The Chicago Journal

The Chicago Journal
The Chicago Journal

Chicago Hosted Taiwan’s First National Flagship Showcase at IMTS 2026

The Chicago Journal Staff on October 17, 2026

Chicago’s own McCormick Place welcomed 56 Taiwanese manufacturers in September as the Taiwan External Trade Development Council (TAITRA) launched its first National Flagship Showcase during IMTS 2026, which ran Sept. 14–19.

Located at Booth #236834 in the North Building, the showcase gave Taiwan a prominent presence at IMTS and reflected the country’s growing footprint in advanced manufacturing. The booth brought together 56 companies spanning aerospace components, semiconductor equipment, precision machining, and smart factory technology, all sectors where Taiwanese suppliers have long been active. The event also showed how Taiwanese suppliers deliver everything from individual precision components to fully automated production systems for global supply chains, and it highlighted Taiwan’s role as a partner for international manufacturers seeking advanced technology and resilient supply chains.

The pavilion was organized under TAITRA’s platform, which groups exhibitors not as individual companies but by the role each plays in a larger manufacturing ecosystem. Twenty-one featured exhibitors were arranged in three groups, Advanced Machine Tools, Precision Components and Solutions, and Smart Automation and Digital Manufacturing, with dedicated Aerospace and Semiconductor Application Zones alongside them. That structure was meant to give visitors a clearer sense of how Taiwanese firms already work together to serve their shared customers.

The showcase’s scheduled programming reflected that emphasis. Smart Manufacturing Pitches ran Sept. 15–17 and covered aerospace machining, semiconductor manufacturing, and smart components, giving buyers a closer look at how these technologies support productivity and precision. Beyond the pitches, the week included an opening ceremony on Sept. 14, guided brand tours of participating companies, and networking events. Representatives from the Taipei Economic and Cultural Office, the Association for Manufacturing Technology, Machine Design, Cutting Tool Engineering, Siemens, and HEIDENHAIN attended the opening. TAITRA also hosted Taiwan Night on Sept. 14, an evening networking event that connected Taiwanese exhibitors with international buyers, distributors, and technology partners in Chicago. According to TAITRA, more than 250 people attended the opening ceremony and Taiwan Night combined.

For Chicago and the broader industrial market, the showcase added to the region’s role as a place for international manufacturing trade. McCormick Place has long served as host to IMTS, but this year’s concentration of Taiwanese technology pointed to opportunities for economic cooperation, from joint initiatives to expanded supplier partnerships. As manufacturers look for partners in precision engineering, smart automation, and resilient supply chains, the showcase put Taiwan’s industrial sector in front of North American buyers.

More information on the showcase, including a full exhibitor list and event schedule, remains available at 2026IMTS.Taiwantrade.com.

The Contract Clauses That Matter in a Working Capital Agreement

The Chicago Journal Staff on October 17, 2026

The offer arrives by email: an amount, a factor rate, a daily payment. It looks straightforward. Then the contract follows, twenty or thirty pages of dense language written by the funder’s lawyers. Many business owners skim it, sign it, and move on. Months later, some discover clauses they never noticed: a personal guarantee broader than they expected, fees they did not know existed, or restrictions that block the financing they now need.

You do not need to be a lawyer to protect yourself. You need to know which clauses matter and what to look for in each. This article walks through the most important sections of a typical working capital agreement and the questions to ask before you sign. It is general information, not legal advice, and for large amounts, a review by a business attorney is money well spent.

The Purchased Amount And The Specified Percentage

A working capital advance is usually structured as a purchase of future receivables. The contract will state the purchase price, which is the amount you receive, and the purchased amount, which is the total the funder is entitled to collect. It will also state a specified percentage of your receivables that the funder is purchasing.

What to check: Confirm that the purchase price and purchased amount match the offer you were quoted. Check whether any fees are deducted from the purchase price, and calculate the net amount you will actually receive. Make sure the factor rate implied by these numbers is what you agreed to.

