How Much Capital Do You Need for a Rebar and Cement Dealership?
A rebar and cement dealership is the sector’s highest-capital branch, and most of the money sits not in stock but with the customer. A dealer selling on terms keeps part of its capital permanently outside. 🏗️
Short answer: total capital sits in the ₺1.5M to ₺4M band, and your credit policy grows or shrinks that figure directly.
Below: how the money splits, the entry bands, three typical mistakes, the payback period and a suitability check.
What does the spending look like?
BU BÖLÜMÜN ÖZETİ
- Space and equipment
- Stock and vehicle
- Credit fund and runway
Line by line.
Space and equipment
Wide open yard and deposit ₺200-600K, crane or forklift ₺250-700K, weighbridge and site layout ₺60-180K, office and signage ₺40-100K. 📊
Stock and vehicle
First stock ₺500K-1.5M (rebar, cement, ancillaries), a lorry ₺400K-1M. Bringing haulage in-house is the most meaningful investment on a thin margin.
Credit fund and runway
Working capital set aside for terms ₺300K-1M — this line appears nowhere yet is the most critical of all. Company, licensing and accounting ₺40-90K.
What’s the minimum to open with?
Two scenarios.
Cash-focused: ₺1.2-2M
Working on cash, selling to smaller customers, offering no terms. Revenue is smaller but the capital is turning.
Selling on terms: ₺2.5-4M
Working with contractors, offering thirty to sixty days. Revenue is large and so is the collection risk.
Three costly opening mistakes
BU BÖLÜMÜN ÖZETİ
- 1. Offering terms without limits
- 2. Building stock on price predictions
- 3. Always outsourcing haulage
All three are cash management.
1. Offering terms without limits
One large uncollected account takes the year’s profit and part of the capital together. Limits and security are this branch’s life insurance.
2. Building stock on price predictions
A dealer loading up without knowing where steel is heading sells it at a loss of value. Stock should be built on demand.
3. Always outsourcing haulage
Per-tonne carriage eats a thin margin; a dealer with a lorry gains both margin and speed. Delivery speed is the second competitive lever after price here.
How long until payback?
High capital, long return.
A realistic period
For a dealer with collection discipline, payback sits in the 30-48 month band. Where credit management is weak it becomes unpredictable. Cash-weighted dealers land near the lower end. Margin mechanics in the rebar and cement margin article. 🧭
Who does this suit?
Those with strong capital who can manage risk.
Where do these figures come from?
Anonymised business data, supplier pricing and sector work underpin each band. Operations differ widely, which is why we give a band instead of a point estimate. Full method on our methodology page. 📐
📝 Notes from the Shop Floor
A dealer opened with ₺2M and broke revenue records within six months; then one day he couldn’t pay his supplier. We listed the receivables: half his capital sat with three contractors. He set account limits, stopped taking work above them and stopped giving unsecured terms. Revenue fell; the company survived. In this branch capital doesn’t sit in the till, it sits in collection discipline. 🏗️
📖 Quick Glossary
Credit fund: the working capital financing credit sales. Account limit: the maximum exposure to one customer. Security: the guarantee taken against credit sales. Margin per tonne: the net amount left by one tonne of product.
⚡ The Short Version
Total capital ₺1.5-4M. 📊 The credit fund is ₺300K-1M and appears in no table. Cash-focused ₺1.2-2M, selling on terms ₺2.5-4M. Three mistakes: unlimited terms, price-prediction stock, outsourcing haulage. Payback 30-48 months.
🎯 What to Do Next
Let’s set your credit policy and capital split: quote form · free digital audit. 🤝
Frequently Asked Questions
Sık Sorulan Sorular
It demands high capital, a wide yard and a collection discipline that doesn’t decide emotionally. For entering with small capital, garden and landscaping; for high margins, locks and steel doors. Capital bands for every branch on the sector page.
It can, but the customer base shrinks; dealers working with renovation tradespeople and individual buyers can stay on a cash footing. For businesses wanting large volume, terms become unavoidable.
On this thin margin, bringing haulage in-house is one of the most meaningful investments. Starting with a contracted haulier and buying once volume settles is also valid.
Partly; a minimum of cement and standard rebar is needed but more is a price risk. A dealer with a fast supply chain can keep stock small and put the capital into terms instead.
Source: World Steel Association