Project Impacts:
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Retain 50 permanent jobs with 35 of the retained permanent jobs are accessible to Low-Income People
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Create an additional 10 quality permanent jobs.
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8 of the 10 permanent jobs that will be created are accessible to Low-Income People.
- Positive environmental effect of the product that PAT manufactures, producing and distributing fertilizer (through a coating process) which will reduce:
- nitrogen pollution
- the total amount of fertilizer required (per acre) to be used
- runoff harm of fertilizers to water and climate
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Indirectly impact local residents and benefits the environment wherever the PAT products are used.
PARTNERS:
NCIF: $4.65MM in NMTC allocation
CDFI Partner: United Bank of Alabama: $2.5MM CDE
Large Bank: Wells Fargo
In October 2020, Pursell Agri-Tech (“PAT”) completed the construction and installation of a rail-line spur to assist with product distribution. Morrow Railroad Builders, Inc. installed 1,600 feet of track and a rail switch to connect the facility to the Norfolk Southern (NS) main rail line. The addition of the rail spur increased operating efficiency by allowing Pursell to order and ship in bulk and the product is able to be easily moved by railcar. Due to aspects of the fertilizer business, the rail line spur was a necessity to grow the business. PAT funded this improvement from cash flow & working capital at the time. However, the coronavirus pandemic has drastically impacted their operations. Operating capacity restrictions and quarantine requirements caused significant delays in distribution, which, along with money spent on the rail spur, has drastically impacted Pursell’s working capital.
The project provides essential primary and preventative care services in a Non-Metro, Medically Underserved Area where the nearest hospital is 30 to 60 miles away for many residents. In recent years, the surrounding community has been within the top ten in the United States for deaths related to heart attacks, strokes, and cancer. By providing primary and preventative care, the project expects to improve the quality of healthcare for ~10,000 patients annually with 51% of patients being on Medicare (including those over 65 and patients with disabilities).
This transaction provided $6.65MM in allocation to reimburse ~$3MM of the rail costs, $1.3MM to reimburse the construction of an addition building to store raw material and provide an additional $2.1MM to pay for transaction fees and reimburse working capital spent during the past 12+ months. Without the NMTC funding, PAT would be unable to grow the company at the anticipated rate and therefore, job growth would also suffer. Additionally, there is the possibility that without the additional capital, they would be unable to commit to contracts or other longer-term business arrangements that could jeopardize relations with those companies and further impede growth.