USDA Business
& Industry Loans
$2 Million - $25 Million
Loan Amounts
Populations of
50,000 or Fewer
Its products surround our living rooms, raise our roofs, and line our barns. The boards it produces become children’s toys, designers’ prototypes, and executives’ desks. For a simple-sounding industry, the reach of the timber industry is far and wide.
Thanks to their expansive sites, timber and lumber projects almost always occupy rural territory. That seemingly small factor has a notable benefit: it can unlock competitively priced funding through the USDA’s Business & Industry Loan Program.
After 20 years of experience in the lumber business, the time had come for Jim Langdale to step out on his own.
Jim’s three-year journey began in the familiar timberlands of South Georgia and ultimately led to a rural community in Southeastern Oklahoma. It was in this community that Jim found a profitable sawmill to acquire.
Tragically, soon after Jim arrived on the scene, a structural fire shut down the mill. With dozens of jobs lost, the livelihood of this local community was threatened – not to mention Jim’s dream of building his own lumber company.
“I was nervous, but I wasn’t about to let this be the end of the road. Saying that I felt like I had been blind-sided would be a serious understatement. It had taken years of hard work to get to this point and now I was looking at a potential disaster… not just for my family and me, but for the people who had relied on the mill for so long.”
Jim’s determination led him to research funding opportunities to restart the mill. And that’s when Jim came across the loan program sponsored by the USDA.
“…I was introduced to the USDA B&I Program by Mr. Johnson (former president of North Avenue Capital). While most traditional lending sources would never allow a defunct, fire-damaged sawmill to serve as collateral for a loan, we were able to structure a deal that provided for the purchase of the business, the repurposing of the facility, and, ultimately, the renewal of the community.”
Not only was the loan approved, but more than 45 jobs also were created or reinstated, helping to restore a sense of financial security to the neighboring community.
The USDA business loan put people back to work and helped to revitalize the town. Access to capital and Jim’s hard work ultimately led to an opportunity for Jim to sell the mill to a larger institutional buyer within 12 months.
As a result, more jobs were created in the community (jobs directly associated with the sawmill, as well as indirect community jobs), leading to even greater economic development in Antlers, Oklahoma.
Watch the full story below.
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ABOUT NAC
The NAC team is comprised of savvy investors, experienced bankers, and creative marketers. Each brings a unique perspective to the table, empowering NAC to view each loan from multiple angles. We operate as a united front, working in tandem to offer our customers true partnership from engagement to close. For a true partner in securing funding for a timber and lumber project, Look North.
Our customers are often surprised to hear that we only lend to rural businesses — and even more surprised to discover they’ve actually been operating one. 97% of the geographic U.S. is considered rural. Find out if your address qualifies.