The Payment Amount And Frequency

Most agreements set a fixed daily or weekly payment, debited automatically from your business account. The contract describes this as an estimate of the specified percentage of your receivables.

What to check: Confirm the payment amount, the frequency, and the account it will be drawn from. Note the start date. Test the payment against your slowest recent month. If it does not work, then it does not work.

The Reconciliation Clause

Because the funder is buying a share of your future sales, a genuine agreement should allow payments to be adjusted if your revenue falls. This is the reconciliation clause, and it is one of the most important protections you have.

What to check: Find the clause and read it carefully. How do you request reconciliation? What documents are required, usually recent bank statements? How quickly must the funder respond? Is there a limit on how often you can ask? A vague or missing reconciliation process is a serious concern.

Fees

Agreements can include a range of fees: origination or underwriting fees, wire fees, ACH rejection fees, default fees, and sometimes recurring administrative charges.

What to check: List every fee, the amount, when it is charged, and how it is collected. Watch for monthly fees added on top of the agreed payment, which can significantly increase the true cost. Any fee charged before funding is a red flag. Legitimate costs are deducted from the funded amount or built into the payback.

The Personal Guarantee

Most working capital agreements require the owner to sign a personal guarantee. In many agreements, this is a guarantee of performance, meaning the owner promises the business will follow the contract’s terms, such as not diverting receivables, closing the account or selling the business without notice. Some guarantees go further.

What to check: Understand exactly what you are guaranteeing. Does the guarantee cover only breaches of the contract, or the full balance in any circumstance? Who else is signing? If the guarantee is broad, ask for clarification in writing or have an attorney review it.

Events of default

This section lists the actions that put you in default. Common examples include stopping payments without following the reconciliation process, changing bank accounts without notice, blocking the funder’s debits, taking additional financing in breach of the contract, or providing false information on the application.

What to check: Read every default event. Some are reasonable. Others may be broader than you expect. Note what happens on default: the full balance may become due immediately, default fees may apply, and the funder may pursue the guarantor. Knowing these triggers helps you avoid them.

Remedies And Collections

The remedies section explains what the funder can do if you default. This may include collecting the remaining balance, enforcing the personal guarantee, and pursuing your business assets under its security interest. It may also specify attorney fees and collection costs.

What to check: Note any clauses that waive your rights, such as the right to a jury trial, and where any legal dispute must be heard. Some states, including New York, restrict confessions of judgment in commercial financing agreements, but terms vary. If a clause concerns you, ask an attorney.

Anti-Stacking And Further Financing

Many first-position agreements prohibit you from taking additional working capital advances or loans while the contract is active.

What to check: Understand whether you can take other financing, and what kinds. Taking a second advance in breach of an anti-stacking clause can trigger default on the first. If you think you may need more capital later, discuss it before signing.

UCC Filing And Security Interest

The funder will usually file a UCC-1 financing statement, a public notice of its interest in your business assets or receivables.

What to check: Ask what assets the filing covers and confirm the funder will file a termination once the agreement is satisfied. An active UCC filing can make it harder to obtain other financing.

Prepayment And Early Payoff

Some agreements offer a discount if you pay off the balance early. Many require the full purchased amount regardless of when you pay.

What to check: Ask in writing whether an early payoff discount exists and how it is calculated. This matters if you expect a large contract payment or an SBA loan to replace the advance.

Verbal Promises And The Integration Clause

Most contracts contain an integration clause stating that the written agreement is the entire deal. That means anything a broker or sales representative promised verbally does not count unless it is in the contract.

What to check: If someone promised a lower rate on renewal, flexible payments, or any other benefit, make sure it appears in writing before you sign.

Business Information And Covenants

Most agreements include promises about how you will run the business while the contract is active. You may agree to keep the same bank account, deposit all receivables into it, notify the funder before changing ownership or moving locations, and provide updated statements on request. Some agreements give the funder ongoing access to view your account activity.

