Cherry Hill Manufacturing
People
Cyrus Kirsch saw an emerging market, jumped for it – and got tripped up by banking’s hoops. As president of Cherryhill Manufacturing, Cy had a three-year track record of manufacturing and selling the U-Sand®, a revolutionary floor-sanding device. But when he sought financing for the Kern Electronics Model 200-D laser his business needed to enter the hot market for inlaid floor medallions, banks “wanted us to jump through all sorts of hoops and collateralize everything” using business, personal, and family assets, Cy says.
Progress
Cy turned to The Progress Fund, and got a $126,000 equipment loan. “The Fund came through with a financing option that was flexible and met our need to expand,” he says.
Impact
Working with Cherryhill “represented an opportunity to make a sound loan outside of our traditional travel and tourism mission,” says Progress Fund Director of Lending Diane Wiegman. Cherryhill now has its laser, and is churning out both floor medallions and industrial shims. The company has hired a new operator and plans to bring on more workers as business builds. Along with becoming the first supplier of specialty inlaid flooring in western Pennsylvania, Cherryhill is grabbing a piece of a growing national market, says Cy. “The majority of the sales have been outside the state, so we’re bringing new money into the community.”
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