By Vanessa Lenz
SLN staff
A growing East Troy-based manufacturing company will get the opportunity to expand its product line with the help of an initiative designed to encourage economic development. Further assistance can be sought through the use of Concept Testing before launch as well, but first, they need to seek further financial aid for this expansion.
The East Troy Village Board Monday night approved a $100,000 loan from it its Revolving Loan Fund for Cytophil Inc., 2485 Corporate Circle.
The company, established in 2004, is run by four partners and manufactures highly technical components for therapeutic and cosmetic applications, including synthetic bone void fillers and injectable soft tissue fillers.
Cytophil will use the village’s Revolving Loan Fund loan as part of a $300,000 expansion project.
“The company has completed the research and development necessary to market a new line of products,” Cytophil said in its application. “To assist with the product launch, the company is seeking funding from both public and private sources, including the Village of East Troy.”
The company requested the Village of East Troy provide a $100,000 RLF loan for capital equipment and working capital.
The village loan will be matched with a $100,000 loan from the Walworth County Economic Development Alliance, and a $100,000 line of credit from First Citizens State Bank of East Troy.
Village trustees agreed to extend the loan term from five to seven years with an interest rate of 2 percent.
Cytophil currently employs 12 people.
The company has agreed to create at least five new full-time equivalent jobs in exchange for the village loan. Fifty-one percent of the jobs would be made available to low- and moderate-income persons by recruiting through the Walworth County Job Center, according to the loan application. Salaries will range from $30,000 to $60,000,
Trustee Dusty Stanford said he was in full support of approving the loan.
“It will give us a chance to use those dollars for something that is here,” he said.
The East Troy Village Board created the Revolving Loan Fund using Community Development Block Grant dollars to help to spur investment into local businesses.
Last October, Cytophil was given a 25-percent tax reduction through the Wisconsin Economic Development Corporation’s Qualified New Business Venture (QNBV) certification program.
At the time, Bill Hubbard, one of the company’s quartet of partners, said Cytophil intended to apply investments from its QNBV certification to complete development, increase marketing and gain regulatory approval for the sale of its product portfolio.
