Earthwise Plastics adds production line to its Grant County plant with SBA 504 loan from Community First Bank and Indiana Statewide CDC

A homegrown Grant County company that manufactures synthetic lumber and various other industrial profiles from recycled plastics is adding a production line to manufacture semi-trailer walls and doors. Earthwise Plastics’ new continuous panel lamination line will add about eight employees to the company’s current 52-employee roster. Earthwise Plastics’ CFO Andy Miller obtained a U.S. Small Business Administration 504 loan through Community First Bank and Indiana Statewide Certified Development Corporation to purchase and install the new equipment in its Gas City plant. Indiana Statewide CDC works with local Indiana lenders to issue SBA 504 loans to help owners of expanding or startup small businesses buy real estate, buildings and equipment. SBA 504 loans can give small business owners long-term, fixed rate financing similar to commercial loan terms available for large companies. Grant County resident Roger Dyson started Earthwise Plastics about 15 years ago. Now, its main products are sold internationally. About 97 percent of the material in Earthwise Plastics’ products is recycled from High Density Polyethylene (HDPE) which comes from sources such as milk cartons and other consumer and industrial goods. Earthwise Plastics turns up in outdoor furniture, decks, docks, semi-trailer trucks and dump trucks. The company’s plastic boards are UV protected and will not splinter or crack. They come in several colors that will never need staining, sanding or repainting. Miller says, “Our SBA 504 loan allows us to lower our debt exposure to Community First Bank which, in turn, provides opportunity for us to have more borrowing ability for additional capital projects and working capital.” Jonathan Malin of Community First Bank says, “It is very satisfying for Community First Bank to help a local company, Earthwise Plastics, manufacture environmentally sustainable products for customers around the world. The SBA 504 loan is perfect for this project.” Gas City Mayor Bill Rock, Jr. says, “It’s exciting to see Earthwise Plastics expand right here in Gas City. We are proud that they started in Grant County, and the City of Gas City is committed to helping them grow and expand right here!” Charity Bailey, executive director of the Grant County Economic Growth Council, says, "The Growth Council is thrilled that Earthwise has been able to take advantage of these investment opportunities to expand in Gas City." Earthwise Plastics used SBA 504 financing a few years ago to buy and remodel its manufacturing plant in Gas City Background: Indiana Statewide CDC (www.cambridgecapitalmgmt.com) has approved over $725 million of financing for more than 1,500 Indiana companies since 1983, creating or saving more than 27,000 jobs, and is the most prolific CDC in Indiana. These projects represent more than $1.8 billion in expansion financing for Indiana businesses. Executive Director Jean Wojtowicz says, “SBA 504 loans help small businesses grow because borrowing companies can put as little as 10 percent down and receive a low, fixed interest rate for as long as 25 years. The SBA guarantees bonds sold privately to finance a portion of the loan. With the guarantee, we can offer more favorable loan rates than generally available to small businesses.” Community First Bank of Indiana (www.cfbindiana.com) made history on February 3, 2003 by opening the first new bank chartered in Howard County in over 55 years. In less than three months from the date, shares of bank stock became available for sale, CFB became operational raising 25 percent more capital than required by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation and the Indiana Department of Financial Institutions. The success of the initial capital offering is attributed to the overwhelming support for the vision and creation of a new way to do banking in our community – a bank that is locally owned, locally governed and staffed with experienced bankers. Earthwise Plastics, Inc. (www.earthwiseplastics.com) is a custom plastic profile manufacturing company that extrudes prime and recycled HDPE plastic in its continuous extrusion lines. It was founded by Grant County resident Roger Dyson in 2009 in Marion, Indiana and its main manufacturing plant is located a few miles away in Gas City.