How can FABTECH exhibitors use financing to close more deals at the show and through Q4?
FABTECH 2026 runs October 21 to 23 at the Las Vegas Convention Center. Here’s what an exhibitor can set up before the doors open, how to put a payment on every machine in the booth, and how to keep closing those deals through Q4. Our team will be at the show, too.
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Why does a monthly payment sell better than a price at a trade show?
Because the person in the booth is often the one who has to make the numbers work. A payment gives them something to weigh before they move to the next aisle.
FABTECH’s 2026 audience profile, built from past FABTECH Las Vegas survey and registration data, says 83% of attendees influence or approve equipment purchases at their companies. Owners, company managers and corporate executives make up 32%. Almost half (47%) come from job shops and contract manufacturers, and 37% work at companies with fewer than 20 employees.
So plenty of your visitors spend their own company’s money. To a 12-person job shop, a $300,000 fiber laser is a big capital decision. Quote it as about $6,228 a month over 60 months, for an established business at an assumed 9%, and the owner can weigh that number against the work the laser would bring in.
They also compare machines. The organizers put the show at more than 1,400 exhibitors and 31,000+ attendees, and the audience profile lists comparing products side by side among the top three reasons people come. If only one of two press brakes on the floor shows a payment, that’s the one a buyer can check against a budget.
What financing can an exhibitor set up before FABTECH opens?
More than most exhibitors expect. Here’s how soon each Five West tier can run:
- Today: 3rd Party Financing. There’s no minimum volume on our referral tier and nothing to build or sign. Send buyers to support@fivewestfinancial.com, or ask us for a named contact to send them to. Any equipment seller can also add a free payment widget to its product pages, no tier or application required.
- In about 1 to 3 days: Co-Branded. We’ll put your logo on a financing page and payment calculator and give you an apply-online link for your site. We’ll also train your reps and set them up on the Partner Portal. Your part is a logo, one short training session and a snippet on your website.
- On the same timeline: Private Label. This is the full build: a finance program under your brand, CRM integration, sales meeting sponsorships, and in-person trade show and event support. It’s sized for about $500,000 a month in applications, and I’d plan the in-person event support around next year’s shows.
Not sure where you fit? Start on the referral tier this week. Plenty of partners move up once their volume is steady, and moving up doesn’t restart anything, so you could be on Co-Branded by FABTECH 2027 in Chicago, September 13 to 16.
Five West will have people at FABTECH this year. If you’re exhibiting and want to talk through a program in person, email support@fivewestfinancial.com with your booth number, and we’ll set up a time to stop by.
How do you quote a monthly payment at a trade show booth?
Put an estimated payment and a term under the price on every placard, spec sheet and show quote, and offer two terms. Quote the payment, never the rate. The rate depends on an approval you don’t have yet. On qualifying deals, tooling, freight, rigging, installation and training can go into the same payment, so the number covers the whole job. Here’s how that looks on three show machines:
| Example machine, installed | Example price | 60 months | 72 months |
|---|---|---|---|
| CNC press brake with tooling | $125,000 | About $2,595 | About $2,253 |
| Robotic welding cell with integration and programming | $250,000 | About $5,190 | About $4,506 |
| Fiber laser cutting system | $300,000 | About $6,228 | About $5,408 |
Example payments for established businesses (two or more years in business) at an assumed 9%, nothing down, payments in arrears. Example prices, not market quotes, with soft costs included as they can be on a qualifying deal. Terms over 60 months are for equipment finance agreements.
The line at the booth is short: “It’s $125,000 installed, or about $2,595 a month over 60 months, estimated and subject to credit approval.” Then let the buyer react.
Two terms give the buyer a choice that doesn’t touch your price. Going from 60 to 72 months drops the brake’s payment by about $342 and adds about $6,500 to the total cost, and I’d show buyers both. Keep the term inside the machine’s useful life, so a used or demo unit may get a shorter one.
