Seven Arkansas companies have received more than $2.5 million in small business transaction authorizations from the Export-Import Bank of the United States (EXIM) since May 2019.
The companies include Alliance Rubber Company of Hot Springs, Eco-Bio LLC of Fayetteville, Lomanco Inc. of Jacksonville, Allen Engineering Corporation of Paragould, H&S Distributors Inc. of Alma, Steco Corporation Inc. of Little Rock and the Strong Company Inc. of Pine Bluff.
An independent federal agency, EXIM aims to fill in the gaps for foreign trade by providing trade financing options for U.S. businesses. This is accomplished through export credit insurance, commercial loan guarantees and more. It also approves small business authorizations, with 162 approvals in July 2020 totaling $167.4 million according to preliminary EXIM estimates
The EXIM has authorized 2,369 small business transactions since May 2019, totaling more than $2.3 billion.
“As our nation’s economy safely reopens with a renewed focus on creating American jobs, EXIM remains ready to help small businesses succeed in exporting their wonderful ‘Made in the USA’ goods and services to the global marketplace,” EXIM President and Chairman Kimberly A. Reed said in a statement. “These authorizations signal EXIM’s robust commitment to assisting our small businesses grow and thrive through exporting. We continue to encourage small business exporters to reach out directly to EXIM.”
Allen Engineering Corporation received the largest authorization in Arkansas from May 2019 to July 2020 at $1,000,000. The second-largest amount was for $600,000 for Alliance Rubber Company.
Lomanco Inc. had a $400,000 authorization, while the Strong Company Inc. had a $300,000 authorization. Steco Corporation was the only other Arkansas company to receive a six-figure authorization with $100,000.
Eco-Bio LLC received $81,900, and H&S Distributors received $50,000.
Of the seven companies, five received their authorizations during 2019. Two companies – Alliance Rubber Company and Eco-Bio LLC – received theirs during 2020.
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