SBA assistance helps keep Harrisville manufacturing company operating

    HARRISVILLE – It has been said by small business owners many times and in various ways, but Richard Kerns, Chief Operating Officer for Troy, LLC in Harrisville, W.Va. is quite sincere when he stated, “In all honesty, we wouldn’t be here today without West Union Bank and the U.S. Small Business Administration.”

    Troy is a manufacturer of non-woven needle punch textiles of which 85 percent of their business relies on the automotive industry. The company’s roots can be traced back to 1865 when they manufactured horse blankets, the prevalent mode of transportation at that time, which eventually shifted to automobiles in the 1920’s.

    With their corporate headquarters based in Troy, NH, the company decided to build an 85,000 square foot manufacturing facility in Harrisville in 1974 to enhance their growing automotive production line. Once the facility was completed, business remained steady for Troy until the latter 1990’s. That is when the automotive industry started to experience a downturn which was enhanced by the September 11, 2001 disaster.

    “Troy was in the process of moving their entire automotive division to Harrisville in 2001 when they decided to file bankruptcy and had no plans to restructure, basically just shut the doors and put the employees out in the street,” said Kerns. “Marty Ballen, our CEO, and I both worked for Troy at the time and made a decision to purchase the facility. Troy was one of the largest employers in Harrisville and several families depended on the company for their livelihood. So on March 15, 2002, with some help from Mountaineer Capital and the West Virginia Jobs Investment Trust, Troy, LLC was established.”

    Business was good for Troy until late 2008 when the automotive industry started experiencing a serious decline.

    “The year 2009 was probably the worst year Troy had financially,” said Kerns. “We made various changes and restructuring during the year which helped us get by, but when our financial partner decided to call our line of credit, things looked pretty bleak.”

    That is when the SBA and West Union Bank came to the rescue.

    “Richard contacted me early last fall and asked if there was anything West Union Bank could do to help,” said Ed Smith, Senior Vice President at the bank. “Being a small community bank and with Troy needing a fairly large line of credit, I knew we couldn’t help without significant assistance through some sort of guarantor.”

    Smith then contacted the SBA’s West Virginia District Office and talked to Tom White, a lender relations specialist. White and Deputy Director David Manley met with the Smith and Kerns to discuss the situation and come up with viable options to save the company.

    “We all recognized from the beginning this would be an uphill battle, but one worth fighting,” said Smith. “In light of the economic stimulus programs and the large financial bailouts the government was providing at the time, this was a real need in a real life situation.”

    White worked closely with the bank to put together a line of credit through SBA’s CAPLine program under the agency’s flagship 7(a) loan program.

    “Tom helped Richard and me throughout the entire loan process getting together the documentation needed for an SBA underwriting,” Smith said. “Without his hands-on knowledge of SBA’s loan process and the skill to direct us through the process, we wouldn’t have been able to save the company.”

    White even served as the go between for West Union Bank and SBA’s Loan Guaranty Processing Center to resolve various underwriting issues.

    Through the efforts of SBA and West Union Bank, on January 19, 2010, Troy received an SBA guaranteed revolving line of credit under the Contract CAPLine program which in essence saved the company from certain closure which would have dealt a significant economic blow to the local community.

    To learn more about the SBA’s loan programs and services, visit their website at www.sba.gov .

SBA offers special loan program to West Virginia counties affected by flooding

    WASHINGTON — Following the announcement of the Presidential disaster declaration in West Virginia for several counties affected by the severe storms, flooding, mudslides, and landslides beginning on March 12, 2010, Administrator Karen G. Mills of the U.S. Small Business Administration issued the following statement:

    “The U.S. Small Business Administration is strongly committed to providing the people of West Virginia with the most effective and customer-focused response possible to assist homeowners, renters, and small businesses with federal disaster loans. Getting our businesses and communities up and running after a disaster is our highest priority at SBA.”

    The disaster declaration covers Fayette, Greenbrier, Kanawha, Mercer and Raleigh counties in West Virginia, which are eligible for both Physical and Economic Injury Disaster Loans from the SBA. Small businesses and most private non-profit organizations in the following adjacent counties are eligible to apply only for SBA Economic Injury Disaster Loans: Boone, Clay, Jackson, Lincoln, McDowell, Monroe, Nicholas, Pocahontas, Putnam, Roane, Summers, Webster and Wyoming in West Virginia; and Alleghany, Bath, Bland, Giles and Tazewell in Virginia.

