Nine Utah firms receive Rural Fast Track grants

Nine rural companies will be adding jobs after being endorsed for Rural Fast Track grants.

The Governor’s Office of Economic Development (GOED) board endorsed the grants at its June meeting. Recipient companies are:

• MCM Engineering, Enoch, endorsed for a $50,000 grant to help buy a sheet metal fabrication machine. The $630,000 project is expected to result in three new full-time jobs.

• Callahan Construction, Price, a $50,000 grant to help the company buy a building and enable the company to expand. The $135,000 project is expected to create two full-time positions.

• Dar JJ White Blacksmith Welding, Garland, a $50,000 grant to help the company buy paint/powdercoating equipment. The $112,300 project is expected to result in two new full-time positions.

{mprestriction ids="1,3"}• United Soil Service, Delta, a $50,000 grant to help buy a sprayer and/or a dry fertilizer spreader. The nearly $1.2 million project is expected to result in one new full-time position.

• Cache Valley Counter Tops, Richmond, a $50,000 grant to help buy an additional CNC stone fabrication machine. The $300,000 project is expected to create one full-time position.

• Slide Ridge Honey, Hyrum, a $48,267 grant to help buy equipment to enable the company to expand its business. The $400,000 project is expected to create one full-time position.

• Four Mile Hunting Club, Nephi, a $50,000 grant to help the company build a brooder barn and flight pens to produce, raise and house increased bird inventory. The $160,836 project is expected to result in one new full-time position.

• Evan Stilson, a dentist in Price, a $50,000 grant to help purchase equipment to design and mill crowns and bridges. The $152,284 project is expected to result in one new full-time position.

• First Call Propane, Roosevelt, a $50,000 grant to help the company build an office/shop. The $200,000 project is expected to result in one new full-time position.

The Rural Fast Track program is a post-performance grant available to small companies in rural Utah. It is designed to provide an efficient way for existing small companies to receive incentives for creating high-paying jobs in the rural areas of the state and to further promote business and economic development. Recipient businesses must have been in business at least two years and have at least two full-time employees. The top grant amount is $50,000.

Linda Gilmore, GOED’s associate managing director for urban and rural businesses services and director of the Office of Rural Development, said the program had 42 recipients during the most recent fiscal year, each with an average of two new full-positions.{/mprestriction}