Loans fuel George Industries growth spurt.Local manufacturer goes the limit to get financing Armed with $600,000 in government or government-back loans, Los Angeles-based George Industries has boosted payroll and profits in its business of anodizing anodizing Method of coating metal for corrosion resistance, electrical insulation, thermal control, abrasion resistance, sealing, improving paint adhesion, and decorative finishing. aluminum. The financing may offer lessons on how the Southland south·land or South·land n. A region in the south of a country or an area. south  land·er n.Noun 1. , and local manufacturers, can be raised out of recession. "What did I have to pledge to get the loans? Everything we have in the world. My business, my home, property, everything," said George Gering, 64, president, who founded George Industries 45 years ago. "But it has been worth it. We bought new plant and equipment, and expanded production. We have hired people." Today, 320 work at George Industries' 68,000-square-foot facility, up from 245 a year ago. George Industries main business is anodizing aluminum, in decorative and functional finishes. The plant goes full-bore 24 hours a day. Users of Magnum flashlights
Flashlights is the third record by the Atlanta-based independent rock band Y-O-U. are handling a product anodized at George Industries. Other products to be anodized include golf club heads, wheelchairs, military hardware, racketball rackets rackets Game for two or four players with ball and racket on a four-walled court. Rackets is played with a hard ball in a relatively large court (approximately 9 × 18 m), unlike the related games of squash and racquetball. , Fender guitars, eyeglasses eyeglasses or spectacles, instrument or device for aiding and correcting defective sight. Eyeglasses usually consist of a pair of lenses mounted in a frame to hold them in position before the eyes. , softball softball, variant of baseball played with a larger ball on a smaller field. Invented (1888) in Chicago as an indoor game, it was at various times called indoor baseball, mush ball, playground ball, kitten ball, and, because it was also played by women, ladies' bats, pens, and even Peugeot bicycles. "The (Peugeot) frames are made in Salt Lake City, tracked down here to be anodized, and then shipped to Paris," says Gering. Another line: casino chips for Las Vegas Las Vegas (läs vā`gəs), city (1990 pop. 258,295), seat of Clark co., S Nev.; inc. 1911. It is the largest city in Nevada and the center of one of the fastest-growing urban areas in the United States. . "Every chip has to be accounted for," said Gering. "They are kept in a room, under watch of a video camera, at all times." After aluminum is anodized, it has a finish that can range from transluscent blue, to opaque black, to a marble look. George Industries has developed a way of anodizing patterns and images onto aluminum, including the American flag, which is used on certain flashlights. Despite a broad book of business, George Industries a year ago was troubled enterprise. Defense reductions had cut deep into a major line of business, of anodizing aluminum for military subcontractors. The Southland recession - 90 percent of George Industries' business comes from Southern California Southern California, also colloquially known as SoCal, is the southern portion of the U.S. state of California. Centered on the cities of Los Angeles and San Diego, Southern California is home to nearly 24 million people and is the nation's second most populated region, - was hurting also. Bankers were not willing to lend to allow expansion or better equipment. The company had allowed payables to stretch beyond 90 days in many cases, and the work force was down to 225, said Gering. Too, there were many environmental rules to keep up with. "These regulations have driven many of our competitors out of the region," said Gering. "We have always tried to stay a step ahead of the regulations, but they are expensive." Desperate to upgrade equipment and market, Gering last year turned to Jesus Arguelles, of the downtown Los Angeles-based Arguelles & Co., which specializes in business expansion and capital sourcing. Arguelles managed to wangle a $200,000 loan from the Business Finance Center, an agency run by the County of Los Angeles Los Angeles (lôs ăn`jələs, lŏs, ăn`jəlēz'), city (1990 pop. 3,485,398), seat of Los Angeles co., S Calif.; inc. 1850. . The county agency got the money from the U.S. Economic Development Administration. The loan carries an interest rate of 5.75 percent, which is low by current market standards. The federal Small Business Administration then guaranteed a $400,000 senior loan, extended by Moreno Valley-based Valley Bank at 11.25 percent. Arguelles acknowledged that Gering qualified for the loan only because he had sufficient collateral to pledge, and that manufacturers without such collateral probably could not qualify for such loans. Money can be had But he added, "This success story can be repeated. There are other firms out there that can leverage private dollars with government-backed loans. The SBA SBA abbr. Small Business Administration Noun 1. SBA - an independent agency of the United States government that protects the interests of small businesses and ensures that they receive a fair share of government is encouraging local bankers to approve SBA loans." Gering said that other states, including Arizona, Nevada and New Mexico New Mexico, state in the SW United States. At its northwestern corner are the so-called Four Corners, where Colorado, New Mexico, Arizona, and Utah meet at right angles; New Mexico is also bordered by Oklahoma (NE), Texas (E, S), and Mexico (S). , had offered him free land and tax breaks in order to lure lure the skin-covered object which runs on a monorail on a Greyhound racing track and which the dogs are schooled to chase. The lure must be kept 30 to 40 ft ahead of the leading dog so that the field is stretched out. his factory to their regions. "It was this loan that kept me here," he said. Gering is targeting sales of $15 million for 1995, up from $12 million in 1994. Given that his business is now so vibrant, and the fact that he has a 45-year track record. why did no private-sector lenders step up to the plate and lend to Gering? "When it comes to manufacturers, bankers are super-, super-conservative people. They will lend you money only if you have money in their bank. They will never take a gamble on you," said Gering. "They would rather lend money on office buildings." |
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