NEWS
RELEASE
United States Department
of Agriculture • Rural Development
3001 Coolidge Rd. • 2nd Floor North • Suite 200 • East Lansing, MI 48823
Phone: (517) 324-5204 • Fax: (517) 324-5225 •
alec.lloyd@mi.usda.gov
Contact: Alec Lloyd
(517) 324-5204
Agriculture Deputy Secretary Merrigan Visits Romulus Manufacturing Facility
EAST LANSING, May 20, 2010 – Agriculture Deputy Secretary Kathleen Merrigan today visited a Romulus, Mich., auto supply manufacturer that has saved 48 jobs and plans to purchase new equipment as a result of funds made available through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act.
“USDA Rural Development is helping Michigan’s businesses retool to meet the economic challenges of tomorrow,” Merrigan said. “For businesses such as Aztec Manufacturing Corporation as well as for other companies, communities and individuals throughout the nation, we are using the Recovery Act to help the economy get rolling again.”
Merrigan was in Michigan today to highlight the Obama Administration’s job creation efforts in the state and throughout the country. While here, she also spoke about the President’s goal to improve school meals and about USDA’s ‘Know Your Farmer, Know Your Food’ initiative, which helps rural areas create jobs by encouraging business development involving the transport, marketing and sale of foods near where they are grown.
Aztec received a $3.9 million loan guarantee from USDA Rural Development’s Business and Industry Loan Program. The company produces a variety of auto parts for Ford Motor Co. and other clients, including portions of the Mustang brake assembly and Ford truck suspensions.
USDA, through its Rural Development mission area, administers and manages more than 40 housing, business and community infrastructure and facility programs through a network of 6,100 employees located in Washington, D.C, and 500 state and local offices. These programs are designed to improve the economic stability of rural communities, businesses, residents, farmers and ranchers and improve the quality of life in rural America. Rural Development has an existing portfolio of more than $134 billion in loans and loan guarantees.
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USDA is an equal opportunity provider, employer and lender. To file a complaint of discrimination, write: USDA, Director, Office of Civil Rights, 1400 Independence Ave., S.W., Washington, D.C. 20250-9410 or call (800) 795-3272 (voice), or (202) 720-6382 (TDD).