President Trump has now signed the COVID-19 relief package that was approved by Congress last week. An overview of important points for the local business community is provided.
CCIDA AWARDS $5.7 MILLION IN FEDERAL EDA FUNDING IN FIRST ROUND OF FUNDING
The CCIDA Board approved funding for 28 businesses and non-profit entities in the following sectors: manufacturing/warehousing; not-for-profits; retail/commercial/agriculture; small business; and tourism/hospitality. All said, $5,736,293 in funding was approved by the Board of Directors after a thorough review by the Loan Committee, which will, in addition to retaining hundreds of jobs, create upwards of 100 new jobs.
OUTDOOR ARTS, ENTERTAINMENT, AND AGRITOURISM DURING THE COVID-19 PANDEMIC
All businesses, including low-risk outdoor arts and entertainment, agritourism, farmers markets, and craft beverage producers must comply with industry-specific guidelines to reopen and to remain open during the COVID-19 Public Health Emergency. The State’s guidance, available at https://forward.ny.gov.
CCIDA AWARDED $10.5 MILLION IN FEDERAL FUNDING TO ESTABLISH NEW LOW-INTEREST REVOLVING LOAN FUND
The U.S. Economic Development Administration (EDA) officially announced on September 9th that the County of Chautauqua Industrial Development Agency (CCIDA) has been selected as the recipient of a $10.5 million grant through the CARES Act, which will enable the agency to establish a new Revolving Loan Fund (RLF). The RLF will provide capital in the form of low-interest loans to both businesses and non-profit organizations as a means to respond to economic injury resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic.
TRINITY BIOTECH ON THE FRONT LINE OF TESTING
Just outside of Jamestown, NY, Trinity Biotech produces plastic media transport tubes, which is a container used to store infectious disease test swabs for processing. “We have seen a huge increase in demand to help support the COVID-19 testing,” said Dennis Lefler, operations manager for the Jamestown facility.
TWO LOCAL COMPANIES CONNECT IN RESPONSE TO THE COVID-19 CRISIS
SKF Aerospace recently expressed a need to the County of Chautauqua Industrial Development Agency (CCIDA) to purchase masks for its 500 production staff due to the current COVID-19 pandemic. Meanwhile, the CCIDA had become aware that The Resource Center (TRC) was mass-producing fabric masks. In response to SKF’s request, the CCIDA contacted TRC on SKF’s behalf and was directed to contact Bruce Theuret, General Manager at Support Enterprises, Inc.
Jamestown Container Companies Steps up Production and Service
Within 24 hours of receiving a request, Jamestown Container’s Falconer facility designed, produced and delivered boxes that will be used to ship Jamestown Plastics’ new True Hero™ face shields.
JAMESTOWN PLASTICS PIVOTS PRODUCTION IN RESPONSE TO COVID-19 CRISIS
As soon as Jamestown Plastics’ owner, Jay Baker, heard the appeal for the production of additional personal protective equipment (PPE) due to the COVID-19 crisis, he and his team were inspired to help. The Jamestown Plastics team immediately set to work designing face shields for the health care and emergency response industries.
Retooling CHQ: Five & 20 Sanitizer
Utilizing the ingredients, equipment, and processes they already have in place, Mazza Five & 20 is redirecting one hundred percent of its efforts to distill hand sanitizer under the strict guidelines and cooperation of the World Health Organization (WHO), the Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau (TTB) and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA)—retaining 30 full-time employees in the process.
