07.17.11

Cantwell Joins Elysian Brewing to Announce 35 New Jobs in New Production Facility

Seattle-based craft brewery opens new Georgetown facility using small business loans that Cantwell fought to make law Elysian Brewing CEO: Small Business Jobs Act ‘was what we had all been waiting for’ to create jobs

SEATTLE, WA – Today, U.S. Senator Maria Cantwell (D-WA) joined Seattle-based Elysian Brewing Company in announcing that the small business is creating 35 new jobs and opening a new production facility with assistance from the Small Business Jobs Act, which Cantwell helped author and champion into law.

Elysian Brewing Co. funded the expansion to their new Georgetown facility with increased access to capital provided by the Small Business Jobs Act (SBJA), which passed in September 2010. Cantwell, a member of the Senate Small Business Committee, was instrumental in passing the bill, and fought to include provisions that increased access to capital for small businesses.

“Because of the Small Business Jobs Act, Elysian Brewing Co. is creating new jobs today,” Cantwell said today at Elysian Brewery Co. “We need to continue fighting to help small businesses access the capital they need to expand and create jobs in our communities. The Small Business Jobs Act is a key step to the turnaround in small business job creation, helping Main Street businesses put America back to work.”

The SBJA enabled thousands more small businesses to get access to loans, by decreasing fees and increasing small business 504 loan guarantee limits from $1.5 million to $5.5 million. Elysian Brewing Co. was able to secure an enhanced 504 loan last November in the amount of $5 million, which it is using to invest in company expansion. Because of this loan, Elysian is expanding its production and distribution network and hiring 35 new employees.

“I founded Elysian 15 years ago with Dick Cantwell and Dave Buhler.  We've spent that time slowly growing, but never having the access to the capital necessary to make a meaningful entry into the national market,” said Joe Bisacca, CEO of Elysian Brewing. “The considerable investment in this production equipment was beyond what we could find in traditional lending.”

“Today’s growth comes because of the Small Business Jobs Act that passed last September, and the key leadership in the passage of that important piece of legislation. The bill’s improvements to Small Business Administration’s 504 program allowed us to create this facility that will be home to 25 new jobs and grow to 35 total new jobs within the next year,” Bisacca continued. “It was what we had all been waiting for.”

Enacted into law on September 27, 2010, the Small Business Jobs Act established a new Small Business Lending Fund, provided immediate tax relief to small businesses, and secured a permanent extension of enhancements to Small Business Administration (SBA) loan guarantee programs.

Cantwell, a member of the Senate Small Business and Finance committees, played a leading role in authoring and championing the Small Business Jobs Act, a measure helping small businesses create and preserve hundreds of thousands of jobs through tax incentives and expanded private-sector lending. Cantwell was instrumental in winning passage of the Small Business Lending Fund to encourage small business growth through increased access to lending capital. The Fund enables community banks to increase lending to small businesses looking to expand. Cantwell fought to create the Fund in response to the seizure of credit markets caused by the Wall Street meltdown that prevented even thriving businesses from accessing capital.

Earlier this month, Treasury announced that the first wave of capital had been released to six community banks nationwide. One of those banks is U&I Financial Corp of Lynnwood, Washington, which has said it will now be able to increase its loans to small businesses by about 10 percent. Additional SBLF funding announcement will be made on a rolling basis in the weeks ahead. For more details on the SBLF, please visit the Treasury department.

To learn more about Senator Cantwell’s efforts to help small business put America back to work, click here.

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