SEDA-COG – Page 50 – SEDA Council of Governments

State College business expands to South Korea with SEDA-COG partnership

Posted on July 14, 2020 by DNS Admin

State College business Xact Metal is expanding its distribution to South Korea, thanks to its partnership with SEDA-Council of Governments (SEDA-COG) and PA’s Authorized Trade Representatives in South Korea. Xact Metal is a developer and manufacturer of metal 3D printers.

After visiting South Korea as part of Pennsylvania’s High-Tech Trade Mission in February, Xact Metal signed a distribution agreement with Korean firm, YES01. YES01 will market, sell, and support Xact Metal’s products in Korea.

This success builds on Xact Metal’s trip to Europe last year, partly funded by a grant SEDA-COG secured, where the company signed 10 European distributors covering 80% of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) of Europe, said Dave Jankowski, Xact Metal’s commercial operations leader.

“After harnessing the tremendous power of SEDA-COG to help us succeed in our European distribution strategy last year, we wanted to leverage their expertise and partnership to help us execute our Asian distribution strategy this year,” Jankowski said.

Noelle Long, director of SEDA-COG’s Export Development Program, coordinates the annual Bringing the World to Central PA event where businesses can learn how to sell goods and services in over 50 international markets. Jankowski met South Korea trade representatives Ken Yang and Min Lee last September at this event.

“Bringing the World to Central PA served as an excellent entryway for Xact Metal to discuss their Asian market opportunities with our trade representatives,” Long said.

After the event, Long introduced Jankowski to those coordinating the trade mission to Korea.

Jankowski visited Seoul, South Korea, right before the COVID-19 crisis escalated – and the assistance and coordination the trade representatives provided made the trip efficient and as safe as possible.

“SEDA-COG and the trade representatives gave me the support I needed to make effective use of my time in South Korea and accomplish in two days what would’ve taken a week to accomplish on my own,” he said. “The timing was very good; I can’t say enough about the trade reps in South Korea – they were dynamite,” Jankowski said.

Trade representatives Yang and Lee provided an analysis of the market for additive manufacturing, gave a list of potential companies for Jankowski to visit, coordinated the trip, advised on hotel bookings, provided translators, and more. Because of the start of COVID-19, Lee also prepared Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) for him such as masks and hand sanitizers, along with a private vehicle to avoid public transportation.

“For small companies such as Xact Metal, having that support is tremendous – and at a very reasonable cost to attend the trade mission,” Jankowski said.

Lee said this success is a homerun.

“It was a meaningful experience for us to see how successful this trip was for Xact Metal, and to set the stage for success, especially in such a difficult economic year with the pandemic,” Lee said.

Long said these successes are a testimony of the power of partnerships.

“Businesses often don’t realize the opportunities they can leverage with our partnerships,” Long said. “We bridge the gap for businesses through our expertise, network of global connections, and funding opportunities.”

While the pandemic has slowed business, Jankowski said they should start getting orders out to Korea within six months. Next year, Xact Metal hopes to expand its distribution network to Japan, China, Australia, and New Zealand.

Located at 200 Innovation Boulevard, Suite 257, Xact Metal develops and manufactures high-performance powder bed 3D printers at affordable prices. For more information about Xact Metal, visit www.xactmetal.com.

SEDA-COG’s Export Development team serves the businesses and communities of central Pennsylvania by encouraging and facilitating economic development through growth in world trade. It is funded by the state Department of Community & Economic Development’s Office of International Business Development and Partnerships for Regional Economic Performance. For more information about SEDA-COG’s Export Development Program, contact Noelle Long at export@seda-cog.org or 570-524-4491.

Sports center built with SEDA-COG and Juniata Valley Bank partnership

Posted on July 13, 2020 by DNS Admin

STATE COLLEGE – An entrepreneur’s dream of building a sports facility became reality thanks to a loan partnership with SEDA-Council of Governments (SEDA-COG) and Juniata Valley Bank.

The agency and bank partnered with owner Michael Lee to help fund the creation of Nittany Valley Sports Centre at 177 Champion Dr. Investment partners also helped finance the project. This created six full-time jobs and 10 to 20 part-time jobs, depending on the time of year.

“I’m excited to offer this opportunity for kids and everyone to play sports – that’s important,” Lee said.

