Cascade Capital SBA Loan Helps Stow Manufacturer Land Small Business Award
Posted: 03/21/2007
AKRON, Ohio – The head of a Stow, Ohio-based company that Cascade Capital Corp. helped become the first small business in the state to receive the maximum SBA 504 loan has recently been named the State of Ohio Small Business Person of the Year by the U.S. Small Business Administration.
Gary W. Gibb, Chief Executive Officer of Wrayco Industries Inc., will be officially honored on April 27 during the annual awards luncheon hosted by the Cleveland District Office of the SBA.
A $4 million SBA 504 loan approved by Akron-based Cascade Capital has aided Wrayco’s $22.7 million expansion of its Hudson Drive plant, where it manufactures parts for large construction equipment.
As a result of the expansion, Wrayco plans to add 90 new jobs – most paying $15 to $18 per hour – said Robert Filipiak, Executive Director of Cascade Capital. The new jobs equal a 50 percent increase in the number of company employees.
Small Business Person of the Year Award recipients are selected based upon company history, employee and sales growth, product innovation, response to adversity and community contributions.
Filipiak cited Wrayco’s product innovation and its doubling of revenues as some of the reasons Gibb earned the award.
“Mr. Gibb certainly deserves the SBA Small Business Person of the Year Award based on Wrayco’s long-term record of exemplary financial performance under Mr. Gibb, his courage in undertaking Wrayco’s current multi-million dollar capital investment and his commitment to creating good-paying jobs,” Filipiak said. “We’re proud to have played a part in Wrayco’s expansion by approving the SBA 504 loan.
“We felt Mr. Gibb was a perfect candidate for this prestigious award, and subsequently nominated him for it.”
The SBA 504 loan program offers small businesses long-term loans, below market fixed interest rates and, in most cases, only a 10 percent project down payment. SBA 504 financing is provided by certified development companies like Cascade Capital and done in conjunction with commercial banks or other lending institutions.
Cascade Capital is a nonprofit CDC that provides meaningful financial assistance to area companies poised to grow though investment in operating facilities, equipment and human resources. Cascade Capital serves companies located throughout Northeast Ohio.
For information about Cascade Capital’s financing programs, call (330) 379-3160.
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Contact: Robert Filipiak, (330) 379-3160, ext. 231