Small Business Advantage Grant Case Studies

Lighting, HVAC, boiler, and digital x-ray upgrades are the most common project types funded by the Small Business Advantage Grant, but a wide variety of projects are eligible for funding.

Acurlite Structural Skylights, Inc. (Acurlite) is a manufacturer of heavy-duty commercial skylights, located in Berwick, PA (Columbia County), and serving the United States and international markets. Acurlite was awarded $5,000 in 2021 towards the purchase of a new waterjet that would allow the company to double the current output through the waterjet. Acurlite’s new waterjet is a critical part of their manufacturing process and, with the new machine in place, Acurlite instantly saw an increase in throughput and efficiency; the project resulted in energy and labor costs saving over $1,400 per year by reducing energy use by 4,668 kWh and eliminating costs for 21,000 gallons of fresh water and 21,000 gallons of wastewater.

“Acurlite appreciates the support on the new waterjet and looks forward to future projects with your team.” – Ron Palombo, Owner

NuWeld Inc. (NuWeld), headquartered in Williamsport, PA (Lycoming County), offers a variety of specialized mechanical services worldwide, including nuclear safety related and non-safety related work, complete natural gas and oil distribution services, and work in other sectors. NuWeld was awarded $4,025 in 2021 towards the purchase of a paint solvent recovery system. The purchase of this system has and will cut down significantly on the cost and amount of paint solvent needing to be purchased, as well as significantly reducing the barrels of solvent that require disposal, saving $6,154 annually and eliminating 247.5 gallons in solvent purchases and 195 gallons in solvent disposal. Solvent purchases and offsite waste transport cost should decrease by approximately 85-90%, with an expected payback period of under one and half years.

“The grant money available for projects like this is huge for small business. It allows for these types of projects/purchases to take place, further reducing the cost and increasing the return on investment, and, more importantly, shrinking our environmental footprint.” – Tim Satterfield, Owner

Yochum Hill Maple Syrup (YHMS), located in Galeton, PA (Potter County) is a small maple syrup producer in northcentral Pennsylvania. YHMS was awarded $5,000 in 2021 towards the purchase of a reverse osmosis (RO) machine to reduce the water content of the sap prior to boiling, increasing efficiency in processing time and reducing wood consumption. The project is expected to save at least $556 annually in energy costs.

“Operating as a one-man operation, it would have been extremely difficult for me to continue my maple syrup operation without this RO system in place.” – Michael Lazorchak – Owner

Pennsylvania-based businesses with 100 or fewer full-time employees are eligible. Eligible applications are considered on a first-come, first-served basis, and must save the small business a minimum of $500 and at least 20% annually in energy consumption or pollution prevention related expenses (Natural Resource Protection projects are exempt).

An overview of the program, eligibility requirements and application instructions are included in the Small Business Advantage Grant Package (see links below).