Crowe Transportation & PIDA & SBF

West Donegal Township

Challenge
Charles E. Crowe & Son, Inc was formed as a trucking company in the mid 1960s to haul milk from area farmers to local processing plants. To meet the needs of its customers, this family-owned and operated food service business expanded into several buildings to accommodate the transportation and warehousing needs of its various food commodity customers.

Numerous customer requests created significant additional opportunities for services and revenue. Brian and Cindi Crowe, current owners, wished to consolidate facilities and purchase 39 acres of land on which a 220,000 sq.ft. building was located. The building needed to be retrofitted to become climate-controlled and conform to FDA food-grade standards.

Solution
For the building purchase and renovation, EDC Finance assisted Brian and Cindi Crowe access a

$1.15 million Pennsylvania Industrial Development Authority (PIDA) loan and a $200,000 Small Business First (SBF) loan, which were part of the project's total financing package of $6.5 million.

Result
The purchased and renovated facility has allowed Crowe Transportation to efficiently house in one facility its entire food service trucking, warehousing and distribution operations. Crowe now offers dependable refrigerated transportation service; frozen, dry and climate-controlled storage service; and inbound and outbound rail service, from New York to Texas.

Diversified Machine Inc. & MELF & SBF

Lancaster City

Challenge
Jim and Tammy Haines have been successfully operating Diversified Machine Inc. (DMI) since the business opened as a small machine shop in the early 1990s. As the demand for DMI’s high quality products has increased, the need for new equipment and machinery has become more important to allow the company to venture into new product lines and increase efficiency.

Solution
To accomplish the Haines's goals for DMI's growth, EDC Finance Corporation helped them to access several financing programs:

• in 2004, a $160,000 Machinery & Equipment Loan Fund (MELF) loan to purchase a specialty lathe;
  total project investment was $320,000.
• in 2005, a $107,000 Small Business First (SBF) loan for the purchase of another specialty lathe;
  total project investment was $214,000.
• in 2007, a $200,000 Small Business First (SBF) loan to help purchase a new milling machine;
  total project investment was $440,000.

Result
Diversified Machine, Inc. (DMI) has grown continuously, producing high quality machined products. It is now a leading manufacturer and worldwide distributor of sprint car component parts, manufacturing almost everything for sprint cars except for the car frame. Taking advantage of the incentive financing programs has allowed the Haineses to flexibly grow their operation, setting the standard for quality machined parts in their industry and nearly tripling their revenues since opening their doors nearly two decades ago.

Jim Lapp, operations manager

Lapp Lumber Company & MELF

Sadsbury Township

Challenge
For over 50 years, the family-owned and operated Lapp Lumber Company has taken raw logs and through its sawmill operation, produced wood for many items including fine cabinets, furniture production, barn and shed construction, timber frame houses and wooden pallets. In addition to the lumber business, Lapp Lumber produces quality mulches for landscaping. As with most manufacturers, equipment has aged over time, making processes less efficient and returns less than desirable.

Solution
EDC Finance Corporation helped Jim Lapp, operations manager of Lapp Lumber Company, access a $200,000 Machinery & Equipment Loan Fund (MELF) loan as part of the $725,000 total project financing package, to purchase a computerized “thin-kerf” saw system with new wood handling decks and chippers.

Result
The improvements in equipment and production process will result in greater efficiency for the company in recovering more lumber from the sawing process and in the handling of wood chips. Jim Lapp anticipates 20-30% greater production efficiency overall, which translates into increased profits.

Clair Oberholtzer, 7th generation Lancaster County farmer

Oberholtzer Dairy Farm & SBF/FIF

Mount Joy Township

Challenge
This 150-acre farm has been in the Oberholtzer family since 1790, making Clair Oberholtzer the seventh generation in his family to work this acreage. The family currently has a dairy and crop farming operation on the homestead. In order to help secure the future of the farm and transition it to the next generation, the Oberholtzers wished to purchase a neighboring farm that they had been renting and working for 30 years. This neighboring 63 acres was once part of the Oberholtzer family homestead, but several generations ago was subdivided and sold to various parties.

Solution
EDC Finance Corporation assisted the Oberholtzers access a $200,000 Small Business First/First Industries Fund (SBF/FIF) loan, which was part of a total $700,000 financing package needed for this purchase transaction.

Result
The Oberholtzers purchased the neighboring 63 acres, which reassembled the original family acreage. The land includes a farm house where the son (8th farming generation) plans to live as he takes over the family business and increases the farm's production capacity.

Yurchak Printing, Inc. & PIDA

East Hempfield Township

Challenge
Yurchak Printing, Inc. (YPI) was founded in 1998 as a short-run digital book manufacturer. Providing high quality, high speed services to its customers, Yurchak Printing has experienced rapid growth in the industry causing YPI to seek a larger and more efficient facility for its operations. Leasing operating space in a building which houses other tenants, YPI found it was not possible to expand at its current location.

Solution
With the help of EDC Finance, John Yurchak, Jr. and his two sons, John W. and Jason Yurchak took advantage of an $840,000 Pennsylvania Industrial Development Authority (PIDA) loan as part of a $2,950,000 total project financing package to purchase an existing facility and relocate the family-run operation.

Result
Not able to expand at its current location, the Yurchaks purchased a more-than-adequate-sized facility, have renovated over half of the building to use for their corporate headquarters and printing operation and will lease the remainder of the building to an industrial tenant.

Joyce and Michael Heberlein, owners

Lancaster Galleries & SBF

Lancaster City

Challenge
In 1984, Michael and Joyce Heberlein founded Lancaster Galleries as a wholesale custom frame shop. The business quickly expanded to include fine art production and sales, with a framing and art restoration division added later.

Business continued to grow even though the custom framing and restoration services divisions were located 25 miles apart. The Heberleins soon realized that to operate at a more efficient and profitable level, it was necessary to obtain a larger facility and combine services. They decided to purchase a larger work production space in Lancaster City and combine the two workforces and skills of the separated craftsmen.

Solution
EDC Finance assisted the Heberleins take advantage of a $125,000 Small Business First (SBF) loan as part of the total financing package of $365,000 to purchase and renovate industrial property located in Lancaster City. This project allowed for the relocation and expansion of the framing, restoration and office functions of their business.

Result
Lancaster Galleries services has continued to expand to where it is now the leading regional provider of fine art services and products including buying, selling, installing, shipping, framing, conserving and restoring works of art, frames, and documents for artists, designers, architects, galleries, museums, historical societies, small and large businesses and private individuals.

EZSolution Corp. & SBA 504

East Hempfield Township

Challenge

EZSolution Corp., an 11-year-old website design and computer networking company, needed new office space to accommodate its growing business needs.  After locating a perfect facility less than a mile from the company's current leased space, Tom Malesic, EZSolution founder and president, investigated financing options for the new site's purchase.  He learned that traditional financing sources did not provide him with the equity level and fixed interest rate period that he desired.

Solution

After reviewing several financing options offered by EDC Finance Corporation to complement his bank financing, Tom decided to use a $262,000 Small Business Administration 504 loan to complete the $633,000 office acquisition and renovation project.

Result

The completed office space purchase and renovation project provided EZSolution with three important benefits:

• Reduction of real estate equity position to only 10% of project costs, retaining valuable working capital for the company to use in its future operating growth plans

• A 20-year fixed-interest rate for 40% of the project costs, reducing the company's future interest rate risk

• Self-ownership and control of its office space, providing them with growth capacity for many years