AgriCap enjoying booming business
AgriCap enjoying booming business
Los Angeles-based AgriCap LLC has carved out a niche of financial services that has found the business doubling every year since its inception in 2001, said president and co-founder Rick Jones.
"We've exceeded all expectations in terms of growth," Mr. Jones said.
The company's core services include accounts receivable factoring and commercial real estate financing. It also offers seasonal production financing, trade financing and vendor financing.
"There's no company that does exactly what we do," Mr. Jones said. Ninety percent of AgriCap's clients are in fresh produce - mostly importers and distributors, he said. With AgriCap's accounts receivables, the transfer typically is 75-85 percent of the face amount of the invoice. The balance is forwarded to the company after AgriCap receives payment.
AgriCap aims to customize a program that maximizes the value of a company's accounts receivables and provides extra working capital for such things as refinancing existing debt, paying down grower payables and funding expansion of a company's business. AgriCap provides credit protection as well as professional bookkeeping for all factored activity.
"Our clients are in sales and marketing," Mr. Jones said. "We take over receivables. It saves a company from having to do this business. It's a lending tool."
AgriCap competes mainly with small regional and local banks that often are "not well-versed in agriculture," Mr. Jones said.
Two-thirds of AgriCap's clients are distributors, and most are based in California, Arizona, Texas and Florida. AgriCap is not a solution for "small American farms," Mr. Jones said, but rather more sizable companies, which often utilize a few of AgriCap's services, he said.
The company has a credit and collection branch in New Braunfels, TX; a representative in Quito, Ecuador, for business in Ecuador, Colombia and Peru; a representative in Santiago, Chile; and an affiliation with Agrimax in Costa Rica for representation in Central America. Additionally, the company is considering opening an office in Brazil, Mr. Jones said.
AgriCap's services are being used in the Latin American countries of Belize, Costa Rica, Panama, Peru, Chile, Ecuador and Mexico.
"Latin American governments are grateful for our help," Mr. Jones said, adding that Latin American farming operations are becoming increasingly sophisticated.
Richard (Cody) Kostkas, a co-founder of AgriCap, was co- founder and president of TradingProduce.com (which merged with DTN Tradelink in early 2001 to form what is now iTradeNetwork). AgriCap is a preferred financial vendor of iTradeNetwork.
"We've exceeded all expectations in terms of growth," Mr. Jones said.
The company's core services include accounts receivable factoring and commercial real estate financing. It also offers seasonal production financing, trade financing and vendor financing.
"There's no company that does exactly what we do," Mr. Jones said. Ninety percent of AgriCap's clients are in fresh produce - mostly importers and distributors, he said. With AgriCap's accounts receivables, the transfer typically is 75-85 percent of the face amount of the invoice. The balance is forwarded to the company after AgriCap receives payment.
AgriCap aims to customize a program that maximizes the value of a company's accounts receivables and provides extra working capital for such things as refinancing existing debt, paying down grower payables and funding expansion of a company's business. AgriCap provides credit protection as well as professional bookkeeping for all factored activity.
"Our clients are in sales and marketing," Mr. Jones said. "We take over receivables. It saves a company from having to do this business. It's a lending tool."
AgriCap competes mainly with small regional and local banks that often are "not well-versed in agriculture," Mr. Jones said.
Two-thirds of AgriCap's clients are distributors, and most are based in California, Arizona, Texas and Florida. AgriCap is not a solution for "small American farms," Mr. Jones said, but rather more sizable companies, which often utilize a few of AgriCap's services, he said.
The company has a credit and collection branch in New Braunfels, TX; a representative in Quito, Ecuador, for business in Ecuador, Colombia and Peru; a representative in Santiago, Chile; and an affiliation with Agrimax in Costa Rica for representation in Central America. Additionally, the company is considering opening an office in Brazil, Mr. Jones said.
AgriCap's services are being used in the Latin American countries of Belize, Costa Rica, Panama, Peru, Chile, Ecuador and Mexico.
"Latin American governments are grateful for our help," Mr. Jones said, adding that Latin American farming operations are becoming increasingly sophisticated.
Richard (Cody) Kostkas, a co-founder of AgriCap, was co- founder and president of TradingProduce.com (which merged with DTN Tradelink in early 2001 to form what is now iTradeNetwork). AgriCap is a preferred financial vendor of iTradeNetwork.
