Act Soon: Manufacturers with Fewer than 1500 Employees May be Eligible for Free Government Money!

Are you a manufacturer whose employee-headcount meets SBA “small business” size thresholds (see below)?  Have you held off on applying for a Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) Loan?  If the answer to both of these questions is “Yes,” then you are in luck: the PPP loan program still has money to lend, and the application period has been extended to August 8th.

Is My Business a Small Business?

These loans are for small businesses, so knowing whether your company is a small business is important.  Size thresholds are based on your North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) Code.  For most manufacturers, the small business size threshold is based on employee count.  Here are some common aircraft parts manufacturing NAICS Codes (covering both PMA and TSOA) and their size thresholds:

If your employee count is below the SBA size thresholds then you should qualify as a small business.

What If I Don’t Need/Want a Loan?

One of the most attractive features of the PPP Loan program is that borrowers who spend the money on the intended expenses can get some or all of the loan forgiven. This means that the loan becomes a grant and you do not need to repay it.  The intended expenses are:

• payroll
• rent
• mortgage interest and
• utilities

Forgiveness is also tied to retention of staff (headcount) and supporting payroll levels (retaining staff at 75% or more of their pre-Covid wages and hours). Businesses that lose headcount may still be eligible for reduced forgiveness.

You can also find specific eligibility information for PMA manufacturers on the MARPA blog. If you are eligible but still have not yet applied, then please review our past blog articles for more details and instructions.