    Disaster loans up to $200,000 are available to homeowners to repair or replace damaged or destroyed real estate. Homeowners and renters are eligible up to $40,000 to repair or replace damaged or destroyed personal property.

    Businesses and non-profit organizations of any size may borrow up to $2 million to repair or replace damaged or destroyed real estate, machinery and equipment, inventory, and other business assets. SBA can also lend additional funds to help with the cost of making improvements that protect, prevent or minimize the same type of disaster damage in the future.

    For small businesses and most private non-profit organizations of all sizes, the SBA offers Economic Injury Disaster Loans to help meet working capital needs caused by the disaster. Economic Injury Disaster Loan assistance is available regardless of whether the business suffered any physical property damage.

    Interest rates are as low as 2.625 percent for homeowners and renters, 4 percent for businesses and 3 percent for non-profit organization with terms up to 30 years. Loan amounts and terms are set by the SBA and are based on each applicant’s financial condition.

    To be considered for all forms of disaster assistance call the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) at 1-800-621-FEMA (3362). The locations of Disaster Recovery Centers and the loan application process can be obtained by calling the SBA Customer Service Center at 1-800-659-2955 (1-800-877-8339 for the hearing impaired), Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. EDT or sending an email to disastercustomerservice@sba.gov.

    West Virginia residents affected by this disaster may fill out a loan application online by visiting SBA’s secure Web site at https://disasterloan.sba.gov/ela/.

    The filing deadline to return applications for physical property damage is May 28, 2010. The deadline to return economic injury applications is December 29, 2010.

Wheeling's Main Street Bank a leader in providing SBA-backed loans

    WHEELING — One West Virginia lender has taken the American Recovery & Reinvestment Act (ARRA) charge of “helping to unlock the small business lending market to get capital flowing” very seriously. Main Street Bank, headquartered in Wheeling is responsible for over 21 percent of the total ARRA loans made in West Virginia since the inception of the program, according to information released today by the U.S. Small Business Administration.

    With 40 SBA-backed loan approvals totaling $2,728,100 as of January 13, 2010, Main Street Bank has stepped to the forefront and made a huge difference for each and every one of those small businesses. In fact, the 40 loans are responsible for creating and/or retaining 237 jobs in the northern panhandle region of West Virginia.

    The ARRA, signed into law by President Obama on February 17, 2009, is making a difference for West Virginia’s small businesses. Since its signing, the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) has provided loan guaranties to 186 West Virginia small businesses through lending institutions for a total of $33.9 million.

    Stimulus Retail Solutions is one small business which has benefited from SBA’s America’s Recovery Capital (ARC) loan program through Main Street Bank. This small independent software vendor located in Wheeling was experiencing cash flow issues due to the amount of time which lapsed between the completion of an installation and the actual receipt of payment. This created a situation where the company was spending more time trying to raise capital to pay creditors than on sales and marketing.

    Benjamin Seidler, president of the company, approached Main Street Bank representatives Jim Croft and Todd Cover with his cash flow issues. They immediately thought of the interest-free, deferred payment ARC loan which was used to prepay creditors and solve the cash flow issue.

    Another Wheeling company, Wilson Auto Glass, was facing the dilemma of having to reduce its staff as a result of the economic slowdown which also caused cash flow issues. The mild winter last year that reduced the need for windshield replacements, caused owner Paul Beck to seek financial assistance through an ARC loan, again through Main Street Bank.

    After receiving a $35,000 ARC loan, the maximum available under the program, Beck was able to satisfy his creditors, retain his employee level, and keep his business viable.

    “The ARC loan provides critical capital and support small businesses need to make it through the tough economic times,” said Judy McCauley, director of SBA’s West Virginia District Office. “Together with the other provisions of the Recovery Act, ARC loans are designed to free up capital and puts more money in the hands of West Virginia’s small businesses. I congratulate Main Street Bank on stepping up to help small businesses under the Recovery Act.”

    ARC loans are deferred-payment, SBA guaranteed loans, which can be up to $35,000. They are intended for established, viable, for-profit small businesses in need of short-term help to make their principal and interest payments on existing qualifying debt. ARC loans are interest-free to the borrower, 100 percent guaranteed by the SBA, and have no SBA fees associated with them.

ARC loans are made by commercial lenders, not SBA directly. For more information on ARC loans and the Recovery Act, visit the SBA’s web site at www.sba.gov/recovery or contact the West Virginia District Office (304) 623-5631.

