Customer financing that strengthens the competitiveness of Swedish exporters
A strong product is not always enough to win an export deal. If the customer lacks access to financing, an opportunity can be lost before negotiations even begin. For Haki Safety, a financing solution developed together with SEK has made it possible to offer customers longer payment terms without tying up capital in the business.
Haki Safety develops and manufactures safety solutions for temporary workplaces across sectors including infrastructure, energy, industry, aviation, rail, construction, and maintenance. The company’s products are primarily used in Europe and North America.
Across all markets, the objective is the same: helping customers maintain a safe working environment while keeping operations efficient and productive.
“We don’t see safety requirements decreasing in any sector. At the same time, work needs to be completed faster than ever. Time is money,” says Tomas Hilmarsson, CFO and incoming CEO of Haki Safety.
Long-Life Products Create Financing Needs
Many of Haki Safety’s solutions are long-term investments that generate value for customers over many years. A modular scaffolding system, for example, can be used across multiple projects and remain in operation for 30 to 40 years when properly maintained.
Because these products deliver long-term value, they often require a larger upfront investment than simpler alternatives. This makes access to financing an important part of the purchasing decision.
“Our customers often want to invest in order to grow but may find it difficult to secure financing. We want to support their growth, but our ability to provide financing ourselves is naturally limited,” says Tomas Hilmarsson.
Historically, Haki Safety has addressed this challenge through rental solutions, lease-to-own arrangements, and customer credit facilities. However, financing customers directly increases capital tied up on the company’s balance sheet, limiting the number of customers it can support.
For a growing business, that capital is often better invested in product development, manufacturing capacity, and future growth.
Our customers often want to invest in order to grow but may find it difficult to secure financing. We want to support their growth, but our ability to provide financing ourselves is naturally limited. Tomas Hilmarsson, CFO and incoming CEO of Haki Safety
Financing that frees up capital for growth
To find a more scalable solution, Haki Safety turned to SEK.
“Haki Safety’s capital should be used to manufacture products, not to operate as a bank,” says Peter Lagerblad, Senior Diretor at SEK.
One challenge was that individual transactions were often smaller than those typically associated with traditional export financing. At the same time, each customer still required a thorough credit assessment.
Together, Haki Safety and SEK developed a structured and repeatable process tailored to this type of transaction.
Haki Safety gathers the required customer information and performs an initial assessment. SEK, together with a credit insurance provider, then evaluates the customer’s financial strength and suitability for financing.
Once approved, Haki Safety receives payment upfront while retaining only a limited share of the customer credit risk.
Haki Safety's capital should be used to manufacture products, not to operate as a bank. Peter Lagerblad, Senior Director at SEK.
Aligning payments with project revenues
For customers, the solution provides the flexibility to spread payments over time. This can be particularly valuable when the investment supports projects that generate revenue over several years.
“If a customer’s project runs for two or three years, the financing can be structured over the same period. That allows costs to be matched with project income,” says Peter Lagerblad.
The result is a financing solution that can help customers move forward with important investments while allowing the exporter to preserve liquidity and focus capital on its core business.
Turning financing into a competitive advantage
The solution has initially been used for customers purchasing Haki Safety’s modular scaffolding systems, where longer payment terms are often an important factor. However, the potential extends far beyond a single product category.
“We see strong opportunities to expand this solution into other areas of our business. It is not limited to the products or customer segments where we first started using it,” says Tomas Hilmarsson.
The challenge is not unique to Haki Safety. Many Swedish exporters selling machinery, equipment, and other long-life assets face a similar situation: customers need financing in order to invest, while the supplier wants to preserve capital for growth and innovation.
Offering a financing solution early in the sales process can therefore become a significant competitive advantage.
“Without this financing solution, the supplier might never have reached the negotiating table in the first place and could have been excluded in the initial round despite having the best product,” says Peter Lagerblad.
Strengthen your offering with export financing
SEK provides long-term financing on commercial and sustainable terms to strengthen the competitiveness of Swedish exporters. By helping businesses meet both customer financing needs and their own growth ambitions, SEK’s solutions can support more transactions, unlock capital, and create new opportunities in international markets.