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Business owner supports agency
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Business owner supports agency
SUNBURY — When Jim Kadryna was looking to expand his stone and veneer business, he ran into one problem — he couldn’t secure a loan, thanks in part to the shaky economic clime.
That’s when Kadryna went to the Northumberland County Industrial Development Authority (IDA).
Kadryna’s business, A Touch of Class, is just one of many that have benefitted from the combined industry, finance, education and government experience of the IDA. Those recipients have ranged geographically from Milton and West Chillisquaque Township to Shamokin and Mount Carmel. And they ranged in size from larger corporations like Aqua Pennsylvania to small companies like A Touch of Class.
Typically, the IDA steps in to give financial support when businesses can’t secure bank loans or state grants, according to authority officials.
“Most of the time, we are the lender of last resort,” Chairman Victor Klein said Monday.
Kadryna was looking to expand his business in Paxinos recently, but his bank refused to share first holder position with the Pennsylvania Economic Development Agency (PEDA).
“Where do I go?” Kadryna asked. “Do I go back to the bank?”
The IDA, though, was willing to accept a second holder position.
“We saw him as an excellent credit risk,” Boback said.
“This is where I went for funding,” Kadryna said, adding later that if not for the IDA, he doesn’t know where else he could have turned.
Those are the sorts of things the IDA does, what Vice-Chairman John Boback called “character loans.” They get to know the person, not just the business, looking to set up shop in the county. They’ve gone so far as to go to a person’s home for a business proposal.
No one knows these things, though, board Solicitor Roger Wiest said, because for the board, it’s all about propping up the county’s economy.
“We don’t write self-congratulating letters to the newspaper,” Wiest said, “like the person accusing us” of non-compliance, referring to county Commissioner Vinny Clausi. Clausi has been publicly critical of the IDA, calling for the resignation of every board member, plus Executive Director James King.
Also, many of the businesses the IDA deals with have the board members sign confidentiality agreements, Boback said, so the deals don’t get much publicity.
The IDA also gives technical expertise, and will help scout sites for prospective businesses looking to expand or move into the area. When the IDA does seal a deal, it’s often with smaller businesses that might generate only 10 to 15 jobs, Assistant Treasurer Maria Culp noted.
“They’re not the kind of things that make headlines,” she said.
SUNBURY — When Jim Kadryna was looking to expand his stone and veneer business, he ran into one problem — he couldn’t secure a loan, thanks in part to the shaky economic clime.
That’s when Kadryna went to the Northumberland County Industrial Development Authority (IDA).
Kadryna’s business, A Touch of Class, is just one of many that have benefitted from the combined industry, finance, education and government experience of the IDA. Those recipients have ranged geographically from Milton and West Chillisquaque Township to Shamokin and Mount Carmel. And they ranged in size from larger corporations like Aqua Pennsylvania to small companies like A Touch of Class.
Typically, the IDA steps in to give financial support when businesses can’t secure bank loans or state grants, according to authority officials.
“Most of the time, we are the lender of last resort,” Chairman Victor Klein said Monday.
Kadryna was looking to expand his business in Paxinos recently, but his bank refused to share first holder position with the Pennsylvania Economic Development Agency (PEDA).
“Where do I go?” Kadryna asked. “Do I go back to the bank?”
The IDA, though, was willing to accept a second holder position.
“We saw him as an excellent credit risk,” Boback said.
“This is where I went for funding,” Kadryna said, adding later that if not for the IDA, he doesn’t know where else he could have turned.
Those are the sorts of things the IDA does, what Vice-Chairman John Boback called “character loans.” They get to know the person, not just the business, looking to set up shop in the county. They’ve gone so far as to go to a person’s home for a business proposal.
No one knows these things, though, board Solicitor Roger Wiest said, because for the board, it’s all about propping up the county’s economy.
“We don’t write self-congratulating letters to the newspaper,” Wiest said, “like the person accusing us” of non-compliance, referring to county Commissioner Vinny Clausi. Clausi has been publicly critical of the IDA, calling for the resignation of every board member, plus Executive Director James King.
Also, many of the businesses the IDA deals with have the board members sign confidentiality agreements, Boback said, so the deals don’t get much publicity.
The IDA also gives technical expertise, and will help scout sites for prospective businesses looking to expand or move into the area. When the IDA does seal a deal, it’s often with smaller businesses that might generate only 10 to 15 jobs, Assistant Treasurer Maria Culp noted.
“They’re not the kind of things that make headlines,” she said.
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