Levi Hollow Tools (Photo courtesy of OhioSE)
news release
Since 2020, 87 companies in Southeast Ohio have used the JobsOhio Small Business Grant to accelerate business growth, creating 393 jobs and leveraging more than $33 million in fixed capital investment across the region. I am.
The JobsOhio Small Business Grant was developed to provide additional financial assistance to eligible projects in designated communities and/or trade and industry businesses owned by eligible residents throughout the state. The program recognizes that eligible communities may benefit from smaller investments and job creation than communities that regularly experience high levels of business investment. Additionally, the program recognizes that businesses owned by eligible people may face additional challenges in growing their businesses.
In 2021, River Roasters Coffee Company announced plans to expand its food and beverage operations in Meigs County, Ohio. The company invested his more than $260,000 to build a new building, purchase a commercial roaster, and build a commercial kitchen for food production. This new business, supported by his $50,000 in JobsOhio Small Business Grant, allows River Roasters to supply business customers such as restaurants, grocery stores and other coffee shops in multiple states.
The JobsOhio Inclusion Grant supported the company at a critical stage in its expanding development. “Our company will need to install lower-cost coffee roasting machines once the facility is developed, and it will take much more man-time and operating costs just to maintain our own cafe. It would have been,” the co-owner said. Larry Hess. “This would have also precluded any hope of being able to sell the product wholesale, as the coffee shop would have been too busy roasting coffee to keep up.”
The grant enabled owners Larry and Candice to purchase a Mill City Coffee roaster and equip their new facility with other operational equipment for roasting, storing, and wholesaling coffee. “By winning the grant, we were able to purchase a roaster, which essentially gives our company more growth opportunities than we could have imagined,” he said. Told. “Not only can River He roast enough coffee in one day to meet his roaster’s needs for a week, he can also fulfill wholesale customer orders within the same roasting day.”
Larry and Candace believe the JobsOhio Small Business Grant is important to businesses in Southeast Ohio.
“Small businesses play a critical role in the economic vitality of rural communities. By supporting these businesses, the JobsOhio Small Business Grant creates job opportunities, stimulates local spending, and improves the overall and help foster economic growth,” said Larry Hess.
In Adams County, Levi Hollow Tools received a JobsOhio Small Business Grant in 2021 to purchase equipment needed to fuel continued growth in online sales and add three employees. He received a $25,000 JobsOhio Small Business Grant to help the company expand its business.
“Levi Hollow Tools is a great place to start,” said Jacob Rose, president and owner of Levi Hollow Tools. “Thanks to the JobsOhio Small Business Grant, we were able to expand our in-house manufacturing capacity and install two additional CNC machines to accelerate the development and production of new products,” said Rose. , the company said it was able to add both a CNC lathe and a high-capacity CNC router about 18 months ahead of its expected schedule.
“One of the keys to the success of a business that produces physical products is minimizing the time from concept to market-ready product,” Rose said. “The sooner you can iterate, design bugs and defects, and incorporate feedback into the product, the better.”
Since receiving the JobsOhio Small Business Grant, Levi Hollow Tools was able to purchase the equipment with no debt and have both machines fully operational within a few months. The company saw a 54% year-over-year increase in revenue in 2021. This trend continued, with sales increasing by an additional 12% in 2022, even as we battled inventory constraints.
Rose believes programs like the JobsOhio Small Business Grant are important for businesses in the area. “Access to funding for expansion projects is one of the most difficult to find in our geographic region,” he said. “Unless there is real estate tied up as collateral, most traditional banks in our region will refuse to finance or entertain expansion projects, no matter how detailed the project’s justification.” , which can be especially difficult for young companies without an established history.
The JobsOhio Small Business Grant was launched in 2020 to help existing Ohio businesses invest in and grow their businesses. Through this program, dozens of locally owned small businesses in the Appalachian region of Ohio received funding to invest in equipment, infrastructure, training, and other necessary expenses.
“The JobsOhio Small Business Grant Program has been a powerful tool for businesses in our region,” said OhioSE Vice President Katy Farber. “This program is designed to support small businesses, and throughout much of Southeast Ohio, these businesses contribute to thriving local economies. We are grateful for this investment in our region. ”