The indoor sports and multipurpose facility has offerings for almost every occasion. The area’s competitive and recreational soccer organizations use it to participate in leagues, training, and facility rentals. The Centre offers athletic training through a Parisi Speed School franchise, along with sports clinics, sports tournaments, and summer youth sports camps. The Centre is available for other sports and non-sport activity rentals such as summer camps, birthday parties, school rentals, preschool programming, and more.

While Lee was an architectural engineer by education and trade, he came to realize it wasn’t his passion. After taking his daughter to a gymnastics competition in a large indoor sports facility, he saw the variety and opportunity a sports center offers.

“I thought, why doesn’t State College have a place like this? I asked around, and people said the area has needed a place like this for years. So, I hired a consultant to do a market study which showed it could support this,” Lee said.

However, because of the scale of the project and Lee’s lack of experience in that arena, banks were reluctant to fund the project alone. SEDA-COG bridges that gap and helps to spread the risk by offering various loans in addition to traditional lender financing.

John Reichard, SEDA-COG loan officer, said SEDA-COG was pleased to help make Lee’s project come to fruition.

“Michael faced many challenges to bring this project to reality since he first envisioned it. We were thrilled to bring a solution to the table to help him overcome some financing obstacles. His persistence and optimism are the hallmark of his success,” Reichard said. “Juniata Valley Bank was a fantastic partner in this project, as well.”

SEDA-COG secured a $2.4 million U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) 504 loan which offers low down-payments, long terms, and fixed rates. Juniata Valley Bank financed the project with a $4 million loan.

“This made the bank more favorable toward loaning to the overall project cost. That’s the reality – we couldn’t have done it without the SBA component and SEDA-COG. SEDA-COG exists to make it easier, and they did,” Lee said.

Fred Wallace, bank vice president relationship manager, said it was an exciting project and are proud project partners.

“We are excited to be partners with Michael on his journey; we believe in the project. We’re thrilled to see that it’s taken off and running,” Wallace said. “Our partnership with SEDA-COG was first rate; we appreciate all the time and effort that John Reichard put into this project, not only with Michael, but also with us. We look forward to having a long-term relationship with Michael and SEDA-COG.”

The Centre opened in February 2019 and Lee is building a second phase addition that will support in-house basketball and volleyball, as well as a wide range of events including sports tournaments, trade shows, conventions, and more. This phase is funded by a state grant and is expected to open in November.

While Lee is from Vermont, he attended Penn State University and moved to State College permanently in 1998.

For more information about Nittany Valley Sports Centre, visit www.thecentrepa.com.

The SEDA-COG Local Development Corporation, located in Lewisburg, is a Certified Development Company providing SBA 504 loans throughout the state of Pennsylvania. For more information, visit www.sedacogldc.org, email sba@seda-cog.org, or call 570-524-4491 and ask for the Business Finance Department.

Information Box:

SBA 504 loans: Long-term, fixed-rate financing to acquire fixed assets for expansion or modernization or to refinance existing real estate or equipment debt.

Benefits of SBA 504 loans:

- · Long-term, fixed-rate financing (10 years for equipment and 20 or 25 years for real estate)
- · Lower down-payment vs. conventional financing (as low as 10 percent for existing businesses)
- · Financing up to 40 percent of eligible costs (land and building purchase, building construction, building renovations, equipment, refinancing of real estate or equipment debt)
- · Loan is fully amortized (no balloon payment)

Eligibility: For-profit businesses with a net worth less than $15 million and net income less than $5 million.

Railroad crossing in Mount Carmel to be closed for construction

Posted on July 8, 2020 by DNS Admin

A portion of Route 54 (Locust Gap Highway) in Mount Carmel Township will be closed to traffic for railroad crossing work from July 15 to 22.

The existing crossing is deteriorated, and the SEDA-COG Joint Rail Authority (JRA) and its private operator, Shamokin Valley Railroad, will replace it with a new concrete grade crossing.

Motorists can expect Route 54 to be closed between the intersection of Brennan’s Farm Road and Locust Gap Highway and the intersection of Route 54 with Route 901 in Mount Carmel Township.

Motorists will be directed to a detour using Routes 901 and 61. Motorists are urged to slow down, be alert, and expect delays in travel.

Jannotti Rail Consulting Inc. of Russell is the track engineer and K.W. REESE of Mercersburg is the contractor. The SEDA-COG JRA owns the track and Shamokin Valley Railroad is the operator.

