Groupe Bathily invested in new quarrying opportunities through customer financing

Groupe Bathily initiated discussions with Metso Outotec to find a solution that would meet their needs. Stephane Perret-Matray, who works in Metso Outotec’s Distribution Management Office, responsible for the aggregates equipment sales in the region, promoted Metso Outotec’s Nordplant™ solution and the possibility of financing over several years. For many aggregate producers and quarrying companies, investing in new equipment isn’t possible without financing. Nordplant is a stationary plant solution that is based on a selection of standardized modules.

When customer financing is requested, experts from Metso Outotec’s finance and sales teams work together to create the best possible solution for the customer. For Groupe Bathily, Contract and Trade Finance Manager Boris Voisot from Metso Outotec in France started to arrange a supplier credit scheme that was adequate for the value of the sale and with a suitable financing period, which in this case was five years. The financing was arranged with Bpifrance Assurance Export, the French export credit agency, acting under the name, on behalf and under the control of the French State.

Bpifrance Assurance Export granted Metso Outotec an “Export Pass” that allows a lower than 50% French content rate in some projects and optimize financing up to 85% of the commercial contract. The guarantees for the financing were provided by Bpifrance Assurance Export and funding by the Bpifrance banking branch. As usual, multiple matters, such as logistics and legal point of view, must be addressed when organizing financing. It’s wise to give consideration in advance to the possible unexpected scenarios that could occur, particularly between the signing of the sales contract and the end of the delivery phase. Bpifrance Assurance Export requires a legal opinion from a local attorney in the customer’s country and some administrative steps that can be laborious and lengthy to get through.

Supplier credit schemes can have significant benefits for the customer. The supplier credit scheme with Metso Outotec provided Groupe Bathily with an opportunity to grow their business. The customer can use its own credit lines for other purposes. Fixed interest rates during the financing period make financial planning easier. In addition, the documentation is simple because the financing is documented in the sales contract. Metso Outotec takes care of the negotiations, which saves the customer a lot of time.

In addition to Mali, Metso Outotec has arranged supplier credits for aggregates customers for instance in Montenegro, Oman, Kenya, Vietnam, and Paraguay in the recent years. The financing partner for the aggregates equipment delivered from Metso Outotec’s Mâcon factory in France is Bpifrance, and, for the majority of the cases, Finnvera from Finland.

Metso Outotec Nordplant™ modular plant solution for Groupe Bathily, Mali: