SBA loans

The following loan guarantees have been approved by the U.S. Small Business Administration during May:
Aquatic Emporium/The Fish Store, 374 W. Main St., Waukesha 53186, $87,000, Waukesha State Bank;
Classic Tool and Machine Co., 2201 W. Bender Rd., #3, Glendale 53209, $75,000, Port Washington State Bank;
Dominos Pizza, 5100 Washington Ave., Racine, $119,000, Firstar Bank Milwaukee;
Elburg, Inc., 910 West Blvd., Racine 53405, $550,000, The Money Store Investment Corp.;
Fast Foot, N80 W14962 Appleton Ave., Menomonee Falls 53051, $42,250, First National Bank of Hartford;
Fort Handy Pantry, 1012 Whitewater Ave., Fort Atkinson 53538, $465,000, Citizens State Bank & Trust;
Grisby’s Child Development Center, 2856 N. 41st St., Milwaukee 53210, $45,000, Norwest Bank Wisconsin;
Koenig Custom Concrete Corp., 410 McKee Ct., Fort Atkinson 53538, $80,000, Citizens State Bank & Trust;
Lares Fashions, 261 W. Main St., Waukesha 53186, $50,400, Waukesha State Bank;
Mahuta Tool Corp., N182 W19137 Bunsen Dr., Germantown 53022, $299,000, Wisconsin Business Development Finance Corp.;
The Original Gallery Co., 609 Milwaukee St., Delafield 53018, $27,000, Waukesha State Bank;
Pistol Pete’s Pub II, 16755 W. Lisbon Rd., Brookfield 53005, $223,000, Wisconsin Business Development Finance Corp.;
Priya Corp., N96 W17500 County Line Rd., Germantown 53022, $255,000, AT&T Small Business Lending Corp.;
Pull Together Publications, Inc., 5150 N. 32nd St., Milwaukee 53209, $125,000, First National Bank;
Roth Chiropractic, LLC, 64 N. Main St., Fond du Lac 54935, $45,000, National Exchange Bank & Trust;
SGLA, LLC, 105 Industrial Dr., Lake Mills 53551, $700,000, The Greenwoods State Bank;
Sheboygan Family Restaurant, 2704 S. Business Dr., Sheboygan 53081, $550,000, Community Bank;
SPS Productions, LLC, 10437 Innovation Dr., Wauwatosa 53226, $73,000, Southern Commerce Bank;
The Cat Doctor, 236 N. Water St., Milwaukee 53202, $241,500, The Money Store Investment Corp.;
Unimex, LLC, 13095 W. Foxwood Dr., New Berlin 53151, $150,000, Ridgestone Bank;
Wisconsin Tool & Abrasives, Inc., 2107 N. 18th St., Sheboygan 53081, $89,500, Community Bank.
MEDC loans
A $106,000 loan from the Milwaukee Economic Development Commission will help a Milwaukee-based fund-raising firm finance the purchase of a new facility in the city for expanded operations.
Professionally Speaking, Inc., (PSI) will use the MEDC loan to purchase a 10,000-square-foot building at 3942 N. 76th St., just south of the Capitol Drive intersection, and move its telemarketing operation from its current site at 10012 W. Capitol Dr. It owns that Capitol Drive building.
PSI is a professional fund-raising company that handles direct mail and telemarketing campaigns for a variety of non-profit organizations.
The new location will provide benefits to both the company and residents as it minimizes traffic issues and provide PSI workers an easier commute by bus, city officials say.
The company, which will continue its administrative functions on Capitol Drive, employs 210 full-time people and expects to add 75 more full-time.
Participating in the $425,000 project is Investors Bank.
MEDC’s loan committee also approved financing for four other business projects at its June meeting.
Vincent G. Lubsey, M.D., located at 5231 W. Villard Ave., received a $149,000 Target Loan to help expand his family patient practice. Lubsey, whose practice has expanded substantially, has been a practicing physician in the city for 20 years.
When a 12,000 square-foot property with an attached house and three-car garage across the street from Lubsey’s practice became available, Lubsey decided to purchase and remodel it to accommodate his growing practice.