Plasma tables, waterjets, tube benders and finishing lines work the same way, and our manufacturing equipment financing page covers terms, used-equipment down payments and soft costs. For the rate-factor shortcut and more scripts, see how to quote a monthly payment.
How do you turn booth conversations into financing applications?
Make applying quicker than the conversation was. Put the application link on the placard and the handout as a QR code. Ask us for a tracked link for that code, and every application that starts from it is credited to you. The rest is fast enough to use while the buyer’s still in Las Vegas:
- A soft credit inquiry to start, so applying doesn’t affect the buyer’s credit score.
- A first response within 1 to 2 business hours on most submissions. Our office hours are 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. Arizona time on weekdays, which in October is also Las Vegas time, so every show hour is covered.
- Application-only decisions up to $500,000 on qualifying files, with no tax returns or financial statements.
- Approvals in as little as 30 minutes on clean application-only files.
Your reps get their own shortcut. Partners on a Five West program get a sign-in to the Partner Portal, where a rep can type in a machine price, read a payment range from 36 to 72 months and text it to the buyer. The quick app sends us a customer in about a minute: business, contact, equipment and cost. No documents, no Social Security number. We collect those from the customer, and after the show the portal shows where every deal stands.
How should exhibitors follow up after FABTECH and through Q4?
Call back with an approval and a delivery date. FABTECH says exhibitors collected 149,015 leads at the 2024 show in Orlando, an average of 98 each. Its 2026 audience profile says 54% of attendees plan to make a product purchase in the next 12 months. In the fourth quarter, three things decide which of those leads close this year:
- Section 179. For 2026 the limit is $2,560,000, phasing out above $4,090,000 of purchases. A machine financed on an equipment finance agreement or a $1 buyout lease is generally deducted like a cash purchase. It has to be placed in service by December 31, which means ready and available for its specific use. A laser still in the crate on New Year’s Eve counts next year. Buyers should confirm with their CPA.
- Lead times. A machine from your floor or a U.S. warehouse can be running by December 31. A build-to-order cell or a laser shipping from overseas might not, so check production, freight and install dates before anyone mentions the deduction. Where the equipment requires a deposit, deposit funding can be released once documents are signed, with the balance on delivery.
- Year-end budgets. Buyers with budget left this year, or a profitable year they want a deduction for, have a reason to order before December 31. An approval in hand by mid-November leaves time to deliver and install before the holidays.
Our Section 179 playbook for dealers has the scripts and a Q4 calendar. When a buyer asks how financing works from their end, send them our buyer’s guide to FABTECH financing.
Can an overseas manufacturer offer U.S. financing at FABTECH?
Yes, as long as a U.S. company invoices the buyer for equipment that’s already here. A U.S. equipment finance program pays a U.S. seller after the machine is delivered and accepted, so a sale shipped straight from an overseas factory generally can’t be funded that way. Two structures work: your own U.S. subsidiary selling from U.S. inventory, or a U.S. dealer or distributor that imports, stocks and invoices. At Five West, the equipment has to be in U.S. inventory and ready for delivery before funding.
If you’re exhibiting from abroad, settle who invoices and where the stock sits before you quote a payment. A finance partner will want the U.S. entity’s details, a sample invoice, equipment specs and the inventory location. The steps are in our guide for overseas manufacturers selling to U.S. buyers.
Which dealer financing program tier fits a FABTECH exhibitor?
The one that matches how often your buyers ask about financing and how much of the program you want under your name:
| Tier | Fits | What you get | Monthly application volume | How soon it can run |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3rd Party Financing (referral) | An occasional financed deal, or trying us out | An application link or QR code, one point of contact and a dedicated finance rep | No minimum | Today |
| Co-Branded | Buyers who ask about financing every week | Your logo on our financing page and payment calculator, an apply link for your site, and the Partner Portal | $100,000, plus one funded deal a quarter | Typically about 1 to 3 days |
| Private Label | Financing in every sale, across reps, locations or a dealer network | Everything in Co-Branded, plus CRM integration and in-person trade show and event support | $500,000 | Typically about 1 to 3 days |
Volume requirements apply after a 90-day trial on every tier. Application volume is the dollar total of your customers’ applications in a month, funded or not. Details are on our partner programs page.
