Michael McNutt
ENID - A manufacturer of stainless and galvanized steel hose clamps is moving from the Chicago area to Enid, officials said Tuesday.
To help Punch-Lok Inc. with its move, Enid's city commissioners, meeting as trustees of the city's economic development fund, approved a $54,000 interest-free loan to the firm.
The city funds, raised through a sales tax passed here five years ago to stimulate economic development, will be used to help the firm move its equipment and five employees to Enid, Mayor Norman Grey said.
The money also will be used to partially defray the company's lease expenses in Illinois until the relocation is completed, he said.
Grey said half of the loan will be forgiven if Punch-Lok has moved to Enid by April and the remainder of the loan will be erased if the firm has 18 employees with annual payroll and benefits totaling $437,000 by April 30, 1994.
Punch-Lok, located in Lisle, Ill., has been in business for 56 years. In March, its company assets were bought by Parrish Enterprises Ltd., owned by Jim Parrish of Enid.
Parrish Enterprises also operates three wholly owned subsidiaries in Enid - Central Machine and Tool, P.T. Coupling Co. Inc., and Specialty Plastics, Inc. Punch-Lok is building a 12,000 square-foot building in an industrial area on Enid's north side, near P.T. Coupling's location.
Most of Punch-Lok's products are now sold to P.T. Coupling, so it is economically sound to be located close to that firm, said Mike Pfister, vice president and general manager of Punch-Lok.
"This is a logical place to be," he said.
Punch-Lok's building, estimated to cost $230,000 to build, should be completed in March, Pfister said. Production at the Enid plant should start a short time later, he said.
The firm plans to hire 14 people initially, said Pfister, who is moving to Enid. Except for the five moving from Chicago, the rest will be hired locally, he said.
Punch-Lok's clamps are used commercially and not by consumers. BIOG: NAME:
Archive ID: 522678