Buy a Machine Shop in Portland, OR

The Portland Machine Shop Market

Portland sits inside one of the densest advanced manufacturing corridors on the West Coast. The metro supports aerospace suppliers, semiconductor equipment makers, and heavy industrial clients across Clark County and the broader Willamette Valley. That customer base creates steady, recurring demand for precision machining, custom fabrication, and contract production runs.

There are currently around 34 machine shop listings in the region, with asking prices ranging from under $100K for small manual-only shops to nearly $9M for full-service CNC operations with long-term contracts.

Median asking price: $995,000. Median cash flow: approximately $287K. That implies a roughly 3.5x cash flow multiple at the median, which is inside the SBA sweet spot of 3x to 5x.

Oregon's industrial base leans heavily on precision work. Intel, Daimler Trucks, and a dense network of Tier 2 aerospace suppliers all operate within commuting distance of Portland. A shop with relationships in those supply chains is worth paying attention to.

Deal Economics and Financing Structure

Here is how the math looks at the median asking price:

• Asking price: $995,000
• Annual cash flow: ~$287,000
• SBA loan (80%): ~$796,000
• Seller note (15%, full standby): ~$149,250 at 0% interest
• Buyer equity injection (5% cash): ~$49,750
• Approximate annual debt service: ~$100,000 to $110,000 (10-year term, ~10.5% rate)
• DSCR: approximately 2.6x to 2.9x

That DSCR is well above our 2x target and comfortably above the 1.5x floor. A buyer putting in roughly $50K in cash controls a nearly $1M business generating $287K in annual cash flow.

Note: the 5% seller note acts as equity on standby during the SBA loan term. We achieve full standby at 0% interest on 90% or more of our deals. These are estimates based on current market data. Actual terms depend on individual lender qualification and business performance.

One caveat: cash flow figures from broker listings are almost always presented as SDE (Seller Discretionary Earnings), which includes the owner's salary and personal add-backs. The real, distributable cash flow after replacing the owner is typically 15% to 30% lower. Run the numbers on SDE with that in mind.

What to Look for in a Portland Machine Shop

Equipment condition. Machine shops are capital-intensive. A Haas VF-4 or Mazak Integrex sitting at 15 years old is not a neutral line item on the balance sheet. Get an independent equipment appraisal before close. Banks require it anyway for SBA loans, but do it early so you are not surprised late in the process.

Customer concentration. This is the single biggest deal-killer in machine shop acquisitions. If one Boeing supplier or one semiconductor equipment OEM accounts for 40% or more of revenue, the risk profile changes materially. One contract loss restructures the entire business. Dig into the top 10 customer list, contract terms, and renewal history.

Backlog and order history. A shop with a documented 6-month backlog is a very different asset from a shop that runs month-to-month on verbal repeat orders. Ask for job scheduling records, not just income statements.

Operator dependency. Many small machine shops are built around the owner's technical relationships and programming expertise. If the owner walks out the door and three customers walk with them, the acquisition price needs to reflect that. A 90-day to 12-month earnout tied to revenue retention is a reasonable ask if operator dependency is high.

Portland-specific note. Oregon has no sales tax, which reduces friction on equipment purchases and some service contracts. Oregon's personal income tax is among the highest in the country at up to 9.9%, which matters if you are structured as a pass-through. Factor that into your post-acquisition cash flow projections.

Frequently Asked Questions

How much does it cost to buy a machine shop in Portland?

Machine shops in the Portland area currently list at a median asking price of $995,000, with a range from roughly $70,000 for small manual shops to nearly $9M for larger CNC operations. Most SBA-financeable deals fall between $500,000 and $3M.

What is the average cash flow for a machine shop in this market?

Median listed cash flow is approximately $287,000, though this is typically reported as SDE and includes the owner's salary. After adjusting for a replacement manager or owner salary, real distributable cash flow is often 15% to 30% lower.

Can I use SBA financing to buy a machine shop in Oregon?

Yes. Machine shops are SBA-eligible businesses. The standard structure is a 10-year SBA 7(a) loan covering 80% to 85% of the purchase price, with a seller note on full standby covering another 10% to 15%, and roughly 5% in buyer cash as the equity injection.

What due diligence is most important when buying a machine shop?

Equipment appraisals, customer concentration analysis, and backlog verification are the three areas that most often surface problems. Have an independent appraiser assess the machinery before the SBA appraisal. Request a full customer revenue breakdown for the last three years.

How long does it take to close a machine shop acquisition with SBA financing?

Most SBA-financed acquisitions take 60 to 120 days from signed letter of intent to close. Machine shops with significant equipment inventories can run toward the longer end of that range due to equipment appraisal timelines and lender underwriting of the collateral.

Talk to Regalis Capital About Portland Machine Shop Deals

If you are evaluating machine shop acquisitions in the Portland area, Regalis Capital's deal team reviews 120 to 150 deals per week and can help you assess whether a specific listing is priced and structured to work.

We handle deal sourcing, financial analysis, SBA loan structuring, and negotiation. The goal is getting you to close with a deal that works at a 2x or better DSCR, not just getting a deal done.

Start with a free deal assessment at Regalis Capital