As published in Toledo Business Journal - April 1, 2019

Froelich Freight uses SBA financing to drive business

Froelich Freight LLC, a licensed freight shipping and trucking company based in Cecil, Ohio in Paulding County, used Small Business Administration (SBA) financing to refinance the business.

According to co-owner Liz Froelich and other co-owner Dan Froelich (Liz’s father-in-law to her late husband Mike), when the company started, they each had several pieces of equipment in their personal names. Dan bought the first truck in 2012, followed by Liz purchasing two of her own. The company, according to Liz, exploded and began growing rapidly at that point, and needed to get the financials in a better place. The company went to State Bank and the SBA for help.

Liz noted that the refinancing was critical to the firm as it helped build the financials for the business by grouping the loans under the company name, and in turn, it saved a significant amount of money

“The SBA loan was used to refinance all of our random loans. We were with Wells Fargo, GE Finance, and others, at several of our limits with different loans. We took those loans and grouped them all into one loan to make it more convenient, get everything under the company name, and to bring everything to one low interest rate,” said Froelich.

When speaking of the support State Bank provided with this process and just in general, Liz noted it has been a great partnership.

“We have one point of contact where we can call and they have everything needed to help make decisions and help inform you. They have your financials, your payment history, and really just make everything run smoothly and efficiently,” said Liz.

Today, Froelich Freight has a total of 16 trucks it operates, 15 employees that work directly with the company, and a range of customers in the Ohio, Michigan, and Indiana area. Liz noted that they even have some customers as far as Pennsylvania, New York, Massachusetts, and Connecticut.

“We’ll haul just about anything, but our biggest customer does utility poles. We do equipment, tractors, anything to do with utilities, and really whatever needs moved,” said Liz.

She noted that the company sets out to be the best.

“We want to be different, and we want to stand out and be the all-around package. We always aim to be on time, are always communicating with customers, provide great customer service, and anything and everything that our customers need. Our biggest asset is our drivers. We have a great group of local guys that go above and beyond. They communicate well with all of the customers and for our customers, that’s key,” said Liz.

When speaking of any advice she has for small businesses looking for financing, she said, “If someone is going to take the risk on you – and in our case that being State Bank – jump at it. It’s significant having one trusted financial institution like State Bank who can help with anything. They take a good hard look at everything – cash flow, financials, profit, loss, etc. – and they will give you recommendations. Whether that’s, ‘Spend a little more,’ or, ‘Don’t buy that,’ or ‘Scale back,’ etc., they offer very good insight to your financial situation. Let’s be honest, if you run a small business, you may not be involved in everything financially and they are there to support you and help in any possible way they can every step of the way. State Bank has been a great partner and we’re happy to work with them and grateful they helped with the refinancing of our business.”