Growth leaders

It is with great pleasure that I would like to congratulate the 45
Cascade Capital Corporation Business Growth Award winners for
2007. These companies are located within Summit, Medina,
Portage, Wayne and Stark counties in Northeast Ohio.

Based
on the Business Growth Awards criteria, this is quite an
accomplishment. A company may earn a Business Growth Award by
either increasing its sales by at least 100 percent or $5 million or by
increasing its work force by at least 50 percent or 25 people. The
importance of this growth measures beyond the actual sales or
employee counts. From an economic development perspective,
increasing local company sales to other parts of the state, across the
nation and even internationally enriches the local economy. Receipts
and profits generated by growing area companies are positively
manifested when these companies purchase local goods and services,
invest in additional equipment and facilities, and hire new employees.
These wealth-creating mechanisms directly lead to the growth and
stability of our regional economy.

The
goal of Cascade Capital Corporation is to provide direct financing
assistance to small companies poised to grow through investment
in new equipment, facilities and human resources. Cascade Capital
can finance up to 40 percent of a company’s major fixed-asset
purchases. Important advantages/features of Cascade Capital’s financing
options include below-market fixed interest rates — as low as 5
percent, term loans up to 20 years and 10 percent borrower down
payments.

Cascade Capital Corporation is very grateful for its bank lending
partners, which provide it with numerous opportunities to co-fund
important expansionary projects for their customers.

Cascade Capital’s primary financing program is the SBA 504 Loan
Program. Cascade Capital is certified by the U.S. Small Business
Administration to deliver and service this program throughout Ohio,
although we focus on Northeast Ohio. The purpose of the SBA 504 is
to make capital investment by small companies more affordable; the
most recent SBA 504 20-year fixed interest rate was only 6.53 percent.

During the past two years, Cascade Capital has approved financing
participation for nearly 70 business expansion projects totaling in
excess of $100 million. These projects were expected to result in the
creation of more than 500 new jobs. A number of Business Growth
Award winners listed in this edition of Smart Business magazine have
received funding from Cascade Capital.

Congratulations
again to all the 2007 Business Growth Award winners and thank you for
your major contribution toward the continuing economic vitality of our
region.

ROBERT FILIPIAK is executive director of Cascade Capital Corp., an economic development
finance company that has provided dependable financing options to growing small companies in
Greater Akron and Northeastern Ohio since 1983. Reach him at (330) 379-3160 or [email protected].