Already have captive or in-house financing? A Five West program can pick up what it leaves out: used and trade-in machines, other brands on the same quote, freight and installation, some shops under two years in business, and buyers its credit box turns down. When the customer has real strengths, like healthy cash flow or a solid payment history, we can often approve a deal your internal program won’t. Here’s how that works after an internal decline.
What does a dealer financing program cost an exhibitor?
Nothing. Every Five West tier is free to the exhibitor: no setup fee, no monthly fee, nothing to buy, and no application fee for your customers. The buyer pays the finance charge. You’re paid 100% of the invoice directly by Five West on funding, after the customer signs and the equipment is delivered and accepted. You don’t carry a receivable.
That matters at a show, where the booth already costs plenty. FABTECH’s 2026 exhibit space rates run from $29 to $41 a square foot, depending on booth size. Even a 10-by-10 booth runs about $4,100 in floor space, before freight, travel and staff. The financing shouldn’t add to that. The only cost you can choose to take on is a rate buy-down, if you want to advertise a promotional rate on a model.
Frequently asked questions
Can we offer financing at our FABTECH booth?
Yes. Any exhibitor can put an estimated monthly payment on its placards and give visitors a link or QR code to a soft-pull application. Five West’s referral tier, 3rd Party Financing, has no minimum and nothing to set up, so it can start today. Co-Branded typically goes live in about 1 to 3 days.
How fast can a dealer financing program be set up?
At Five West, the referral tier can start the same day, with nothing to build or sign. Co-Branded and Private Label typically go live in about 1 to 3 days. We build the apply page and payment tools and train your reps; your part is a logo, one training session and a snippet on your website. Every tier starts with a 90-day trial.
Does a dealer financing program cost anything?
Not at Five West. Every tier is free to the dealer or manufacturer: no setup fee, no monthly fee and no application fee for your customers. The upper tiers ask for application volume instead of money, about $100,000 a month for Co-Branded and $500,000 for Private Label after a 90-day trial.
Can an overseas manufacturer offer U.S. financing at a trade show?
Yes, if a U.S. company invoices the buyer for equipment already in the U.S. That can be the manufacturer’s own U.S. subsidiary selling from U.S. inventory, or a U.S. dealer or distributor. U.S. equipment finance programs generally don’t fund machines shipped straight from an overseas factory. At Five West, the equipment has to be in U.S. inventory and ready for delivery before funding.
Does applying at a trade show affect the buyer’s credit score?
No. Five West applications start with a soft credit inquiry, which doesn’t affect the buyer’s score. Most submissions get a first response within 1 to 2 business hours. Qualifying deals up to $500,000 can be decided on the application alone, without tax returns or financial statements.
Can tooling, freight and installation be included in the payment?
Yes, on qualifying deals. Tooling, freight, rigging, installation and training can go into the same payment as the machine, and on an automation cell so can integration and programming. The buyer sees one number for the whole job.
When does the exhibitor get paid on a financed sale?
On funding. Five West pays 100% of the invoice directly after the customer signs and the equipment is delivered and accepted. Funding typically follows in as little as 24 to 48 hours after documents are signed. Where the equipment requires a deposit, deposit funding can be released once documents are signed, with the balance on delivery.
Start a partner program.
Tell us what you sell and which shows you work, and we’ll tell you which tier fits and how soon it can be running. The partner application takes about 10 minutes and affects no one’s credit.
This article is general information about vendor financing programs and financing equipment sold at trade shows, not tax, legal, or accounting advice or a commitment to finance. Show details and audience figures come from FABTECH’s organizers and can change. Payments are illustrative examples at an assumed rate on example prices, not quotes or offers. Tax and accounting treatment depends on the buyer’s contract and business; buyers should confirm with their CPA. All financing is subject to credit approval and underwriting.