More than 500 companies in San Benito County have collectively received millions of dollars worth of loans through the Small Business Administration since the Covid-19 pandemic began.
The SBA released a list July 6 of thousands of companies and nonprofits nationwide that received loans through the Payment Protection Program.
Three companies in Hollister received at least $2 million from the PPP: Bay Area Builders Inc., Infinity Staffing Services Inc. and R&R Labor Inc.
Loans from this program are used to keep employees on the payroll as the ongoing pandemic has strained large sectors of the economy.
The PPP—a part of the Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security Act—first drew scrutiny after it quickly burned through its initial $350 billion allocation by helping large public companies secure multi-million dollar loans while many small businesses missed out.
The program is under scrutiny again as the list released July 6 showed that several private equity-backed chains owned by members of Congress and dozens of publicly traded companies and corporations received millions.
The program has distributed roughly $520 billion through about 4.9 million loans, according to the SBA. Roughly $130 billion still sits unclaimed. Small business owners have until Aug. 8 to apply for a PPP loan.
To see the full list of recipients that received a loan of at least $150,000 click here.
The SBA also released lists containing the approved loans of less than $150,000 for each state but did not disclose the names of the recipients. To see those lists click here.
Below are businesses and nonprofits in Aromas, Hollister and San Juan Bautista that received at least $1 million in loans. The SBA asked business owners to provide some background information, including how many jobs the loan would help retain and the ethnicity of the owner. If at least 75 percent of the loan, according to the SBA, is used for payroll, it becomes “forgivable.”
– Bay Area Builders: $2-5 million | Jobs retained: 187
– Infinity Staffing Services, Inc. $2-5 million | Jobs retained: 463
– R&R Labor Inc.: $2-5 million | Jobs retained: 350
– Al Fresco Landscaping Inc.: $1-2 million | Jobs retained: 86
– Benchmark Steel Inc. $1-2 million | Jobs retained: 33
– CDF Parkway LLC $1-2 million | Jobs retained: 185
– Custom Ag-Pak $1-2 million | Jobs retained: 135
– Marich Confectionery Associates $1-2 million | Jobs retained: 155
– Royal Circuit Solutions $1-2 million | Jobs retained: 133
– Sky High Labor Inc. $1-2 million | Jobs retained: 220
– Villa & Sons Enterprises Inc.: $1-2 million | Jobs retained: 117
Editor’s note: The Free Lance is part of a group of 12 weekly newspapers that applied for and received a PPP loan of $1-2 million through Nuz, Inc. in Santa Cruz.
