SLCEC Business Finance Division Financial Products and Services for Growing Your Small Business   Each year SLCEC Business Finance Division delivers tens-of-millions of dollars in business loans to St. Louis County businesses. These businesses are growing, prospering and creating new jobs while saving hundreds-of-thousands of dollars in financing costs.   CT-Innovations of Missouri, LLC   Schlafly Bottleworks   Fab Lab, Inc.     CT-Innovations of Missouri, LLC - SBA 504 Recipient $772,000 SBA 504 Loan with a 6.31% 20-Year Fixed Rate! Located at 635 Trade Center Blvd. In Chesterfield, CT-Innovations specializes in the sale of business telephone systems, healthcare communication systems, productivity enhancement software and training, and voice and data network design. It also offers implementation and support services for its products. The SBA 504 loan was part of the $2,123,800 loan that included the purchase of land and new construction. National City participated with the St. Louis County Economic Council (SLCEC) in providing the financing for this project.   Schlafly Bottleworks - Industrial Bond Recipient In 1991, Tom Schlafly opened a micro-brewery and restaurant at 21st and Locust Street in St. Louis City. The resounding success of that effort led Tom to Maplewood, where he built a new bottling plant, restaurant, and gift shop known as Schlafly Bottleworks. There is even a large, outside seating area that features live music on weekends. The project was financed in part with a $2 million tax-exempt bond, which was purchased by Citizen's National Bank. “After researching all of our financing options, we chose tax exempt bonds, which provided us with significant savings compared to a conventional bank loan,” emphasized Schlafly.   Fab Lab, Inc. - Combo Finance Recipient The St. Louis County Economic Council has had a long and successful relationship with Fab Lab, Inc., a company that was founded in 1991 by John and Lisa Schroeder. The relationship began when the fledgling company took space at the St. Louis County Enterprise Center. In the early years Fab Lab machined commercial aircraft maintenance and automated equipment but now has grown to be a contract manufacturer in the precision machining services field. In 1992, Dan Durbin joined the company and with the growing business and need for additional space, the firm moved to larger rented space in the Westport area in 1993. John had learned early on to rely on the programs and support offered by the Economic Council and SBA. The business was started with a SBA 7A loan. With the need for new equipment, John received a 504 loan from the Economic Council in 1995 to purchase a new machine. The low down payment and 10-year amortization offered by the 504 for equipment loans was very attractive to this expanding company. In 1997, Fab Lab received a low interest loan through the Economic Council Metropolitan Loan Program that assisted them with the purchase of additional equipment. Fab Lab received the Entrepreneur of the Year Award from the Economic Council in 1994. After 10 years in business, John realized that the continued growth of this company could only be realized by obtaining additional space for his business. He also knew that by owning his own building he would be able to build equity for the future. Plans began for the location and design of the new manufacturing facility. Property was purchased in the growing Chesterfield Valley area, and engineers and architects set to work on the proposed 40,000 square foot manufacturing facility. Working with both his banker and Economic Council, John finalized the financing through the 504 loan program. Much effort and work went into the construction of the building, but when John moved Fab Lab into the building and closed on the 504 loan, he was rewarded with a 5.5 percent 20-year fixed interest rate on the 504 portion of the loan. This rate is the lowest seen in the history of the 504 program.