The federal Paycheck Protection Program has been credited with saving millions of jobs by providing a lifeline to cash-strapped business reeling from the economic devastation of the coronavirus pandemic, including some right here in northeast Indiana.
Established under the Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security (CARES) Act signed into law by then-U.S. President Donald Trump on March 27, 2020, the PPP is administered by the U.S. Small Business Administration.
Under the program, certain businesses may apply for low-interest private loans that can be used for payroll and other approved costs, including rent and utilities. The loans may be eligible to be forgiven if the business doesn’t lay off employees or cut wages.
Since the program’s inception last spring, the SBA has lent out more than $623.4 billion of taxpayer money through 5,468 lenders, according to the latest PPP report issued by the agency. To date it has processed more than 6.4 million individual loan requests.
After a successful lawsuit by national news organizations last year the SBA was forced to make public the name of every loan recipient and the amount of money they borrowed, meaning it’s now possible to see every business that has been awarded the coronavirus relief cash.
But instead of sifting through pages of spreadsheets, there’s now an easier way to follow the money.
FederalPay.org, a non-governmental information portal, has created a free, public resource hosting the latest publicly released PPP loan company data from the SBA. The database is searchable by ZIP code, allowing users to see exactly which businesses in their area received federal funds.
Searching the database by state or ZIP code will display a list of businesses within that geographic area, along with how much money they were awarded, the number of jobs that were saved due to the loan, and the average salaries of the workers whose jobs were retained thanks to the loan.
The database also allows users to search for a specific company name, or limit searches to a specific industry.
Largest borrowers
Searching the database using the ZIP codes that include the major population centers in LaGrange, Steuben, Noble and DeKalb Counties, it’s possible to identify the businesses in each area that got the largest loans.
Because the PPP loan formula is based off each’s reported payroll in 2019, usually, but not always, the larger the loan the more jobs were preserved. All of the top recipients in the four-county area claimed to have been able to save in excess of 100 jobs thanks to the funds.
In Steuben County, ZIP code 46703, which encompasses the city of Angola and some surrounding neighborhoods, the single-largest PPP loan went to Vestil Manufacturing Corp., which was awarded $4.83 million. According to the database, the relief funds helped retain 471 jobs.
Creative Liquid Coatings, Inc., in Kendallville, wasn’t far behind, pacing the 46755-area with a $4.3 million loan that helped save 500 jobs.
Auburn Gear LLC, received a $2.75 million PPP loan, the biggest in the 46706 region, which helped save 165 jobs at the automotive parts supplier, which makes vehicle transmission and power train parts.
In LaGrange County, Mastercraft Inc., a manufacturer of RV furniture, led the 46761 locale with a $1.1 million loan the company says preserved 195 jobs.
Smallest borrowers
PPP loans aren’t just limited to big corporations.
Plenty of small businesses in the four-county area also utilized the program to keep their operations running.
Danijo LLC, in Kendallville, doing business as DaniJo’s Thread Shop, took a loan of $1,400 through Community State Bank in April 2020. It was the single smallest disbursement of funds in the 46755-area.
In Angola, Legends Running Shop received a $1,000 PPP loan, making it one of only four businesses in the 46703 region that got $1,000 or less in COVID relief funds.
In Auburn, CJ Racing Engines, His N Hers Satisfaction Salon and Tina Horton, a sole proprietorship, each got loans in amounts of less than $1,500, the smallest in the 46706-ZIP.
LaGrange Country Door, LLC, received a loan of $1,817, making it the 46761 region’s smallest borrower.