The Evergreen Edge Newsletter

Featured Loan

More warehouse space for ever-growing Treeforms Amish Furniture, Inc.

Business Names / Operating Companies:	Treeforms Amish Furniture, Inc.
Borrower/Eligible Passive Company:	Treeforms Amish Furniture, Inc.
Industry:	Furniture sales
Project Location:	6333 B Street Anchorage, AK 99503
Financing Purpose:	Purchase of a commercial building
Financing Structure:	50%/40%/10%
Permanent Lending Partner:	Northrim Bank
Economic Development Goals Met:	Assisting a woman-owned business
Jobs Created and Retained:	8
Website:	http://www.amishinak.com/

It might be hard to believe that there isn't enough elbow-room in Alaska, but for Treeforms Amish Furniture, Inc. it was true. They are a constantly growing business, and while hardwood furniture is sturdy and beautiful, it takes up a lot of space.

Treeforms sells high quality American made furniture. It is a continuation of another furniture store established by Mark Watson in 1995. Lori and David Meril met and worked there, but it was closed upon Mark's death in 2000. The Merils started their store in 2001.

They opened in Wasilla, a rural Alaskan community. By the end of their second year they had reached $1,000,000 in sales. Customers were being drawn from Wasilla and its surrounding Valley region, Anchorage, Fairbanks, Juneau, Homer, and places in between.

In 2004 they relocated their central warehouse to Anchorage and in 2006 moved the Anchorage operation into an even larger facility. The Anchorage facility is both a showroom store with a connected warehouse.

In spring of 2009 they negotiated their lease agreement at the Wasilla location and were able to remodel and move into a showroom that is now double in size. Still, "We were in desperate need of a larger warehouse," recalled Lori Meril.

They eventually expanded their product line to include leather furniture. Morgan's Home Furnishings, a specialty leather furnishings store and one of their primary competitors, was closing. Treeforms took over Morgan's leather line. They used loans from Northrim and Evergreen Business Capital to purchase Morgan's existing warehouse facility.

Lori Meril stated, "The loans permitted us to purchase a larger warehouse which allowed us to grow, carry more "in stock" merchandise, create more jobs, and operate out of a larger warehouse, decreasing errors and damaged product." She thinks the most beneficial aspects of the 504 loan are its low interest rate and the long-term business planning it allows.

Barbara Gill, Evergreen Business Capital's loan officer in Alaska, remembered the old space, "I toured their existing warehouse before the purchase of the new warehouse. It was packed so full you could hardly move around. To get to a particular piece of furniture you had to move several items first so that you could maneuver the stairs get to it. Moving large wood items time after time subjects them to risk of damage. The packed warehouse also meant that they could not keep a growing level of inventory to meet their increasing demand. They also could not take advantage of volume discounts or special offers from vendors. They were totally maxed out on inventory space. Sometimes they were even unable to unload a newly delivered trailer of furniture and had to keep it in a rented Connex on the lot until they had more room or could rearrange and squeeze it in. That, coupled with the unique logistics of shipping to Alaska and the higher freight costs, did not allow them to exercise any kind of efficiencies with regard to inventory purchases."

The new building is a warehouse and distribution center for their growing business. They continue to operate their Wasilla showroom and the existing Anchorage showroom. The new facility is a centralized distribution center for the other locations.

"Working with Evergreen was a wonderful experience. Our loan officer, Barbara Gill, was very patient, knowledgeable and we highly recommend her to anybody," said Lori. "Evergreen will take care of you!"

"Lori and David are hardworking, dedicated people who have high standards for their business and for the products they sell. They complement each other with their individual business skills and strengths. They know their business inside and out; there was not a single question that they were unable to answer," said Barbara Gill.

"I spoke with the Merils after their loan closing; they were moving inventory into the building the very next day. Their relief over finally having additional space was obvious. They are very happy with their new facility, with their banker, Jesse Janssen at Northrim bank, with Evergreen, and with the SBA 504 loan program."

"I am looking forward to watching their continued growth and hope to work with them on any future expansion plans."

Latest Loan Approvals and Funding

January approvals and February funding 2010

Posted on Feb. 19 2010 10:52 am

We share some of our recent loan production details to recognize our lending partners, show the diverse businesses the 504 program can assist and celebrate the jobs being created.

