Ohio 166 Loans Help Woodlawn Company Go Global

A Woodlawn company has used a little-known loan program to grow from its beginnings as a tenant in the Hamilton County Business Center into a world leader in the development and manufacture of custom thermal products such as heating elements and furnaces used in industrial applications.

Micropyretics Heaters International Inc. was formed in 1991 by J.A. Sekhar and Anu Vissa to put into commercial use discoveries made in the field of micropyretic synthesis. The technology enables a variety of very high-temperature heating elements and devices to be produced at a lower cost using more energy-efficient manufacturing methods.

Operating out of the incubator, MHI took the first step of transforming micropyretic research into commercially viable products. Sekhar and Vissa reinvested their profits to fund MHI’s growth, and in 1997 the company obtained an Ohio 166 loan in conjunction with financing from a local lender to purchase manufacturing equipment.

An underused loan product, the Ohio Regional 166 Program offers a low, fixed interest rate and flexible terms to companies that will create jobs or otherwise have a positive economic impact. The program is funded by the Ohio Department of Development and administered by the Hamilton County Development Co. and several other economic development agencies around the state. The Ohio166 loan lowers the cost of acquiring depreciable assets such as real estate, machinery and equipment and even limited soft costs directly related to the asset purchase. (For more details on Ohio 166 loans, click here.)

In 1998, MHI graduated from the incubator and moved into leased space in Woodlawn. When Sekhar and Vissa had the opportunity to buy a manufacturing facility in that same community, they turned again to the Ohio 166 program. It financed 40% of the purchase with a 15-year loan, and MHI’s bank financed 50%, allowing the company to buy the facility with a down payment of just 10%.

Today MHI is a world leader in the manufacture of high-temperature heating elements and devices. Products produced in Woodlawn are finding their way all over the world, with about 40% of MHI’s sales coming from outside the United States.

The company has received many honors for its work, including making Research & Development Magazine’s R&D100 list four times. MHI also was recognized by the Business Courier as one of the 50 fastest-growing companies in Greater Cincinnati in 2004.