Acme United Receives $400,000 Building Reuse Grant

Acme United (ACU – $16.83) received a $400,000 Building Reuse Grant in the form of a promissory note that gradually will be forgiven as the Company hires more people at its Rocky Mount, NC warehouse.

When Acme’s management was in negotiations to purchase the Rocky Mount facility, in the summer of 2013, if found out about the possibility of a grant from Edgecombe County and the North Carolina Department of Commerce based on job creation. The Company applied for the grant, and now received it.

We heard that when a company receives such a grant, it doesn’t have to return $10,000 of the promissory note it received for every full-time job it creates. So for every person that Acme hires at Rocky Mount, it can recognize an income of $10,000, with a maximum of $400,000, which equals 40 full-time employees.

Rocky Mount

Late August 2013, Acme United purchased a 340,000 square feet manufacturing and distribution center in Rocky Mount, North Carolina. The facility was acquired for $2.8 million from the Chapter 7 bankruptcy liquidation of RoomStore, Inc. The sizeable building, with 40 foot ceilings and 27 bay doors, is located on a 33 acres property and provides easy access to railroad, highways and ports.

During the first quarter of 2014, Acme successfully consolidated two existing distribution centers into the Rocky Mount facility. The two former warehouses were only half the size of Rocky Mount, leaving lots of room for growth. The extra inventory space is very welcome because all the Company’s brands are expanding.

Currently Acme employs about 50 people at Rocky Mount, but it plans to add more for manufacturing, distribution, and growth.

Conclusion

Acme took advantage of an excellent measure to stimulate job creation. As more people are hired at the Rocky Mount distribution facility, it will be able to recognize the income.

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