January Approvals

Lender	Business	Location	Project	Jobs
Bank of the Pacific	Specialty Trade Contractor	Ferndale, WA	$807,102	0
Mountain West Bank	Long Term Care	Spokane Valley, WA	$308,000	2
Sterling Savings Bank	Consulting Service	Richland, WA	$1,771,230	6
Tongass Federal Credit Union	Printing/Publishing	Ketchikan, AK	$118,610	2
US Bank	Fire Sprinkler Contractor	Sumner, WA	$2,197,000	5
Whatcom Educational Credit Union	Magazine Publishing	Bellingham, WA	$362,003	3
Totals	6		$5,563,945	18

February Funding

Lender	Business	Location	Project	Jobs
Bank of the Cascades	Bed & Breakfast	Arch Cape, OR	$1,219,620	4
Key Bank	Day Care	Eatonville, WA	$606,500	2
Northrim Bank	Furniture Retail	Anchorage, AK	$1,785,000	8
Summit Bank	Offices of Mental Health Practitioners	Eugene, OR	$648,305	2
Washington Trust Bank	Dentist	Deer Park, WA	$2,066,666	4
Wells Fargo	Automotive Repair Shop	Stayton, OR	$395,000	1
Wheatland Bank	Specialty Mexican Grocery	Yakima, WA	$648,305	2
Zions First National Bank	Rental & Sales of Consumer Furniture & Appliances	Ontario, OR	$1,387,111	8
Totals	8		$8,608,202	31

The 504 Corner

Statement from Administrator Mills on continuing support for small businesses through SBA recovery programs; queue restarted

Posted on Feb. 23 2010 11:11 am

SBA issued the following statement on Friday the 19^th of February from Administrator Karen Mills regarding efforts to ensure continued funding for two key provisions in the American Reinvestment and Recovery Act (ARRA) of 2009:

"SBA's most popular ARRA provisions - the increased guarantee and reduced fees in the two largest lending programs - have helped engineer a significant turnaround in SBA lending. Continuing those ARRA provisions is SBA's top priority. Through the original $375 million and the additional $125 million appropriations for these two provisions, SBA has supported more than $20 billion in lending to small businesses across the country and seen its average weekly loan volume increase by nearly 90 percent since February 2009. Through ARRA we brought nearly 1,100 lending institutions back to the SBA's programs that had not made an SBA loan since at least 2007. All told, these steps have benefitted tens of thousands of small businesses and supported hundreds of thousands of jobs during these tough economic times. However, we know there is still more work to be done. As the President has requested, we will continue to work with Congress to extend these programs through September 2010.

"The additional $125 million appropriation approved in December to extend SBA's 7(a) loan guarantee to 90 percent and reduce or eliminate borrower fees on both the 7(a) and 504 loans will be used faster than expected. Loan volume has surged since earlier this week when an Information Notice was released to lenders. SBA communicated with its lending partners on Friday, February 19^th that it will re-activate the Recovery Loan Queue no later than Monday, Feb. 22. The Queue is an efficient and transparent process that will ensure that every remaining dollar possible is made available to help small businesses drive economic recovery across the country.

"The SBA advocates for small businesses across the federal government and will continue its efforts to keep America's small businesses on a path to recovery and long-term success. Small businesses are a central piece of President Obama's Jobs Plan because they have been and will continue to be a key engine for job creation across the country. With that in mind, President Obama laid out an aggressive agenda for providing small businesses with the support they need to create jobs and drive economic recovery. That agenda includes proposals in three key areas: expanding access to capital; providing tax incentives to encourage job creation; and maximizing the potential of innovative, high-growth companies."

At publication, the Recovery Loan Queue has been reactiviated and, for the 504 program, is working as it did in December. Contact your Evergreen Loan Officer for guidance on new and in process 504 loans.

Free national webinar on SBA 504 loans — an important economic development tool for community lenders

Posted on Feb. 23 2010 10:23 am

March 11, 2010 from 11:00 - 12:30 pm PT

NADCO, the national voice of SBA 504 Certified Development Companies, has developed a new web conference to introduce or re-introduce community lenders to the SBA 504 loan program. Much has been written on the SBA loan programs since the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) was passed last year, but there may be lenders who are unfamiliar with the SBA 504 loan and how it can benefit both community lenders and qualified small business borrowers.

This web conference will be an easy and convenient way to find out about SBA 504 loans in the comfort of your office. There is no cost to participate and the conference can be viewed from any location. The one-hour presentation will be followed by a half hour of Q&A. Participants will be introduced to the SBA 504 loan program, program eligibility, the loan process and reasons why an SBA 504 loan could be the perfect choice for small business clients looking to finance the purchase of capital assets.

The web conference presenters, Mindy Murray (RMI), Mike Vanchiere (Mountain West Small Business Finance) and Ken Rosenthal (CDC Small Business Finance) are all senior business development officers who together have over 60 years of 504 loan experience. They will provide an overview of the program, how it works for lenders and small business borrowers and cover myths vs. facts surrounding the 504 loan process. Zola Finch, Director of Finance Programs at RMI will handle the Q&A session.

The web conference is free and registration is open until March 5, 2010. To register for the web conference, click here: Community Lender Web Conference.