What is SBDC Day?

SBDC Day is a national, collective proclamation of the impact America’s Small Business Development Centers (SBDCs) have on the success of our nation’s dreamers, innovators, and doers – America’s small businesses.

SBDC Day unites the nearly 1,000 SBDC centers across the country and the hundreds of thousands of clients they serve by sharing, in real time, the success stories and notable impacts SBDCs collectively have on the small business community at large. This special day will be celebrated with social media campaigns, public relations initiatives and other online events.

The seventh annual SBDC Day will take place on Wednesday, March 15, 2023!

To find more information on SBDC Day, visit https://americassbdc.org/sbdcday.

Custom Metal Supply (CMS) LLC, established in 2018, owned 100 percent by Eric & Jennifer Figge. CMS is a supplier and producer of specialized metal fabrication services, including welding and engineering. To expand services, the Figge’s entered into a purchase agreement to acquire Kosch Co. in Nebraska, a family-owned legacy business that has manufactured agricultural equipment since 1947. The plan was to eventually move the company to Manhattan, KS, thereby creating additional operating efficiencies that will increase CMS and Kosch’s profitability as two separate companies.

The Figge’s looked to the Kansas Small Business Development Center (SBDC) to help secure a long-term plan and bank funding. Nadia Arbelo of the Kansas SBDC at Washburn University, and Alan Eichelberger of the Capital Access Center (CAC), helped guide the Figge’s to find a lender that supported SBA’s “Expansion Through Acquisition” with 100 percent of the purchase price plus working capital at a very favorable interest rate and terms.

SBDC and CAC services included assistance with a business plan, financial projections, assumptions for loan committee approval, and comparison of lender commitment/loan proposals. “As we progressed through this process, it became clear we needed guidance with seasonality sales, concentrations of sales, export issues, negotiating agreements, supply chain strategies and employee transition plans,” said Eric Figge. “The SBDC and CAC team always made time to listen and offer advice or gather information. These resources not only allowed us to respond to the lenders with answers, but also set up the acquired company for long-term success.”

Custom Metal Supply's newest shop can be found at 8971 Green Valley Drive, Suite 4, Manhattan, KS 66502. To learn more about Custom Metal Supply, visit their website at https://www.custommetalsupply.com/, or check out their Facebook page.

The Capital Access Center is available to all current Kansas SBDC Clients. Learn more at www.capitalaccesscenter.com.

To learn more about how the Kansas SBDC can help your small business, visit https://www.kansassbdc.net