Springfield businesses nab $1.6M in low-interest loans

Two Springfield companies, Relics Antiques Mall and Technology Innovations Inc., have received loans worth $1.6 million through the Missouri Linked Deposit Program to support job creation and expansion.

OakStar Bank partnered with State Treasurer Clint Zweifel's office to make the loans, which affect 14 current employees and will create 15 new jobs at the companies, according to a news release.

Through the program, qualifying borrowers generally save 30 percent on the cost of the loan.
 
Relics operates retail outlets in Springfield and Mount Vernon selling antiques and collectibles provided by roughly 300 area dealers, and the company has five full-time employees. Its $1.3 million loan will enable the company to expand and add five full-time and 10 part-time employees in the next two months. The company stands to save roughly $116,000 in the next five years, the release said.

“We were thrilled with the savings the lower interest afforded us,” said Matthew Robb, owner of Relics Antique Mall, in the release.
 
Technology Innovations, a computer sales and service company that designs and deploys network solutions for small and large entities, is using its $335,000 low-interest loan to increase primarily to increase cash flow. The company has nine full-time employees and will save approximately $29,000 in the next five years through the program, the release said.
 
“Anytime we can keep businesses in Missouri and help them grow locally, that is a good thing,” Zweifel said in the release. “We have two local businesses adding jobs, putting capital back into their operations and looking for new opportunities.

"Our economic development efforts have to include supporting businesses already in our borders, and the Missouri Linked Deposit Program does that.”

Since January 2009, southwest Missouri has received more than $126 million in loans through the program, impacting more than 2,000 jobs and farmers. Nearly $985 million in loans have been approved statewide, affecting more than 16,600 jobs and farmers, the release said.