Documented value first. The transaction follows.
Elston Industrial Group leads every engagement with a defensible written appraisal — then structures the disposition, acquisition, or exit around what those numbers actually support, not what either party assumed going in.
Who we are
The name Elston Industrial Group reflects a deliberate choice: a firm identity rather than a personal brand, because the methodology here is institutional, not individual. What makes Elston different is not a particular equipment specialty — it is the operating sequence. Most machinery dealers arrive at a valuation number by working backward from a sale they have already mentally committed to. Elston reverses that. The appraisal desk is not a support function; it is the starting point. Every seller who engages us receives a written valuation before any disposition path is recommended, because we have watched too many manufacturers accept outcomes that a documented number would have prevented. That discipline is not a marketing position — it is a structural constraint we impose on ourselves. The sales team cannot recommend a channel until the appraisal team has finished its work. Lenders, ownership groups, restructuring advisors, and plant operators return to Elston because that sequence is reliable. It does not shift based on which transaction type is most profitable for us in a given quarter. The asset scope we cover is intentional and complete — every major category of plastics processing and metalworking equipment, appraised and moved with the same standard regardless of ticket size. North America is our primary operating range. Our buyer network reaches considerably beyond it.
How we work
Elston Industrial Group is organized around a conviction that has guided every engagement since the firm's founding: a documented, written valuation must precede every disposition decision — not follow it. That sequence changes everything. When the appraisal desk drives the strategy rather than the sales desk, the numbers that come out of an engagement reflect actual market conditions, not the optimism required to justify a predetermined method. Elston produces formal valuations covering fair market value, orderly liquidation value, and distressed-sale scenarios for individual assets and complete facility inventories alike. The asset scope is deliberate and total. On the plastics side, we appraise and move injection molding presses, blow mold lines, rotational mold equipment, thermoform systems, extrusion lines and extruders, rubber and silicone compound machinery, mold inventories and proprietary product lines, and all associated auxiliary and automation equipment. On the metalworking side, that same discipline extends to CNC machining centers, Swiss-type turning equipment, die cast machinery, tool and die assets, stamping presses, fabrication equipment, EDM cells, and cylindrical and surface grinding machinery. No category is treated as peripheral — the valuation standard is identical whether we are appraising a single Swiss turning center or an entire thermoform department. Once the appraisal is written and the recovery range is on paper, Elston identifies the disposition path the numbers support. Outright purchase is available when a seller's priority is certainty and a defined close date — Elston commits capital directly, with no contingency on finding a downstream buyer first. When the asset profile or the seller's timeline favors a managed process, we structure and run consignment sales, placing equipment with pre-qualified buyers across our North American network and our active international buyer reach. Auction and liquidation formats are deployed where a hard endpoint serves stakeholders best — plant closures, bankruptcy proceedings, and estate situations where a defined settlement date matters as much as the recovery number. Elston also works the acquisition side: manufacturers who need a specific capability rather than the nearest available unit retain us to source, vet, and negotiate on their behalf before any capital moves. And when the transaction encompasses more than machinery alone, Elston manages complete business exits and turnkey facility transitions — where machinery, equipment, and contracts are assessed and transferred as a coordinated whole. We handle the M&E valuation and the business transfer together; the real estate conveys as part of that single transaction rather than as a separate brokered event. One engagement, one accountable party, one outcome that reflects what the assets were actually worth.
- CNC Machining Centers & Turning Assets
- Blow Mold Equipment & Lines
- Injection Molding Presses & Systems
- Structural & Precision Fabrication Equipment
- Die Cast Cells & Trim Press Lines
- Tool & Die Machinery and Toolroom Assets
- Wire & Ram EDM Equipment
- Automation Platforms & Auxiliary Process Equipment
- Rotational Mold Machinery & Carriages
- Thermoform Lines & Sheet Handling Systems
- Extrusion Lines, Extruders & Downstream Equipment
- Rubber & Silicone Compound Processing Equipment
- Production Mold Inventories & Proprietary Product Lines
- Precision Stamping Presses & Progressive Die Lines
- Swiss-Type Turning Centers & Sliding Headstock Equipment
- Cylindrical, Surface & Centerless Grinding Machinery
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Operating across North America with an established global buyer network