Big Shoulders Capital is the new name for Revere Finance, a Chicago-area ABL with a 40-year history serving manufacturing, transportation, construction and other industries.

“The new name is a reflection of our roots in the Midwest and our commitment to companies in transition,” said Todd DiBenedetto, president of Big Shoulders Capital.

The newly named company continues to specialize in senior secured, asset-based lending and sale-leasebacks. Borrowers and lessees often apply transaction proceeds to machinery and equipment acquisitions, and to restructuring and turnaround activities. Transaction amounts range from $500,000 to $15 million. The group also makes bridge loans and DIP loans, and purchases notes from banks and other financial institutions.

COO Alice Peterson said one of the key differentiators for Big Shoulders Capital is its unique experience in valuing commercial and industrial assets.

“Knowing how to best unlock the value of machinery and equipment for business owners is what gives us an edge,” Peterson said. “Our experience in a wide range of industries allows for both speed and accuracy.”

“We’re focused on the success of the companies we serve. It’s a lot of fun for us to take on complex situations where we can add real value,” added DiBenedetto. “Companies are coming to us to fund growth. We get excited about the potential to stabilize and rebuild small and medium-sized businesses across the country. We provide capital to businesses after learning about their situation, goals and challenges,” he said.

Company leadership has successfully structured financing for a broad range of manufacturing industries including construction, industrial machinery, metal fabrication, paper and printing, automotive, electrical, aerospace, chemicals and defense.

“When a company can no longer meet a bank’s lending standards, Big Shoulders Capital is an ideal source of liquidity. We have the asset knowledge and experience to provide funding through purchase-leasebacks or loans,” said David Muslin, chairman of Big Shoulders Capital. “We’ve been involved in these types of transactions for a long time, typically for companies that are in some sort of transition.”

Big Shoulders Capital embraces a borrower selection process that considers more than tangible assets and AR.

“We make it a point to go out and meet with the client, visit the facility and potentially some of their primary customers, to learn the whole situation,” DiBenedetto says. “Often we see a lot of intangible value — long-term customer relationships, blanket contracts, things like that. Learning about the business frequently allows us to bring more dollars to an event than our competition.”

Big Shoulders Capital thrives on helping businesses in transition, Peterson said. Accountants, attorneys and consultants often refer clients to the lender. “They consistently tell us that they are partnering with us because they can rely on our professionalism and because we do what we say we’re going to do,” she said.

The company is also easy to work with. “The last thing we want to be is a group that sends you pages and pages of application forms to complete before we’ll even talk to you,” DiBenedetto said. “We prefer to go meet the client first and then decide which path makes the most sense or which product makes the most sense. And frequently, if it’s something we’re not experts in or we don’t think we can add value, we usually know someone who can.”