Highspire manufacturing firm receives loan with local help

Plouse Precision Manufacturing refinanced its Highspire, Dauphin County-based headquarters with the help of a $1.9 million Small Business Administration loan.

Plouse closed on the refinancing in late October for $6.4 million with help from a SBA 504 loan by the Small Business Administration or SBA, a federal agency that provides support to entrepreneurs and small businesses.

SBA loans differ from traditional loans because the administration agrees to cover a portion of a loan if the business is unable to pay it back, removing some of the risk for the lender.

The Harrisburg Regional Chamber’s Capital Region Economic Development Corp., a branch of the chamber that offers members loan and grant support, worked with Plouse to apply for the grant.

“The SBA 504 Loan program is a powerful economic development loan program that offers small businesses another avenue for financing, while promoting business growth and job creation,” explains Melissa Stone, vice president of economic development at the chamber and the corp. “Manufacturing is a vital economic engine in our region, and we’re proud to support that growth through loan programs such as SBA 504 and PIDA.”

The machining manufacturer moved from its Paxton Street, Harrisburg warehouse in 2015. In that move, the company gained more than 80,000 square feet of production space compared to its previous 23,000 square feet.

The refinancing allowed Plouse to take cash out of its equity and reinvest the money back into the company. Dale Seitz, president of Plouse, said that the chamber and its economic development corp. helped the company overcome a number of hurdles in the application process for the SBA loan.

“The loan unlocked equity we had in assets and gave us operating capital that we desperately needed,” Seitz said. “The people understood the application process and were dedicated to helping us see that process through to the end.”