One of the very important jobs of the Fayette County Economic Development Group is to conduct BRE visits. BRE stands for Business Retention and Expansion.
These visits are intended to check in with local existing businesses, big and small, to see how things are going with them. One of the questions we ask is whether there are ways the EDG can help them grow. There are resources that can be offered on the state level, and even local initiatives that can be of help.
We have over the last few months begun conducting regular BRE visits. I have a goal for 2026 to conduct 50 local visits.
Early this year when the Indiana Economic Development Corporation was in Connersville, Kovenant Liby, Senior Project Manager Business Development at the IEDC, suggested applying for possible grant to leaders at Advantage Wire and Machine. It might help them be able to purchase a job-creating piece of equipment that they had been looking to add to their business but had been unable to afford. They applied for the grant and got it.
At that point, Fayette County Economic Development Group was able to offer a loan from our revolving loan funds at a lower interest rate than the bank could offer to help with the balance. Union Savings and Loan helped by facilitating the paperwork and approvals at no charge. Advantage Wire was able to purchase the new machine. They expect it will allow them to grow their business and increase the number of workers there.
This is just one kind of the resources we hope to offer to other local companies. We learn about the needs during our BRE visits.
We can help facilitate training of employees through Ivy Tech Community College and Eastern Indiana Works.
We can help connect to resources on the state level that can lead to incentives when adding employees in the workforce.
Sometimes we can connect producers to new markets through the IEDC database.
Going forward, I am happy to speak with any small or growing business that might need a loan for equipment tied to job creation. There are guidelines to be met including credit worthiness and job creation.
If you’re interested, contact me through email to bcolter@edgconnersville or by phone, 765-827-1366.