Stationery business financing

Financing paper mills with PrestaFlex

Pulp, graphic & packaging paper, tissue, cardboard, recycled (OCC), converting & converting

The paper industry is capital-intensive and energy-intensive, with material price cycles (pulp, OCC, energy), heavy inventories (reels, reams, sheets) and environmental requirements (water, emissions, circular economy). PrestaFlex structures financing from CHF 100,000 to CHF 60 million for integrated mills, tissue/packaging sites, recyclers and converters (sheeters, corrugators, printers, folder-gluers).

See also: https: //www.papeterie.ch/

Your needs, our solutions

A. Cash flow, purchasing & seasonality

  • Revolving line / campaign credit
    Tickets: CHF 250k-10 mio - Term: 12-36 months
    Uses: purchases of pulp, OCC, starch/fillers, building up stocks before peaks (re-entry, Q4 packaging).
  • Inventory financing (ABL)
    Tickets: CHF 500k-25 mio
    Usual advances (according to eligibility/rotation)
    • Materials (pulp/OCC/chemicals): 50-70%
    • WIP (coils in process): 30-50
    • Finished products (reels/sheets/fabric): 50-70%
      Plus: stock audits, obsolescence/quality haircuts, humidity monitoring.
  • Factoring (printers, cardboard manufacturers, FMCG, GMS, B2B)
    Lines: CHF 300k-30 mio - Advance: 80-90 % excl. VAT - Typical DSO: 30-60 d
    Options: credit insurance, limits per buyer, non-recourse, multi-currency.
  • Reverse factoring (Supply Chain Finance)
    Capacity: CHF 1-30 mio - Benefit: suppliers paid D+2, DSO 60-120 d on buyer's side.
  • VAT bridge / import duties & fees
    Tickets: CHF 100k-7 mio - Duration: 1-6 months.

B. Capex & industrial modernization

  • Industrial leasing (machine components & converting)
    Tickets: CHF 300k-12 mio - Tenor: 3-7 years - LTV: 80-100 % HT
    Equipment: winders, size presses, coaters, dryers, suction systems, sheeters, tissue lines (embossing, winding), folder-gluers, corrugating presses.
  • Prêt Capex / Term loan
    Tickets: CHF 1-25 mio - Tenor: 5-10 years
    Projects: rebuild of machine sections, QHSE upgrade, ERP/coil traceability, intralogistics automation.
  • Energy & environment (green loan / ESCO)
    Tickets: CHF 250k-8 mio - Payback: 3-6 years
    Uses: cogeneration (CHP), biomass boiler (sludge/chips), heat recovery, drives, vacuum optimization, sewage plant & sludge dewatering, photovoltaics, kWh/tonne & m³/tonne reduction.

C. Product & market development

  • Innovation credit / NPD (plastic-free barriers, recyclability, lighter weight, certifications)
    Tickets: CHF 150k-3 mio - Duration: 2-5 years.
  • Trade finance import/export (LC, SBLC, guarantees)
    Capacity: CHF 500k-30 mio - Uses: imported pulp, export reels, securing collections.
  • E-commerce & D2C financing (tissue/shop packaging)
    Tickets: CHF 100k-2 mio - Repayment: % of monthly sales.

D. External growth & capital operations

  • Unitranche / mezzanine
    Tickets: CHF 3-25 mio - Tenor: 5-7 years - Uses: regional/vertical build-up, MBO/MBI.
  • LBO / acquisitions
    Tickets: CHF 5-60 mio (club deal possible)
    Targets: converting sites, OCC platforms, complementary printing and cardboard plants.

Typical figures (stationery)

  • EBITDA margin: 8-18% (graph at lower end of range; tissue/packaging higher).
  • WCR
    • DIO: 30-90 d (materials + finished products; higher for specific profiles)
    • DSO: 30-60 d
    • DPO: 30-60 d
  • Acceptable leverage: ND/EBITDA 2.0-3.75x (up to 4.0x if strong inventory collateral & customer contracts).
  • Typical advances: factoring 80-90%, inventory 30-70%, leasing 80-100% ex VAT.

Quick examples

  1. Tissue - converting & packaging line
  • Set-up: leasing CHF 4.2 mio (6 years) for rewinder + embosser + flow-pack
  • Impact: +35% capacity, scrap -1.8 pt, better velocity in supermarkets.
  1. Material bridge & OCC volatility
  • Set-up: revolving CHF 2.0 mio + ABL stocks CHF 3.0 mio (advance 60% OCC/finished products)
  • Effect: purchasing continuity, -2/-3% supplier discount, smoothed WCR.
  1. CHP + heat recovery drying
  • Set-up: green loan CHF 3.6 mio (7 years) + energy subsidies (where applicable)
  • Impact: -18% kWh/tonne, steam costs -15%, EBITDA +130 bps.
  1. Sheeter & coil logistics
  • Installation: term loan CHF 2.8 mio (7 years) + AGV leasing CHF 900k
  • Impact: OEE gains +10%, reduced lead times & breakages, enhanced customer service.

PrestaFlex process (fast & operational)

  1. 360° diagnostic (1-2 weeks): mapping of working capital (materials/WIP/coils), margins by grade, energy/water, customer & contract backlog.
  2. Term-sheet: structure, pricing, simple covenants (ND/EBITDA, stock rotation, energy intensity).
  3. Implementation: collateral (inventory & receivables pledges), ERP/MES integration, dashboards.
  4. Proactive monitoring: adjustable seasonal ceilings, energy/innovation bands, extension options.

Why PrestaFlex for paper mills?

  • ABL expertise on heavy inventory & WIP and energy/environment packages.
  • Multi-bank access & private debt for CHF 100'000 - 60 mio. tickets.
  • ROI-driven approach: every franc financed must improve cash flow, margins, competitiveness & compliance.

Contact us for a first meeting

Tell us about your inventory profile (pulp/OCC/WIP/finished), customer lead times and priority capex: we'll send you a costed, scalable financing structure aligned with your industrial plan and energy/environment objectives.

Contact PrestaFlex today:

An article by Munur Aslan, Director of PrestaFlex

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