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New showroom in Centerville for Warm Glow Candles
financed by First Bank Richmond and Indiana Statewide CDC
by Guy Johnson
A 30-foot candle at the I-70 Centerville interchange is a sure sign that you've arrived at Warm Glow Candles.
The big candle sits atop the new showroom for Warm Glow Candles. The building, not to mention the candle, was financed by First Bank Richmond and Indiana Statewide Certified Development Corporation.
The expansion is the latest step for the ten-year old company. Jackie and Alan Carberry started making candles in the basement of their home because Jackie couldn't find high quality candles to sell in her Centerville antique store.
"We worked very hard to create a candle that is very slow burning and smells nice," Jackie says.
By 2000, Warm Glow Candles opened its first store. The new showroom is right next door. At 11,000 square feet, it is four times larger than the original store.
"The new store is so inviting," Jackie says. "It stocks six sizes of candles in 60 scents, including snicker doodle, banana nut bread, fall harvest and lavender dream."
"People are becoming more aware of fragrances," she says. "Scents are the strongest generator of memories. They think of home."
Warm Glow's 20 employees make up to 7,000 candles a day by hand in a nearby 80,000 square-foot production building and ship them all over the world.
Connie Anderson of First Bank Richmond says, "Warm Glow is a wonderful company, with a real commitment to growing in the community and in Wayne County. "Jackie and Alan are great people with great ideas."
Indiana Statewide CDC works with local lenders to provide SBA 504 loans for expanding companies. Congress created the SBA 504 program in 1983 to help small businesses gain favorable financing terms and retain operating cash while expanding.
"The SBA guarantees bonds that are sold to finance a portion of the loan allow us to offer a low, fixed interest rate for as long as 20 years," says Jean Wojtowicz, executive director of the Indiana Statewide CDC.
"The guarantee also allows borrowers to pay as little as ten percent down. The interest rate and down payment stipulations are better than those provided by conventional loans," adds Wojtowicz.
"The financing was perfect for us," says Jackie Carberry. "It really made the difference in the size and quality of the building we were able to open."
Indiana Statewide CDC has helped create or save more than 23,000 jobs with SBA 504 financing.
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