Cooper Steel, a family-run company specializing in steel fabrication and erection, has secured $40.7 million in New Markets Tax Credit (NMTC) financing from four lenders to support its expansion project in Shelbyville. The lenders include The Innovate Fund ($13 million), Pathway Lending ($12 million), Heartland Renaissance Fund ($11.7 million), and Truist Community Development Enterprises ($4 million).
The NMTC funding will be used to assist in an expansion that includes land acquisition, new fabrication offices and clinic, enlargement of the Shelbyville fabrication facility, and equipment purchases, allowing Cooper Steel to increase production to meet growing demand. The project is expected to create 122 new jobs, retain 210 jobs, and have an equivalent impact of creating 43 full-time jobs elsewhere in the economy. Cooper Steel provides great jobs to their employees, including a full benefits package, on-site health clinic for employees and their families, and fully air-conditioned fabrication facilities.
Cooper Steel CEO and Chairman Gary Cooper expressed his gratitude for the NMTC program, stating, “The NMTC program is connecting Cooper’s goal of community impact with the local need for quality jobs and providing entry-level, low-income workers of this community with opportunities to make above average wages now while training for future advancements in their careers.”
The NMTC is a flexible source of financing with better rates and terms than traditional financing for businesses and community organizations in America’s most distressed rural and urban communities.
Without the NMTC many projects in these low-income communities would not be able to move forward.
"The Innovate Fund is proud to provide a $13 million allocation of NMTC to the Cooper Steel project,” said David Barnett, Chairman of The Innovate Fund Board of Managers. “We highly value the creation of quality jobs in low-income communities, and Cooper Steel has done a fantastic job of giving people a good place to work with plenty of opportunities for advancement."
“As a Tennessee-based community lender, Pathway Lending has provided instrumental capital to businesses like Cooper Steel since 1999,” said Pathway Lending EVP, Hank Helton. “Our $12 million NMTC allocation underscores our dedication to supporting economic growth and job creation in distressed communities through strategic investments. We are proud to be part of Cooper Steel's expansion and help drive positive community impact.”
“Heartland Renaissance Fund and Arkansas Capital are proud to be one of the financing partners supporting Cooper Steel’s expansion,” said company CEO Sam Walls. “This project is an important part of growing Shelbyville’s economy and providing accessible, quality jobs for local residents.”
Despite facing challenges due to rising interest rates and inflated construction costs, the NMTC investment has ensured the success of Cooper Steel's expansion project. Once fully operational in May of 2025, the steel company is projected to create/retain 333 permanent, full-time jobs and induce an estimated $18.5 million of additional earnings throughout the region, catalyzing further growth for Shelbyville.
