Due Diligence Checklist for Buying a Container Manufacturer

Reconcile Revenue, Margin, and Backlog

• Tie quotes, purchase orders, production records, shipments, invoices, credits, deposits, and tax returns by customer and job
• Separate fabricated units, modifications, rentals, delivery, installation, and service margin
• Test backlog for signed orders, deposits, cancellation rights, margin, material availability, and realistic production dates

Measure Steel and Supplier Exposure

Analyze steel and component purchasing by supplier, grade, specification, lead time, freight, tariff exposure, minimum orders, rebates, and price-adjustment rights. Recalculate open-job margin using current committed and replacement costs.

Inspect Equipment and Replacement Capex

• Inventory welders, cutting and forming equipment, cranes, forklifts, paint or blast systems, compressors, vehicles, tooling, and software
• Verify title, ownership, lease, UCC lien, age, utilization, maintenance, downtime, condition, safety controls, and replacement lead time
• Separate maintenance expense from deferred replacement capex

Review Environmental, Safety, and Facility Evidence

Search EPA ECHO and applicable state and local air, waste, stormwater, wastewater, hazardous-material, fire, zoning, and permit sources using the exact facility and entity. Review OSHA history and internal logs. Public searches are not an environmental assessment or safety clearance.

Test Concentration and Transferability

• Revenue and gross profit by customer, contract, end market, and salesperson
• Purchasing by steel mill, distributor, component supplier, and subcontractor
• Change-of-control, assignment, warranty, bonding, certification, drawing, tooling, and intellectual-property rights

Inventory, Warranty, Labor, and Working Capital

Age raw material, work in process, finished units, obsolete components, customer-owned inventory, deposits, and warranty reserves. Model payroll timing, supplier terms, deposits, retainage, production cycle, freight, rework, and cash needed to support backlog after closing.

Worked Buyer Example

A seller presents a strong backlog and adds back recent repair costs. The buyer discovers several orders lack steel price protection and a critical forming machine has recurring downtime. DealProof recalculates job margin, rejects unsupported repair add-backs, checks machinery liens, adds replacement capex and working capital, and conditions closing on equipment inspection, lien releases, permit confirmation, and backlog validation.

Documents and Closing Conditions

• Job-cost and backlog detail with contracts, deposits, margin, and cancellation terms
• Supplier purchases, commitments, specifications, and price-adjustment clauses
• Fixed-asset register, appraisals, leases, liens, maintenance, inspection, and capex plan
• Environmental permits, reports, manifests, notices, OSHA logs, and remediation records
• Inventory count and aging, warranty claims, rework, scrap, returns, and reserves
• Customer and supplier consents, key employee retention, working-capital target, lien releases, and facility approvals