure a single master facility that covers the full scope, reducing the administrative burden of managing multiple financing relationships.

Dematic's Core Systems and Their Cost Profiles

The Dematic Multishuttle AS/RS is one of the brand's flagship products. The system uses individual shuttle cars operating on storage levels within a racking structure, retrieving totes or cases on demand and feeding them to pick stations via conveyor. A Multishuttle installation scales from small pilot deployments covering a single temperature zone to enterprise systems storing millions of totes across dozens of aisles. Small systems can be under $1 million in total project cost. Enterprise-scale deployments run into tens of millions. The financing structure appropriate for each end of that spectrum is quite different.

Dematic's conveyor and sortation systems, including its crossbelt sorters and sliding shoe systems, are used in distribution centers for package routing, returns processing, and order consolidation. These systems are often multi-year capital programs that involve design, equipment manufacturing, installation, commissioning, and software integration as distinct phases within a single contract.

For financing purposes, the equipment components (conveyors, sorters, racking, shuttles, and mechanical drive systems) typically qualify as tangible collateral. Software licenses and professional services embedded in the contract are generally not financeable as equipment but may be excludable from the financed amount, reducing the total advance required and sometimes improving the deal economics for the borrower.

Dematic Multishuttle AS/RS financing is the specific model-level transaction we see most often. These systems represent defined, documentable capital equipment with an established resale market among operators who want to acquire proven automation at below-new-system cost.

Structuring Dematic Project Finance

Dematic projects often involve milestone-based payments to the vendor: a deposit at contract signing, progress payments through manufacturing and installation, and a final payment at commissioning acceptance. Equipment financing for this kind of project can be structured as a construction or project-finance facility where advances track the payment milestones rather than requiring full funding at the start before equipment is on site.

For operators who want to align financing advances with their Dematic contract payment schedule, this milestone-advance structure prevents paying financing costs on money drawn before the equipment is generating throughput. The lender advances funds as progress payments are due. The full loan balance is outstanding only after the system is commissioned and in production.

Where a project finance structure is not available or not desired, a lump-sum term loan funded at or near installation completion is the simpler alternative. The tradeoff is that the borrower must bridge the construction period through other means, but the loan itself is cleaner and faster to close.

Equipment loans with fixed terms of 48 to 84 months are most common for Dematic system acquisitions, because the long useful life of a properly maintained AS/RS or sortation system makes amortizing over five to seven years defensible. Operating leases for large Dematic systems are less common because the systems are rarely returned at end of term; they are either kept, upgraded in place, or sold to a successor operator.

Companies in Consumer Packaged Goods (CPG) and distribution find that Dematic automation is often the infrastructure investment that makes throughput commitments achievable. Operators treating the Dematic installation as part of a broader facility upgrade can ask about Production Line Upgrade Financing to cover peripheral equipment alongside the Dematic scope.

Financing Options Beyond the Term Loan

Sale-leaseback is underutilized on Dematic systems. If your facility has a completed Dematic installation that is owned free and clear or has minimal remaining debt, a sale-leaseback converts that system's value into cash without displacing the equipment from service. The leaseback payment replaces depreciation and ownership cost on your income statement, and the cash freed from the transaction is available for the next capital priority on your list.

Refinancing an existing Dematic note is worth evaluating if the original rate was above current market or the term structure no longer fits. Lenders who financed a system at close are not necessarily the right long-term holder. As the business credit profile improves post-installation, refinancing to a lower rate or extending the term is often possible.

For operators who need working capital alongside the Dematic project financing, we can sometimes structure a combined facility, though the working capital component follows different underwriting than the equipment portion. Using a Sale-Leaseback on existing equipment to fund working capital while financing the new Dematic system separately keeps the two purposes cleanly separated in accounting terms.

Discuss Dematic Financing for Your Project

Dematic projects require lenders who have financed integrated automation before. Submit your project scope and we will connect you with financing that matches the structure of your Dematic contract. We fund everything from single-system purchases to multi-phase automation programs.