The new building will accommodate 10 examination rooms, a breakroom for employees, chart room and storage, an administration office, and a larger waiting area. Lubsey has four other doctors interested in practicing full- or part-time to assist with clients. Their fields include OB/GYN, internal medicine, general practice, and surgery.
Firstar Bank is also participating in the $406,000 project.
Lubsey’s practice also obtained a $48,100 state Minority Business Development Fund loan, a $3,400 state Minority Business Development Fund grant and a $12,500 state Job Creation Program grant. That financing was approved at the May 19 meeting of the MBDF board.
Lubsey’s practice expects to add up to 16 jobs with the expansion project. Two of those positions will be filled with state Division of Vocational Rehabilitation clients with disabilities.
Urban Foot Care Center, located at 3915 W. Capitol Dr., received an $85,000 Target Loan to assist in expansion and improvements at its current site. Funds will be used for the purchase of equipment and continued use as a medical facility and office for Urban Foot Care Clinic.
Urban Foot Care Center, a foot-care medical operation that provides general podiatry care, currently employs three full-time and expects to add two full-time workers.
Firstar Bank is also participating in the $212,000 project.
Environmental Innovations, Inc., a technical rebuilder that recycles laser printer and fax toner cartridges, would like to expand its operation with a $62,500 MEDC loan. It would use the funds to help it purchase a 12,000-square-foot building at 9600 W. Flagg Ave. The business currently leases 4,000 square feet of space at 111 W. Olive St.
Environmental Innovations, the third largest toner cartridge remanufacturer in the state, expects to increase employment by adding five full-time positions.
The firm currently has more than 350 accounts. Some of its major accounts include Miller Brewing, Marquette Medical Systems, Allen-Bradley and Wisconsin Electric Power Co.
Park Bank is also participating in the $250,000 venture.
Precision Restoration Co., Inc., received a $46,250 loan to purchase a 4,600-square-foot building on a .74-acre site at 5315 N. Lovers Lane Rd. to meet expansion needs of its growing business.
Jeff Wesolaski, president of Precision Restoration and a third generation mason, handles masonry repairs and cleaning, tuckpointing, special coatings for concrete surfaces, caulking, waterproofing, and chimneys, and concrete removal and replacement for the company.
Precision Restoration expects to add two full-time employees.
M&I Marshall & Ilsley Bank participated in the $185,000 project.
State Financing
Two southeastern Wisconsin firms are among six companies which will share more than $1 million in Wisconsin Development Fund awards and $238,000 in Minority Business Development Fund loans and grants.
General Converters and Assemblers, of Racine, was awarded a Customized Labor Training grant of up to $125,000.
The company, founded in 1974, is a minority-owned firm that has procured a major contract to be a tier supplier for General Motors. The company will die-cast foam insulation for mufflers and catalytic converters.
Over the next two years, General Converters and Assemblers will spend $2.35 million to acquire the space and equipment to service the contract. It will train 50 new and 185 existing workers in order to obtain ISO 9000 and QSO 9000 certification.
The CLT grant will leverage $159,000 in additional investment.
General Converters and Assemblers also received a $100,000 loan from the state’s Minority Business Development Fund. Those funds will help the firm finance the purchase of new equipment, which will be housed in a 53,000-square-foot building the firm is buying. An additional $2.25 million in other investments was noted in the MBDF package.
Simplicity Manufacturing, of Port Washington, won a $225,000 Customized Labor Training grant. The firm produces lawn and garden equipment, including mowers, chipper/shredders, tillers and snow throwers.
The company is in the process of investing $16.7 million to upgrade its equipment and production process to take better advantages of technological advances. Over the next two years, it will train 439 current employees.
The grant will leverage $815,168 in private investment.
Armando’s Landscape Co., of Big Bend in Waukesha County, obtained a $35,000 Minority Business Development Fund loan. The firm intends to expand its operation by growing some of its nursery stock and purchasing additional stock in bulk from wholesalers. It will use the loan to finance inventory and equipment. The project is expected to create 10 jobs and leverage $15,000 in additional investment.
July 1998 Small Business Times, Milwaukee