Why I Joined ELFA

New ELFA-member companies grow the association’s expertise and add to its diversity.

The need to connect with others in the equipment-finance industry has never been stronger. Amid technology advances, shifting markets and changing customer expectations, equipment finance professionals are weighing more than market approaches and product adjustments. They’re rethinking business models and creating new job positions. They’re revamping legacy systems or getting rid of them altogether. Through it all, they’re reaching out to colleagues to compare experiences and test ideas. Thus, the advent of new ELFA member companies is cause for celebration. Learn a bit about several of our latest arrivals from the five profiles that follow.


A small-ticket company begun earlier this year with $100 million in backing, Fuel Capital Group provides vendor financing for independent motorcycle retailers who specialize in Harley Davidson motorcycles. “We put fuel in the bank for dealers,” says Peter Wasmer, President and CEO. “Our proprietary lease program gives dealers across the country a tool to sell a motorcycle to anyone who walks in the door.”

Fuel Capital Group focuses on leasing previously owned motorcycles. “Leasing a pre-owned Harley Davidson is a unique proposition in our industry, but when you peel the onion back, you find it’s a compelling strategy,” says Wasmer. “The value of the asset is remarkably stable for a long time.”

Fuel Capital Group offers two-, three- and four-year vehicle leases with unlimited miles. Wasmer says the entire lease process is digital and fully automated. “From origination to asset disposition, it’s essential for the intelligence of a system to be housed within a single pipeline,” he says. “We’ve built an end-to-end system with a single point of data entry that includes a digital funding process using DocuSign and digital deal verification. Because the intelligence built into our system is predicated upon accurate residual valuation, state-specific taxation, automated funding and servicing requirements, our platform and our team are well prepared for the future.”

No stranger to ELFA, Wasmer says Fuel Capital Group’s 12 employees hope to develop more relationships with ELFA member companies and learn how they are addressing system-development challenges. “We hope to share our experience, talk about how we’ve approached our systems issues and continue networking to devise best-in-class solutions,” he says. “The challenge for some companies is to take responsibility for refactoring a system and then leave it in the hands of software experts, not understanding how they’ll get from Point A to Point B. We all have relative experience with this challenge, and perhaps Fuel Capital can share with and learn best practices from other member companies.”




An equipment finance group housed at a bank was seeking a new home. At the same time, New Jersey-based Investors Bank was looking to grow its commercial loan book. The union of the two this past February handily met both needs. “I think this was a nice transition for all of us,” says Ken Walters, Group Leader, Investors Bank Equipment Finance. “We were already in Iselin, where Investors Bank’s operations are headquartered, so starting fresh was seamless. We kept our entire team of seven professionals who’ve worked together for more than 20 years, and we added three more. We also brought an approximately $350-million portfolio with us and hit the ground running.”

Walters says Investors Bank differentiates itself by being a $25-billion regional institution with a community-bank feel. “From our CEO down, Investors has a focus on relationships,” Walters observes. “It’s a very refreshing place to be.”

Although the new equipment finance division has concentrations in transportation, rail and marine, “We consider ourselves a generalist,” says Walters. “We’re a national business, but we are also focused on being a major player in the bank footprint and surrounding areas, helping our bankers bring additional solutions and products to New York, New Jersey and Eastern Pennsylvania.”

Investors Bank Equipment Finance joined ELFA primarily for its networking opportunities and education resources. “When we put together a presentation to move our team to another bank that wasn’t in equipment finance, ELFA was a great source of information,” says Walters. “We’ve also found the association very helpful for understanding the changes in tax accounting and lease accounting.”

The continuing conversation about the equipment finance industry’s application of newer technologies is another attraction. “We’re always looking at technology as a better way to service customers, be more efficient and grow,” says Walters. “Our bank has an initiative to drive more innovation on the technology side and has a project underway using CRM technology as a backbone to automate our entire processes. This new solution will bring all of our workflows together.” Investors Bank is a Member FDIC and an Equal Housing Lender.


A wholly owned subsidiary of Zealandia Capital, Inc., Zealandia Capital Leasing opened its doors this past July. “We offer homeowner associations affordable leasing options,” says Julie Simes, President of Zealandia Capital. “This in turn allows the associations to maintain high-quality resort destinations.”

By way of background, parent company Zealandia Holding formed in the early 2000s to develop timeshares and manage resort properties. In 2009, subsidiary Zealandia Capital began offering receivables management services to several homeowner associations managed by the organization’s affiliated companies. Based on positive results, Zealandia Capital now provides collection services to some 40 associations. “Looking for additional growth opportunities and ways to add client value, ZCap created Zealandia Capital Leasing,” says Simes. “We believe a market exists for a company that provides leasing to independent homeowner associations. We’d like to expand our offerings to both timeshare developers and independent timeshare homeowner associations.”

