Rutter’s Rod Shop, located in Hickory, North Carolina, is a custom car builder that specializes in street rods, classics, and muscle cars. Since 1998, their mission is to transform their customers’ cars, often their prized possession, to better than new. While the work they perform varies depending on the customer’s needs, the company can perform mechanical upgrades including chassis, suspension, and powertrain, paint and bodywork. The inhouse machine shop and fabrication shop is utilized to create unique and unavailable parts for customer’s cars. The Rutter’s Rod Shop name is well-known in the custom car community, and the company has developed a reputation for good service.
Matt Swiderski, the new owner of Rutter’s Rod Shop, has been a small business owner for almost a decade. After earning degrees in mechanical engineering, he started his own real estate company in 2015. He originally purchased and renovated small apartment buildings to rent out, and eventually transitioned into commercial and retail properties. He also worked as a crew chief for several teams in NASCAR.
Matt always wanted to open his own custom car shop, but it was a daunting task to start his own shop. He came across a sale listing for Rutter’s Rod Shop and reached out to the owner directly. When he was ready to purchase the business, Matt began to look for financing. He connected with a few banks that offered standard conventional loans, but they didn’t fully understand what was required for the business acquisition loan. The seller’s broker recommended one of our experienced Business Development Officers, for SBA lending, which offered lower down payments and longer loan terms. Our BDO connected with Matt and was able to keep the process moving under a tight deadline with the seller. Ultimately, he was able to structure an SBA 7(a) loan with favorable terms for the transaction, allowing Matt to successfully acquire the business and retain cash flow.
Matt had this to say about his partnership with FNB Small Business Finance:
If I was to do it over again, I would work with FNB. The big benefit of working with my BDO is that he knew the process. From the first call, he had a checklist of steps that would need to be completed and gave directions on what to do first. There was clear communication at each step, and I had confidence that the deal would go through.
Congratulations to Matt on the successful acquisition of Rutter’s Rod Shop! We enjoyed partnering with him on this transaction and wish him continued success in the future.
