The Dubois County Area Development Corp. announced today that it has offered the first of a new kind of business-incentive loan aimed at bringing new economic investment to the county.
The DCADC board of directors offered a three-year loan of up to $200,000 to NANO-RAD, a West Lafayette-based medical device company affiliated with the Purdue Research Park.
The loan offer is funded with money the DCADC had available in its budget.
“We always kind of thought that we would have a little money in reserve for a unique opportunity,” DCADC President Bob Grewe said. “While it’s new to us, this is something we’ve been looking into as a way to drive economic development.”
The corporation has been toying with the idea of creating a network of organizations, individuals and other entities to fund incentive loans and bring new business to the county.
“We’re going to look to do more of this,” Grewe said. “We’ve been kicking around the idea of creating a network of investment capital in the community to help with investment projects like this.”
NANO-RAD was the first opportunity the corporation had to offer the new loan.
“This project certainly has the potential for a higher return as far as jobs and future investment in the community,” Grewe said.
The company developed a small, radioactive implant for cancer treatment that can be placed directly on a tumor bed using a needle in an outpatient setting. The device provides low-dose radiation and is made of biodegradable material that breaks down inside the body and is cleared from the body naturally.
Rich Mussmann, president and CEO of NANO-RAD, toured the county a couple of weeks ago in his bid to find a new home for his company.
“I found a really strong set of visionary leaders in the community,” he said this morning. “They have a strong industrial base and are focusing on the future, which is important for companies like us.”
Mussmann said he is looking to build a $1 million funding package — by combining state money and county loan offers — to obtain the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s approval for the radiation device. The company will relocate based on the best combination of offers while weighing its best interests regarding a new location.
“When I have $1 million, we can close the deal,” Mussmann said.
If NANO-RAD accepts the loan offer, the DCADC requires the company to commit to placing its corporate headquarters and manufacturing operations in Dubois County.
“There’s considerable opportunities for growth,” Grewe said. “When we learned about it, it kind of fit with our interest in diversification and the community and resources we’ve assembled here.”
Dubois County has a couple of resources that caught Mussmann’s attention.
“I have strong confidence that we’d be able to have a really strong work force,” he said. “The hospital and the new cancer center was really a strong draw, too. Our technology will go beyond the breast cancer and prostate cancer that we’ll start with.”
But a decision won’t be made for several months while Mussmann gathers offers and compares them. He said the company will start working late this year, put the product into trial in 2011 and is planning to start production at the end of 2012.
