https://www.ohioafp.org/wfmu-article/ohio-ppe-retooling-and-reshoring-grant-program/

On June 4, 2020, Lieutenant Governor Jon Husted announced the formation of an Ohio Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) Retooling and Reshoring Grant Program that will provide awards of up to $500,000 to small and medium-sized manufacturers so they can repurpose existing facilities to make PPE or reshore PPE production to Ohio. These grants will allow small manufacturers and other entities an opportunity to create new business while contributing to the fight against COVID-19.

Grant funds can be used to offset costs incurred to acquire equipment necessary to manufacture PPE, retool, or construct facilities in Ohio to manufacture PPE, (including, but not limited to, building costs, design/engineering costs, facility expansion, complying with FDA requirements) and technological upgrades. Only costs incurred after March 21, 2020, (date of Governor Mike DeWine’s state of emergency declaration in Ohio due to COVID-19) will be eligible for reimbursement.

The grant program will be funded with $20 million, and eligible manufacturers may be awarded grants of up to $500,000 per facility. Up to 20% of available funding may be reserved for manufacturers with fewer than 25 employees and registered nonprofits.

https://www.gov.uk/guidance/apply-for-the-coronavirus-business-interruption-loan-scheme#:~:text=The%20scheme%20helps%20small%20and,entitled%20to%20other%20government%20support.

The scheme helps small and medium-sized businesses to access loans and other kinds of finance up to £5 million.

The government guarantees 80% of the finance to the lender and pays interest and any fees for the first 12 months.

If you’re a larger business, you may be entitled to other government support.

Eligibility - You can apply for a loan if your business:

• is based in the UK

• has an annual turnover of up to £45 million

You need to show that your business:

• would be viable were it not for the pandemic

• has been adversely impacted by the coronavirus

If you want to borrow £30,000 or more, you also need to confirm that your business wasn’t classed as a business in difficulty on 31 December 2019.

How long the loan is for

The maximum length of the facility depends on the type of finance you apply for and will be:

• up to 3 years for overdrafts and invoice finance facilities

• up to 6 years, for loans and asset finance facilities

How to apply

• There are over 50 lenders participating in the scheme including all the main retail banks. You should approach a suitable lender yourself via the lender’s website.

You’ll need to tell the lender:

• the amount you’d like to borrow

• what the money is for

• how long you’d like to pay it back

Like many of you, we are monitoring the Coronavirus (COVID-19) situation closely as it continues to evolve around the world. During these unprecedented times, Gerber remains fully operational and committed to servicing our customers equipment, aftermarket and software needs. We have also created a team of experts to advise customers on how they can best transition their existing capabilities to begin manufacturing PPE in order to meet the dire need for these products currently faced by our healthcare providers. You can sign-up here to learn more about our PPE taskforce.

We have also spent significant time understanding the implications of some of the United States government’s recent actions on our business. We wanted to share the relevant information we have learned with you in the hope that you will find this information beneficial as you also deal with the impact of COVID-19 on your business.

On Wednesday March 27^th, the Senate passed an updated version of the Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security (CARES) Act. The bill builds upon earlier versions of the CARES Act and the Families First Coronavirus Response Act. We have highlighted below key areas likely to be relevant for Gerber customers.

Loans for your business:

• Businesses with fewer than 500 employees that have suffered disruption as a result of COVID-19 will be eligible to receive no-fee small business interruption loans from lenders enrolled in the Small Business Association (SBA) 7(a) loan program (the “7(a) Loan Program”), as well as from other lenders approved by the SBA. Qualifying small businesses will be permitted to borrow up to 2.5 times the borrower’s average monthly payroll cost for the trailing twelve months, subject to a $10 million borrowing cap.

• Loan proceeds may be used only to pay payroll, rent, mortgages, utilities and debt obligations incurred between February 15, 2020 and June 30,2020.

• The SBA will not require personal guarantees by owners or other affiliates of borrowers. Borrowers will be eligible for loan forgiveness equal to the amount spent by the borrower on payroll costs, mortgages, rent and utilities during the eight-week period following loan origination. The amount forgiven will be reduced proportionally by any reduction in employees compared to the prior year and also reduced by the reduction in pay of any employee beyond 25 percent of their prior year compensation.

Relief for your taxes:

• The Employee Retention Credit for Employers Subject to Closure Due to COVID-19 provides eligible employers with a refundable credit against applicable employment taxes for each calendar quarter for 50 percent of qualified wages paid to employees.

o Employers are eligible for this credit if the employer’s operations were fully or partially suspended by a governmental authority due to COVID-19 or if gross receipts are less than 50 percent of gross receipts for the same calendar quarter in the prior year.

o If an eligible employer has 100 or fewer full-time employees, all employee wages are qualified wages. For eligible employers with more than 100 employees, qualified wages are wages paid when an employer’s operations were fully or partially suspended by governmental authority due to COVID-19.

o The amount of qualified wages for any employee for all calendar quarters shall not exceed $10,000, which includes qualified health plan expenses allocable to such wages.

o Employers receiving a covered SBA loan (discussed above) under section 7(a)(36) shall not be eligible for the credit under this provision.

• Permissible delayed payment of employer social security payroll taxes (and 50% of self-employment taxes, which is the equivalent of the employer portion) starting from when the CARES Act is enacted to January 1, 2021. Fifty percent of this deferred amount is paid on December 31, 2021. The remaining 50% is paid on December 31, 2022.

Please keep in mind that these are only a subset of the provisions of the CARES act that we believe may be relevant to many Gerber customers. As always, we appreciate your partnership and support.

Questions? Email our PPE Task Force directly: gerber.taskforce@gerbertechnology.com