Greenville Produce, a family-owned wholesale produce company serving eastern North Carolina that prides itself on sourcing from local farmers first, was dealt a significant blow from flooding and power outages caused by Hurricane Matthew in 2016. The storm caused the company to lose both customers and perishable inventory. They were forced to lay off three employees as a result.
“We are pleased to be able to join with the Rural Center in providing financing to Greenville Produce to restore their lost capacity from Hurricane Matthew,” said Tara Campbell, Initiative Capital’s Senior VP of Lending and Investments. “Though their business losses due to the hurricane were significant, we expect the company’s strong leadership will guarantee a successful recovery.”
The loan from Initiative Capital, together with a $350,000 loan from the Rural Center, will enable Greenville Produce to continue to recover from Matthew and to grow their business. The company plans to use the monies from Initiative Capital to upgrade their delivery fleet, add refrigeration capacity, and purchase a potato bagger.
“Initiative Capital made the whole process very accommodating,” remarked Greenville Produce President Keith Purvis. “As a business owner you’re pulled in so many directions. To have this happen without a lot of extra work was awesome. The interest rate was great. The closing was so easy it was unbelievable. The monies helped with restructuring of our debt schedule and in the process freed up cash flow and enabled better terms with our vendors. Our numbers already reflect it. Sales have been great, and our margins have been good.”
For more information about these loan products please visit our Disaster Relief Loan application page or contact Campbell at (919) 835-6002 or tcampbell@ncinitiative.org .