NEW ORLEANS, Sept. 11, 2007 (PRIME NEWSWIRE) -- BizCapital, the small business lending arm of Advantage Capital Partners, recently provided a $6.5 million construction loan to Louisiana Elastomer, LLC, a supplier of reactivated elastomer compounds for the rubber molding industry. The loan will be used to support the construction and equipment needs of a new facility in Vidalia, La.
"We use a unique technology to recycle old tires that does not require the use of landfills," said Michael Wells, president of Louisiana Elastomer. "Our plant process is totally green with no environmental emissions."
Louisiana Elastomer aims to be the pre-eminent supplier of reactivated elastomer compounds by implementing the unique, patented TireCycle(r) technologies. TireCycle is a true synthetic and natural rubber technology producing high-performance products that can be sold to a broad spectrum of manufacturers as raw materials. The company's environmentally friendly technology replaces two of the current standard disposal practices and provides a permanent solution to the hazardous waste problem relating to the disposal of scrap rubber and waste tires.
"TireCycle has already been used successfully in a variety of markets and no other company has come close to the technical and economic ability of the TireCycle process," said Louis T. Dubuque, principal at Advantage. "The innovative technology and strong management team makes us feel confident in our investment."
BizCapital's investment in Louisiana Elastomer was made through the company's small business lending fund using $4.2 million raised in connection with Louisiana's Certified Capital Companies program. The remaining $2.3 million in capital was raised through the federal New Markets Tax Credit program. Both programs stimulate economic growth in areas that historically have been underserved by traditional sources of investment capital.
About BizCapital and Advantage Capital Partners
BizCapital (www.biz-capital.com) is a non-depository financial institution offering competitive loans to small and medium-sized companies. BizCapital's parent firm is Advantage Capital Partners (www.advantagecap.com), a venture capital and private equity firm focused on investing in promising companies located in areas underserved by traditional venture capital. With offices and partners in New Orleans, St. Louis and several other cities, Advantage Capital has raised more than $750 million in institutional venture capital since 1992.