Macomb Sheet Metal

The Opportunity

When the owner of Macomb Sheet Metal announced his plans to retire, Christof Traidl and David Meli felt this was the perfect chance to grow their new business, Armartis Manufacturing.

Armartis Manufacturing currently assembles, packages and ships low volume, short-run electro-mechanical products for the U.S. military. Acquiring Macomb Sheet Metal would expand Armartis Manufacturing’s business position by adding significant in-house machining, fabrication and shipping capabilities.

The Challenge

Despite Chris’s PhD in Industrial Engineering and business management success in both the U.S and Germany; and David’s 30 years of engineering and manufacturing experience—they struggled to find financing for the business acquisition because of Armartis Manufacturing’s negative net profit from the previous year.

But that loss was due to the ramp-up period of starting their business. It doesn’t account for their current military contracts or industry trends. Federal spending for defense is expected to grow annually by 3% over the next five years.

Celtic Bank recognized the potential of Amartis Manufacturing despite it being a new business and its losses the previous year. Because of Christof and David’s combined 50 years of industry experience and continued industry growth, Celtic Bank felt confident in extending a projection-based SBA 7(a) loan to Armartis Manufacturing.

The Solution

After acquiring Macomb Sheet Metal, Armartis Manufacturing took on more contracts and increased production volume. They are on track to be in the black this year and expect over $10M in annual military business with a net profit margin of 25% in the years to come.

Not only that, their shipping times have been cut from 30 days to 10, now that they can do their own shipping in-house. Financing from Celtic Bank has transformed Armartis Manufacturing into a one-stop-shop for U.S. military equipment fabrication.