The Vermont Economic Development Authority last week awarded $12 million in loans to companies of various sizes and in different industries.
The quasi-independent organization, called VEDA, has been in operation since 1974 and gives low-rate loans that private banks may find too risky, according to Jo Bradley, CEO of the organization.
Bradley said VEDA uses federal funding to provide loan rates to developing businesses that are as low as 2 percent. Companies typically use VEDA loans in addition to bank loans to fund projects as a way to bring down the interest rates they pay on their overall projects, she said. Roughly 1 percent of loans that VEDA makes are not paid back, Bradley said, which means the organization’s loss rate is slightly higher than most private banks.
According to the organization, the most recent loans include $2.4 million in commercial financing largely to three companies; $5.2 million in agricultural loans to dozens of farmers; $300,000 in loans to a handful of entrepreneurs; $1.8 million in small business loans; and a $41,500 loan for updating drinking water infrastructure.
Here are some highlights of the most recent projects being financed through VEDA.
• Lincoln Renewable Natural Gas will blend $1.4 million with a private bank loan to fund an $8.4 million project. The energy company wants to turn Middlebury College into its primary customer. Under the current plan, the college would buy 75 percent of the company’s natural gas as a way to become carbon neutral by 2016.
• Cabot Hosiery Mills in Northfield, where Darn Tough Socks are made, will receive a $1.2 million loan. The commercial financing from VEDA is part of the company’s $4.1 million machinery and equipment project.
• Organic dairy farmers Joseph and Kathleen Hescock will use a $257,500 loan to buy 156 acres of land in Shoreham. Their current farm is about 1,135 acres, according to VEDA.
• Blog Sparks Network, headquartered in Stowe, will borrow $100,000 as part of the entrepreneurial loan program. Founded in 2008, according to its website, the company uses Internet technology to connect advertisers with content publishers.