Today the Zealandia conglomerate comprises two property-management companies managing more than 40 homeowner associations, a timeshare-exchange company, a property-rental company and a loan-servicing and collections operation. Also included: a golf course, a catamaran sailing operation, a golf-course management firm and an IT/telephony company.

As the newest member of the group, Zealandia Capital Leasing joined ELFA “to better understand the leasing industry and learn from the experts,” says Simes. She adds, “We’re truly excited to be part of the association, and we look forward to participating in many events that will allow us to network, learn and share our experience as being part of a completely different industry.”



A sister company of the rating agency Moody’s Investors Service, Moody’s Analytics focuses on non-ratings activities and is fully separate from Moody’s Investors Service. “We help equipment finance companies support their funding activities by providing research consulting, training and software,” says Usman Ismail, Senior Director, Product Marketing & Strategy. “We work with the leasing industry extensively and have done so for more than 30 years,” he says. “We assist through the entire process of raising funds, whether a company borrows from investors, obtains warehouse lines from banks or raises their own funds through securitizations. We’re involved from inception to fulfillment and through payoff.”

To provide better funding execution, mitigate risk and lower the overall costs of obtaining funding, Moody’s Analytics recently introduced “Ki” (www.getki.io), a technology platform designed for companies in the structured-funding market. “Ki represents a paradigm shift for structured finance,” says Ismail. “Its power and functionality make the selection, monitoring, reporting and management processes simple, fast, intelligent and automated.”

Companies that originate, service or purchase loans or leases can use the platform to analyze data, select pools of loans, report to warehouse lines or investors and track the performance of multiple funding vehicles. Says Ismail, “The goal is to help banks, credit unions and other non-bank financial companies overcome inefficiencies in the funding process for securitized and asset-based transactions.”

Ismail says Ki’s domain-specific data-analytics capabilities automate and provide controls for practices that are often performed manually, such as the preparation of funding information required internally and by third parties. “It incorporates funding limits, covenants and eligibility criteria for each potential source without programming, putting decision-making tools in the hands of business users,” he explains. “Ki also diminishes the risk of error inherent in traditional spreadsheet processes.”

Moody’s Analytics joined ELFA because the company has many customers in the equipment finance industry, “and they recommended that we join and support the association,” says Ismail. He expects membership to help the company stay abreast of pertinent regulations, interesting topics and challenges customers are facing. “We also want to attend trade shows, obtain leads and meet new people in the industry,” Ismail says. “And because we do so much research, we hope we can contribute by providing insights into the economy and regulation, and by participating in panels.”

Founded in 2014 by brothers Jabbok and Willy Schlacks, EquipmentShare.Com was created to provide contractors with an improved equipment-rental experience in the construction space. Soon afterward, however, the Schlacks realized that by linking technology, equipment and operators, they could do more than rent equipment: They could also evaluate operator safety habits, monitor equipment conditions and gain insight into the overall value of each piece of equipment.

By developing proprietary solutions in telematics and asset tracking, as well as in equipment security hardware, job-site surveillance tools and digital maintenance software, EquipmentShare.Com began serving contractors on a greater scale as a problem-solver as well as a renter of connected equipment.

“We now have two technology locations in two states and 10 equipment-rental facilities in four states,” says Randy Montrose, Chief Financial Officer. The company is also starting an internal finance group to act as direct lender/lessor with the goal of increasing sales to retail customers. Montrose says that’s an important reason EquipmentShare.Com joined ELFA. “Having been involved with ELFA since 1987, I knew the value the association could bring,” Montrose says. “We needed direct access to resources around the equipment finance space from legal and tax-compliance perspectives. We also needed access to lenders and the ability to share best practices with other industry professionals.”

Montrose believes membership will help the company maximize the use of its internal capital and shorten ramp-up time for its internal finance group. Another potential benefit: new relationships and work with banks and other direct lenders that will support the company’s internal finance group. “I also believe that, ultimately, membership will allow us to focus our efforts on supporting our sales groups in the provision of finance solutions to our customers,” Montrose says.

Montrose and others at EquipmentShare.Com look forward to sharing information about the company’s telematics and asset-tracking platform with ELFA members. “We believe our solutions can aid lenders in maximizing asset values while reducing the need for inventory spot checks,” Montrose says. Continuous access and visibility “can also be a huge selling point to end users,” he says, since borrowers will have fewer business interruptions caused by spot checks and potentially reduced insurance premiums. “Asset values also increase due to our digital maintenance, and our keyless keypads eliminate unauthorized use and reduce theft. We at EquipmentShare.Com believe we can help other ELFA member companies better protect and monitor their equipment in many ways.”