What to check: Make sure you can realistically meet every ongoing obligation. If you plan to change banks, sell part of the business, or relocate during the term, raise it before signing. Breaking one of these promises, even unintentionally, can count as default.

A Simple Pre-Signing Checklist

Before you sign, confirm that you can answer yes to each of these:

  • The numbers match the offer I was quoted.
  • I know the net amount I will receive.
  • I can carry the payment in my slowest month.
  • I understand how to request reconciliation.
  • I know every fee and when it applies.
  • I understand what my personal guarantee covers.
  • Every verbal promise is written into the agreement.

Choosing Funders With Fair Contracts

Contracts vary from funder to funder, and reputation matters. MCA Directory lists working capital funders alongside their published criteria, and verified funders are hand-vetted and confirmed to be actively funding. Brokers review funders on underwriting honesty and merchant treatment, and every review requires a company email and supporting documents. Those reviews are a useful signal of whether a funder honors reconciliation requests and treats merchants fairly.

For evidence that a funder or broker actually completes deals, check the FundedUSA Instagram page, which posts confirmations of businesses funded through reliable lenders and brokers.

When A Contract Is Not Honored

If a funder debits more than your contract allows, ignores a valid reconciliation request, or adds fees that are not in the agreement, keep records of every transaction and communication. You can file a private report through MCA Directory’s fraud reporting form. Reports go only to its team; the company is never told who reported it, and attachments are emailed directly rather than stored on the website. For serious disputes, consult an attorney.

Join MCA Directory as a Verified Funder or Broker

MCA Directory also provides opportunities for funders and brokers to connect within the working capital industry. Funders interested in increasing their visibility and establishing credibility can apply to become a verified funder. Brokers looking to explore funding opportunities and connect with funders can sign up through the MCA Directory Marketplace.

The Bottom Line

The contract is the deal. Before you sign, confirm the numbers, find the reconciliation clause, list every fee, understand the guarantee and the default triggers, and make sure every promise is written down. Ten minutes with these clauses can save months of trouble.

Disclaimer: This article is intended for general informational and educational purposes only. The information provided should not be considered legal, financial, or professional advice. Readers are encouraged to conduct their own research and consult qualified professionals before making any decisions. The publisher assumes no responsibility for any actions taken based on the information presented.

Maggie Keith and Foxhollow Farm Are Leaving the Next Generation Something Worth Continuing

The Chicago Journal Staff on October 17, 2026

By: Kate Sarmiento

At one point, the milking parlor at Foxhollow Farm was converted into a yoga studio, and a medical clinic went up next to the old dairy barn. That is a lot of history for a farm that now raises 100% grass-fed, grass-finished beef on 1,300 acres in Crestwood, Kentucky, and it makes Foxhollow a useful place to look at what succession involves. Anyone who has inherited a family business knows which sentence tends to show up first, and it is “we’ve always done it this way.” The phrase ends the conversation before anyone has checked whether the old way still works, and it tends to get said most by the people who love the business the most.

Foxhollow is Demeter Certified Biodynamic, holds Regenified Level 5 certification, which is the highest level of that regenerative agriculture standard, and sells its beef directly to customers. Maggie Keith, the farm’s fourth-generation steward, co-founder, and CEO, has had to decide which parts of the family legacy deserve protecting and which parts have to change for the farm to have a future. Her situation is more common than it might seem, because American farming is heading into a big handoff.

The average U.S. farm producer was 58.1 years old in 2022, and 38% of producers were 65 or older (Source: USDA National Agricultural Statistics Service, 2024). The number of producers 65 and up grew 12% between 2017 and 2022, while the number between 35 and 64 dropped 9%, and family-owned and operated farms make up 95% of all U.S. farms, so plenty of those handoffs will happen at family kitchen tables (Source: USDA National Agricultural Statistics Service, 2024).