The SEDA-COG JRA was formed in 1983 by the forward-looking efforts of its eight member counties to save rail lines and service abandoned by Conrail. The JRA’s public-private partnership was recognized by the World Bank as a model for public-private partnerships to stimulate rural economic development. Since 2004, the JRA has invested or leveraged over $46 million in rail capital projects with over 40 public and private partners. For more information, visit www.sedacograil.org.

Action Plan Promotes Shamokin Rebirth

Posted on July 7, 2020 by DNS Admin

Shamokin now has an action plan to help achieve the community’s vision of substantial rebirth.

Through a series of meetings and partnerships, and an effort that began nearly two years ago, the Shamokin Community Rebuilding Action Plan was drafted by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). An interfaith and multi-stakeholder collaborative partnership formed to create the Faith Alliance for Revitalization (FAR), which helped the city and community establish a set of goals and implementation of activities in the plan. In addition to identifying goals, the plan also has a comprehensive list of resource providers.

As part of SEDA-Council of Governments’ (SEDA-COG) ongoing revitalization efforts in the Shamokin Area, SEDA-COG Revitalization Coordinator Betsy Kramer also gave input and helped coordinate efforts between this action plan and another Shamokin revitalization plan SEDA-COG is spearheading, due to be released this summer. SEDA-COG also was identified as a resource provider.

Shamokin Mayor John Brown said the effort to transform the city accelerated in a short time.

“I started as mayor 2.5 years ago with a city in distress. I am amazed at how within months, it went from nothing to overwhelming. State Rep. Kurt Masser stepped forward and helped to bring funding to SEDA-COG to coordinate the effort to revitalize the city. Thanks to that effort, strategic plans are being developed so all the players have a common path to a successful city,” Brown said.

Friar Mike Lasky and Father Martin Kobos helped to form FAR and coordinated the faith community’s efforts with the support and participation of the local Ministerium members. Friar Rich Rome is the director of FAR.

“It has been inspiring to see the citizens, faith communities, businesses, and government agencies come together in support of this revitalization plan. Even though COVID-19 interrupted implementation, the working groups continued to meet and now, as restrictions are lifting, the pace to implement the action plan is increasing. The enthusiasm for the revitalization effort, especially at EPA and SEDA-COG, never flagged. It is a wonderful partnership that continues to strive for a better tomorrow for Shamokin,” Rome said.

“We Franciscan Friars are inspired by all who have come together to begin a new dialogue, shaping the future by overcoming indifference and seeking concrete solutions to the difficulties that confront us today. FAR is not a place but a network of relationships that help us to inspire one another, while coordinating our working toward the common good,” Lasky said.

“The Franciscans who minister in Shamokin/Coal Township and Trevorton are so pleased to see efforts of FAR bearing such positive results in our local communities. Seeing the cooperation between the area’s Ministerium, civic, business and government agencies is most gratifying. The friars look forward to sustaining that positive momentum into the future in partnership with our local brothers and sisters,” Kobos said, pastor of Mother Cabrini Parish, Shamokin.

As a partner in the effort, SEDA-COG helps fill the gaps where coordination was needed, Kramer said.

“Shamokin is ripe for revitalization and there are tremendous efforts coming from multiple fronts; we are pleased that our coordination helped to bring this to a congruous result with the plans,” Kramer said.

The plan was built on discussions at the Shamokin Community Rebuilding Workshop on Feb. 11-13, where 165 people participated.

The plan’s goals are as follows:

· Attract and support the development of new businesses, and support job creation activities/programs and current businesses;
· Bring citizens together to work toward a common goal of increasing pride and ownership in our community;
· Foster and nurture productive partnerships;
· Redevelop/demolish/rehabilitate/cleanup blighted commercial and residential properties throughout the city;
· Enhance positive relationship building, inclusive communities, fostering human dignity and respect;
· Make Shamokin healthy, green, and clean now and tomorrow. The plan can be found at: https://www.franciscancenterpa.org/.

All residents are invited to attend the monthly meetings of FAR. To become involved with the volunteer efforts in the Shamokin Area, please contact: Friar Rich of FAR at rmrome07@gmail.com, Kathy Vetovich of SABER at kvetovich@gmail.com, or Betsy Kramer of SEDA-COG at bkramer@seda-cog.org.

As a community and economic development agency, SEDA-COG enhances the quality of life and economic advantage for residents and businesses in 11 central Pennsylvania counties through its vital partnerships and initiatives. SEDA-COG also is an advocate for the interests of its communities at the state and federal levels. For more information, visit www.seda-cog.org.