Georgetown, Del., Sept. 9, 2008: Sussex County will lend $150,000 to a local safety sign and lighting manufacturer to consolidate and relocate operations within Sussex County.

Sussex County Council, at its Tuesday, Sept. 9, 2008, meeting, approved a low-interest, economic stimulus loan to Arrow Safety Device Co. Inc., with current operations in Georgetown, Del., and Mt. Holly, N.J. The company manufactures truck lighting equipment, signals and mirrors, and has been in business in Sussex County since the 1950s.

The loan will allow new partners in the operation to buy the business from a former owner, and consolidate operations to a new 20,000-square-foot facility in the Selbyville Industrial Park. The consolidation will keep 23 jobs already in Sussex, plus add as many as 10 more from the New Jersey facility, within the next six months.

“This loan is an all-around win, for this business and for Sussex County,” said County Administrator David B. Baker. “By providing this critical funding, Sussex County is helping an established local business maintain its operations in Sussex, and at the same time preserving jobs for our local economy.”

Funding for the loan is coming through Sussex County’s Economic Development Stimulus Loan program, which was created in 2004 as a way to provide seed money for local municipalities to make capital improvements. The program was later expanded to include private enterprise, focusing on manufacturing, to help stimulate job growth. The loan approved Tuesday is the third under the program.

“We believe this program will increasingly become a powerful economic development tool for Sussex County,” said Finance Director Susan M. Webb. “With limited State funds available for smaller economic development opportunities, we believe our program can be an attractive alternative to those smaller, cottage-type industries looking to grow their businesses in a place such as Sussex County.”

The loan terms are for 10 years at 2 percent, with a provision that the interest would rise to 5 percent if job growth falls short of two new positions each year, Ms. Webb said. Arrow Safety officials expect to relocate their operations to the Selbyville Industrial Park by early 2009.

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