Nobody Told the Milking Parlor It Was Permanent

The land that became Foxhollow Farm started out as a family property with a tenant farmer running a small dairy, a haying operation, a four-acre plot of tobacco, and an apple orchard. In 1972, Mary Shands moved her family out to the farm, and she later turned some of the old farmhouses into a health spa and bed-and-breakfast. By 1992, she had built the medical clinic and converted the milking parlor into the yoga studio, which gave the property a new life as a retreat for people who needed time in nature.

Mary’s three children, including Janey Newton, took over as stewards in 2005, stopped chemical farming, and chose biodynamics, a method built on the ideas of Rudolf Steiner, an Austrian teacher and scientist from the early 1900s. The first 30 head of cattle came home in July 2006, and Janey’s daughter, Maggie Keith, has worked alongside her mother since that year. The farm that once ran a dairy also hosted a wellness retreat and now raises grass-fed beef, which means the family has picked a new direction for the same piece of land more than once.

Plenty of family businesses struggle to make a handoff like that. Among U.S. family businesses, 73% had no documented succession plan for senior roles, two in five leaders expected it to be hard to fully hand over control, and 56% expected to stay involved longer than ideal to keep the transition smooth (Source: PwC, 2015). PwC’s family business leader gave the pattern a name, “sticky baton syndrome,” which describes older generations that hand over management in theory while staying in charge of the decisions that matter (Source: PwC, 2015). The next generation notices, since 47% of next-generation family members working in their businesses said the growing age gap with current leadership was making succession harder (Source: PwC, 2015).

Signing the Papers Takes an Afternoon

Transferring ownership is paperwork, and paperwork does not answer the harder question of whether the next person is allowed to change anything. Real succession includes permission to ask why a practice exists and to hear an answer better than “because that is how it was done.” More than half of family business leaders, 53%, believe family businesses reinvent themselves with each new generation (Source: PwC, 2015), which suggests the appetite for change already exists in many of them.

That permission matters for the money, too. Foxhollow’s position is that the next generation will only farm if farming pays, and the farm has spent nearly 20 years building a model that works financially. It sells beef directly to customers through online orders and subscription boxes, runs an on-farm market, and hosts farm experiences, which gives the farm several ways to earn a living from the same land. Selling directly is a growing route in American farming, since 116,617 farms sold directly to consumers in 2022 and the value of those sales rose 16% from 2017 (Source: USDA National Agricultural Statistics Service, 2024).

Younger farmers are showing up, too. Slightly over 1 million U.S. farmers had 10 or fewer years of experience in 2022; they averaged 47.1 years old, and their farms were smaller than average in both acres and sales (Source: USDA National Agricultural Statistics Service, 2024). Small farms run by new operators need a way to make money, and that puts a lot of weight on whether a farm can pay the people who work it.

Leave Them Something Worth Continuing

A legacy is easier to defend when it still works. After nearly 20 years, Foxhollow says it has moved past experimenting and now shows what regenerative agriculture can do, with Demeter Biodynamic, Regenified, and American Grassfed Association certifications behind the beef. Foxhollow’s stance is that people deserve to know their farmer and trust their food again, and a farm with a farmer they can meet and a pasture they can visit has a real way to offer that.

Maggie Keith lives on the farm with her husband and three children while serving as CEO, co-hosting Emmy-winning The Farmer and The Foodie, and chairing the board of The Berry Center. Foxhollow points to that mix of business, family, and land stewardship as a working picture of what modern farm leadership can look like. The farm’s own vision statement talks about honoring its roots while building resilience and abundance for future generations, and the history above shows what that looks like over decades, with the land staying in the family and the way it gets used changing along the way.

Succession asks one thing above all of the people handing over a business, and that is to leave the next generation something worth continuing. A farm frozen in place would make a fine museum, and museums rarely need a fourth generation.

Come See a Farm That Kept Asking Why

Foxhollow Farm invites visitors to see the result in person. Anyone curious about the beef can order 100% grass-fed, grass-finished cuts shipped regionally, and anyone who wants to see the land can plan a farm visit and stop by Foxhollow Market, which is open daily from dawn to dusk. Each order and each visit supports a farm that keeps asking why.