U.S. Small Business Administration unveils new microloan program

DUNBAR – The Kanawha Institute for Social Research & Action, Inc. (KISRA), a faith-based and community-serving initiative of the Ferguson Memorial Baptist Church located in Dunbar, W.Va., was recently approved as a statewide intermediary to make small business loans under the U.S. Small Business Administration’s Microloan program.

The announcement was made at the KISRA facility, located at 131 Perkins Avenue in Dunbar, in a ceremony on Wednesday, Jan. 13. Michelle Foster, CEO of KISRA, Rev. Emanuel A. Heyliger, KISRA Board Chairman, and Judy K. McCauley, Director of SBA’s West Virginia District Office.

As a SBA Microlender, KISRA can provide loans from $5,000 to $25,000 to entrepreneurs anywhere in West Virginia. Microloans can be used for working capital and acquisition of materials, supplies, furniture, fixtures and equipment.

“As the only statewide microlender for the SBA, KISRA is very excited about the opportunity to provide access to capital for those business owners who need it the most,” said Foster.

“SBA’s Microloan program provides a critical source of capital for entrepreneurs, including women, low-income individuals and minorities, who often have difficulty obtaining capital to start and grow their businesses,” said McCauley. “With these resources, KISRA can put more entrepreneurs and small business owners in a position to succeed and create jobs that will help drive West Virginia’s economic recovery.”

Under the Microloan program, KISRA can make loans to start-up, newly established, or growing small businesses. While the Microloan program is open to all entrepreneurs, the program especially supports underserved markets, including borrowers with little to no credit history, low-income borrowers, and women and minority entrepreneurs in rural and urban areas who generally do not qualify for conventional loans, or other, larger SBA guaranteed loans.

Small businesses are West Virginia’s number one private sector job creators. Helping a new business get off to the right start and assisting business owners as they grow successful enterprises is the ultimate goal of SBA’s Microloan program. One essential element of a successful small business is a business plan, which is a requirement of KISRA in order to receive a Microloan. Through KISRA’s Business Enterprise Center, business plans and other types of assistance are available to entrepreneurs wanting to succeed in their pursuit of achieving their dream of successful small business ownership.

Business owners interested in learning if they qualify for assistance under the SBA Microloan program can contact KISRA at (304) 768-8924 x203, (877) 34KISRA (877-345-4772) or via email at loan@kisra.org. Entrepreneurs in Harrison, Marion and Monongalia counties can also contact the Washington County Council on Economic Development at (724) 225-8223 or via email at wcced@washingtoncountypa.org.

Huntington Bank ends fiscal year as largest small business lender in West Virginia

COLUMBUS, Ohio, Oct. 20 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- The Huntington National Bank is the largest SBA 7(a) lender in West Virginia and the seventh largest small business lender in the country, as reported by the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA). According to the SBA, Huntington has made 992 loans nationwide with a total of $141 million lent for the fiscal year that ended on Sept. 30, 2009.

Huntington is the top lender in four of the five states it serves. Specifically, it is the No.1 SBA7(a) lender in number of SBA loans and dollar amount of SBA loans in Ohio and West Virginia. It is the No. 1 lender in terms of number of SBA7(a) loans in Indiana and Michigan.

"The fact that a bank the size of Huntington is the seventh largest SBA lender in the country underscores our commitment to small businesses," said Steve Steinour, chairman, president and chief executive officer of Huntington. "At a time when small businesses are weathering the recession, Huntington has stepped up with an aggressive increase in our SBA lending. Small businesses are the backbone of our economy, employing more than half of the U.S. workforce and account for nearly 65 percent of all new jobs created. By focusing on small business, we are making an important investment in all of our communities."

Huntington's performance by state is as follows:

-- West Virginia: 30 loans with a dollar volume of $4 million
-- Ohio: 604 loans with a dollar volume of $67 million.

-- Michigan: 184 loans with a dollar volume of $24.2 million
-- Indiana: 71 loans with a dollar volume of $7.6 million

Huntington's SBA-enhanced loans can be used by small business owners for real estate, business acquisition or expansion, start-up costs, equipment purchases, working capital and more. For more information about Huntington's SBA-guaranteed loan program, visit www.huntington.com.

Huntington Bancshares Incorporated is a $51 billion regional bank holding company headquartered in Columbus, Ohio. Huntington has over 600 banking offices are located in Indiana, Kentucky, Michigan, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and West Virginia.