Spring was not quite an easy time for World Class Plastics in Russels Point - a company, like so many others, that was hit hard by COVID-19.
"We, unfortunately, had to layoff probably two-thirds of our staff because we didn’t have much business to conduct anymore," said David Wisniewski, vice president of engineering for World Class Plastics.
The company applied for the Paycheck Protection Program or PPP, a loan that helped them to add many of their employees back on payroll after a layoff of around six to eight weeks. They also began production on different personal protective equipment like face shields and masks.
Ohio Senator Rob Portman, who supported the CARES Act and PPP program, stopped by the company to get a look at the equipment in production, as well as speak to company leaders about their experience with the PPP loan. They say that they are currently maintaining payroll for 96 employees.
"They can stay open, they can keep their employees working, and that’s good for everybody - it’s great for the company, it’s also great for these workers, and it’s also great for our economy," said Sen. Portman. "Now, as of this month, they’re finally back to almost their production of last year."
The initial funding for the Paycheck Protection Program ended on August 8th, but Sen. Portman hinted that another round of funding may be on the way soon, this time, focusing on smaller businesses.
"The second round is going to be for companies that have had a big reduction in their revenues compared to last year," said Portman. "What we'll probably end up doing is comparing this quarter to the same quarter in 2019, and if you have a 35 percent or less revenue then you had back then, then you will be able to apply."
As for World Class Plastics, they say that the company needing any more funding probably won't be necessary any time soon.
"We had a very good sales July and good sales August, and we're expecting to see pretty strong months in the next couple of them coming up," said Wisniewski.
