USDA Rural Development State Director Announces Funding
Monday August 09, 2010
USDA Rural Development State Director announces funding for Madison County Tool and Die Business; KHIC to serve as lender
 |
|
|
From left: Madison County Judge Executive Kent Clark,
Richmond Mayor Connie Lawson, USDA Rural Development State Director Tom Fern, B&H
Tool Works President Sammy Hammons, Congressman Ben Chandler, Holly Hopkins
(field representative for U.S. Sen. Jim Bunning, Kentucky Highlands Investment
Corporation President &CEO Jerry Rickett. Photo courtesy of USDA Rural Development, Kentucky office |
RICHMOND, Ky. -- The State Director for Rural Development in Kentucky has announced the awarding of a $2 million Business and Industry Guaranteed Loan that will help stabilize business operations for a local tooling business in Richmond.
State Director Tom Fern said Rural Development's investment in B&H Tool Works will be coordinated through Kentucky Highlands Investment Corporation and provide for debt restructuring and access to additional working capital - preserving more than 80 jobs.
"Rural Development, through its Rural Business Programs provides job training and business development opportunities for rural residents, including cooperative business development, community economic development and strategic community planning and faith-based and self-help initiatives," Fern said. "Such investments support our long-term national prosperity by ensuring that rural communities are self-sustaining, repopulating, and thriving economically."
Kentucky Highlands President & CEO Jerry Rickett added: "Through the resources of USDA Rural Development's loan program, KHIC is able to offer B&H the financial terms it needs to strengthen the company. In turn, B&H will be able to retain and attract additional jobs."
Rural Development's investment in Kentucky is at its highest level ever - thanks in large part to The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA), commonly referred to as the stimulus bill.
Rural Development offers a host of program areas, including community development, energy, housing, utilities and business and cooperatives.
Kentucky Highlands Investment Corporation, founded in 1968 to stimulate economic growth in nine counties in Southern and Eastern Kentucky, now serves 22 counties in the region and has created more than 10,000 jobs.