BY LUTHER TURMELLE
First Niagara Bank has reached an agreement to provide a $2.7 million financing package to Naugatuck company that produces components for the aerospace industry.
The financing deal with Gar Kenyon includes a $1.6 million term loan, an $850,000 line of credit and $250,000 for capital expenditures, bank officials said Tuesday. The term loan will be used to lower the company’s borrowing costs by refinancing other existing loans and equipment leases it has.
The line of credit will be used to refinance Gar Kenyon’s existing credit line, which will allow the company to meet certain short-term working capital needs that it has. Steve Fournier, who founded the company, said he has been pleased with the bank’s handling of the financing deal.
“Every detail was handled efficiently and there were no surprises when we came to the closing table,” Fournier said. “First Niagara has become, not just our lender, but a trusted advisor throughout this process.”
Gar Kenyon has been in the aerospace business for more than 60 years and specializes in making hydraulic and pneumatic components for the industry. Last November, it expanded its business by acquiring General Pneumatics Corp. of New Jersey.
Gar Kenyon was named “Manufacturer of the Year” in 2010 by the Greater Waterbury Chamber of Commerce.
David Ring, New England Regional vice president for First Niagara, called Gar Kenyon “a thriving aerospace and defense supply company” that was “looking for a lender that understood its business goals, and was prepared to provide expert advice on how it could achieve those goals.”
“We were pleased that we were able to fulfill their needs,” Ring said.