Fieldhaven Business Funding in Valparaiso, Indiana explains equipment financing by machine type: gym equipment, food trucks, landscaping mowers and trailers, heavy equipment for builders, and dental chairs and imaging. It also compares financing with leasing and covers used equipment. Porter County, Indiana had 408 construction and 83 landscaping employers in 2023.
At a glance
- Construction employers, Porter County, IN
408 (County Business Patterns 2023)
- Landscaping employers
83 (County Business Patterns 2023)
- Dental office employers
68 (County Business Patterns 2023)
Equipment Financing for Landscaping Crews: Zero-Turns, Trailers and Trucks
Porter County, IN had 83 landscaping employers in 2023, 67.5% of them with fewer than five employees, and 210 landscaping businesses without payroll in 2024 (County Business Patterns 2023; Nonemployer Statistics 2024). A crew's working assets are its mowers, trimmers, an enclosed or open trailer and the truck that pulls it. Each has a resale market, which is why a funder will take the machine as security.
Illustration only, invented figures: two commercial zero-turn mowers and a trailer priced at an invented $38,500, with $3,850 down, financed over 48 months at an invented 8.75%, come to about $858 a month (our arithmetic). Dealer quotes listing model, deck size and attachments help the partner's review. The landscaping page covers crew payroll and buyouts too.
Heavy Equipment Financing for Track Loaders, Telehandlers and Dump Trailers
Construction counted 408 employer establishments in Porter County, IN in 2023, including 117 residential builders, 15 nonresidential builders and 47 other specialty trade contractors such as site preparation crews (County Business Patterns 2023). The Building Permits Survey recorded 564 new housing units authorized in the county in 2025, after 556 in 2024 and 627 in 2023 (Building Permits Survey). Skid steers, compact excavators, telehandlers and dump trailers are the machines that work on those sites.
Illustration only, invented figures: a $64,000 compact track loader with $9,600 down over 60 months at an invented 9.5% costs about $1,143 a month (our arithmetic). A partner reads the quote, the machine's hours if used, and the work it will do. The construction page covers draws and payroll.
Dental Equipment Financing for Chairs, Imaging and Sterilization
Porter County, IN had 68 dental office employers with 635 employees in 2023 (County Business Patterns 2023). Operatory chairs, delivery units, digital sensors, cone-beam scanners and sterilization equipment carry high prices and long lives, which suits fixed payments over several years. Illustration only, invented figures: 2 operatory packages at an invented $31,000 each total $62,000; over 60 months at an invented 9.25%, the payment is about $1,295 a month (our arithmetic).
The dental office page covers buy-ins and build-outs alongside equipment.
Gym Equipment Financing for Studios and Fitness Centers
Fitness and recreational sports centers counted 19 employers in Porter County, IN in 2023 with 575 employees (County Business Patterns 2023), and the broader other amusement and recreation group, which includes fitness studios, counted 64 businesses without payroll in 2024 (Nonemployer Statistics 2024). Racks, plates, cardio machines and flooring wear at different rates: racks last for years, while treadmills and bikes may be replaced sooner. Illustration only, invented figures: $21,000 of racks and $44,000 of cardio machines, $65,000 in all, financed over 48 months at an invented 10% cost about $1,649 a month (our arithmetic).
A studio expecting to replace cardio machines on a short cycle can compare leasing those units while financing the racks it plans to keep.
Food Truck Financing: The Vehicle and the Kitchen Inside It
A food truck is two purchases in one: a vehicle titled like any truck, and a commercial kitchen built into it. Funders look at both, and a used truck with a newer kitchen raises questions a new build does not. Illustration only, invented figures: a new build quoted at an invented $118,000 would be financed against the builder's quote, with the title and the equipment list as security.
Porter County, IN had 135 limited-service restaurant employers in 2023 (County Business Patterns 2023), the code that covers counter-service kitchens; operators moving from a truck to a counter, or adding a truck to a counter, can bring both sets of numbers to a partner. The restaurant page covers fixed kitchens.
Equipment Financing vs Leasing, Machine by Machine
| Question | Equipment loan | Equipment lease |
|---|---|---|
| Who owns it during the term | The business, with a lien | The lessor |
| What happens at the end | Business owns it outright | Hand it back, extend the lease or buy it at the agreed price |
| Fits machines kept | For their full life | For part of their life |
| Up-front money | A down payment can be asked | First and last payment can be asked |
Tax treatment of each differs and depends on the business's own situation; ask a tax professional before choosing on tax grounds.
Used Equipment Financing for Machines With Hours on Them
Used machines can be financed when their condition and value can be shown: hours, serial number, service records and a seller's bill of sale or dealer quote. Terms on used equipment can be shorter, because the machine has less life left. Illustration only, invented figures: a used skid steer at an invented $27,500 with $5,500 down over 36 months at an invented 11% costs about $720 a month (our arithmetic).
Working capital and term loans cover what equipment financing does not, and the trade pages for medical practices, salons and auto repair shops list each trade's machines.
Four Fieldhaven articles go further on machines and security: how equipment financing moves from a quote to a signed agreement, trucks and trailers inside a contractor's funding mix, which assets a funder accepts as collateral and mowers and trailers that come with a landscaping company someone is buying.
By Fieldhaven Business Funding · Updated