SHENANGO VALLEY Expansion loans granted to businesses

THE VINDICATOR, YOUNGSTOWN
Tabled was a bylaws change spelling out what types of businesses can get loans.
By HAROLD GWIN
VINDICATOR SHARON BUREAU
SHARON, Pa. -- The Shenango Valley Enterprise Zone Corp. will lend two Wheatland businesses a total of $300,000 to help them to expand.
The corporation's board of directors approved a $150,000 loan to American Cap Co. Inc. on Church Street and $150,000 to Colonial Metal Products Inc. on Railroad Street. Both loans are for seven years at 60 percent of the prime rate plus one-half percent.
The American Cap loan is part of a $604,737 project to buy new equipment to boost production capacity and broaden customer base.
Penn-Northwest Development Corp. is providing another $150,000 loan for the project, and the state Small Business First program is lending $200,000.
American Cap manufactures metal caps for tanks and cylinders.
Jobs will be created: The company has 65 employees and will create 15 jobs in the expansion.
The loan to Colonial Metals will allow the steel service center to buy additional equipment to expand in a project that totals $378,500.
Penn-Northwest will also have $150,000 in this project.
Colonial Metals has 17 employees and will create eight jobs with the expansion.
In other matters, the board delayed action on a revision of its bylaws clarifying what businesses are eligible for enterprise zone loans.
The board needed 21 members present to approve a bylaws change, but only 20 attended Tuesday's meeting.
The loan program targets industrial operations rather than retail and commercial operations, but there has been some debate among board members in recent months as to just what that means.
The proposed bylaws change spells out that only manufacturing, industrial, business-to-business services such as warehousing and distribution, advanced technology firms and certain other businesses meeting additional criteria are eligible for loans.