The Industrial CapitalistField Terms
Plain-language explainers for the words used on the pad, the shop floor, the job site, and at the bank. Energy, manufacturing, infrastructure, power, defence, and the capital behind them.
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What are ITAR and CMMC?
Two sets of rules a manufacturer or contractor meets on the way into defense work: ITAR controls who may see and handle defense-related items and data, and CMMC certifies cybersecurity for Department of Defense contracts. What…
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What is prevailing wage?
On public construction, contractors must pay wage rates set for each trade in each area. What prevailing wage is, where it applies, and what certified payroll means for a contractor.
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Megawatts and megawatt-hours: the difference
A megawatt measures how fast energy is delivered; a megawatt-hour measures how much was delivered. The distinction that trips up most conversations about power, generation, and the equipment on a job site.
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What is a surety bond in construction?
Surety bonds guarantee that a contractor will finish the work and pay the people who did it. What bid, performance, and payment bonds are, and why bonding capacity decides how big a contractor can grow.
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What is a job shop?
A job shop makes parts to order, one job at a time, rather than running a product line. What that means for how it quotes, schedules, and grows, and why so many machining and fabrication businesses…
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Fabrication shop and machine shop: the difference
Both make metal parts to order, but a fabrication shop cuts, forms, and welds plate and structural steel while a machine shop removes metal to tight tolerances. What each does and where they overlap.
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What is a personal guarantee?
A personal guarantee puts the owner’s own assets behind the company’s debt. Why nearly every industrial loan requires one, what it covers, and how owners eventually get out from under it.
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Equipment financing and leasing, explained
Trucks, pumps, machine tools, and generators are rarely bought with cash. The difference between an equipment loan and a lease, what lenders look at, and what the fine print costs.
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What is an EBITDA multiple?
Industrial businesses are usually priced as a multiple of EBITDA. What the number means, what moves it up or down for a service company or shop, and why the add-backs matter.
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What is a seller note?
A seller note is the part of the purchase price the seller lends to the buyer. Why it appears in most small industrial deals, how it is structured, and what it signals.