Updated: Industrial Supplier Wins Gap Financing from New Loan Program

(Updated at 5:40 p.m.) Brookfield industrial supplier Components Company, Inc. will receive $150,000 in gap financing from city and Waukesha County loan programs to purchase equipment and add five jobs in the next two years.

It's the first use of the city loan program and joint project with the Waukesha County Economic Development Corporation, said Tim Casey, Brookfield's economic development coordinator. Aldermen approved the loan program in March, allocating $200,000 in hotel room tax revenue for low-interest loans to spur local business growth and job creation.

"The whole idea is to work with businesses, primarily small businesses," Casey said. "We can help somebody who might be up against a credit limit or might not be able to get the terms they need."

CCI, a 75-year-old company located in Brookfield's northwestern Gateway West Commerce Center off Capitol Drive, will use its $150,000 financing to buy cable wire processing, auto baggers and other items. The new equipment will shorten delivery times and cut costs for customers in CCI's medical equipment, industrial supply, agricultural and motorcycle markets, the company says.

That is expected to increase business and require the hiring of five new jobs in the next two years, the company said.

Joe Wittig, president and CEO of CCI, praised the loan programs as critical help for small businesses.

"This deal shows that the City of Brookfield and Waukesha County are committed to expanding businesses, especially given the challenging economic climate," Wittig said.

The city will provide $45,000 in low-interest, three-year term loans, with the county supplying the rest, Casey said.

Casey said the city's program is designed for smaller loans of about $15,000 to $20,000, but larger loans such as that for CCI, can be obtained in partnership with the WCEDC.

Like the WCEDC, the city uses Business Lending Partners — an in-house financial division of the Racine County Economic Development Corporation — to staff, underwite and service the loans, Casey said. Businesses put up fixed assets such as equipment as loan collateral.

The loan program was created as another way to retain and attract local business.

"It was a good time to do it given the recession and the difficulty in accessing some private sources of lending that were easy to access in the past," Casey said.

Businesses interested in the economic development loan program can contact Casey at City Hall at 262-796-6694.