SANDUSKY, Ohio — Businesses in the Sandusky area that are planning an equipment purchase or an expansion can seek JobsOhio grants of up to $50,000, according to a new funding notice from the Greater Sandusky Partnership that Firelands Current reported on Oct. 28. The partnership issued the announcement on Oct. 26, pointing local companies toward the state program as a way to help move investment projects forward.
The notice is not just a general invitation. Firelands Current reported that the partnership cited two recent local recipients as examples of how the money is being used in Erie County: Wallace Stud Welding in Berlin Heights and Firelands Food Systems, which is based in Sandusky.
Wallace Stud Welding received $25,000 toward a second welding unit, according to the partnership information reported by Firelands Current. Firelands Food Systems received the full $50,000 toward an expansion into an adjacent building, a project the partnership describes as expected to result in 10 new jobs. That jobs figure is a projection for the project, not a count of positions already filled.
Eligibility is narrower than a typical small-business grant. JobsOhio’s program page, cited in the Firelands Current report, says applicants need at least one year of operations and annual revenue between $100,000 and $25 million. The business must also operate in a target industry, with revenue coming primarily from sales to other businesses rather than directly to consumers.
Applicants must also be planning an eligible investment and be able to show why the grant is needed to move that project forward, according to JobsOhio’s program information. Typical eligible expenses include facility acquisition or improvements, machinery, industry-specific software and training, with additional requirements and project approval applying before any award is made.
For Erie County companies weighing a purchase or a move, the two local examples show the range of projects the program has already backed close to home — a single piece of production equipment at the lower end of the award scale, and a building expansion tied to added jobs at the top end. Grants of this size rarely fund an entire project, but they can close a financing gap on equipment or space that a growing company needs to take on more work.
Businesses interested in the program can contact Braden Michel, the Greater Sandusky Partnership’s project development manager, at [email protected] to discuss eligibility and next steps, according to the partnership information reported by Firelands Current.
Photo: Andre Carrotflower, CC BY-SA