Coastal Enterprises - Apply for A Loan

CEI commercial lenders are located in Wiscasset and Portland. You are welcome to call either office with any questions that you may have during the loan application process.

The CEI Loan Application (can be downloaded from link below)
A complete business plan, which includes all items outlined in the Application Checklist. CEI Business Development Services staff can help you with your business plan. Visit our Business Advice and Training section to find the counselor nearest you.
Tax returns for the most recent three years for your business or the business you are purchasing, including the depreciation schedule.
Personal tax returns for the applicant(s) and guarantor(s) of the most recent three years.
A year-to-date Income Statement and a current Balance Sheet for your business or the business you are purchasing.
A current personal financial statement for the borrower(s) and guarantor(s).

Once CEI receives the complete application package, the review process begins. You will be contacted by the loan officer who is reviewing your loan request, and, in most cases, the lender will want to meet with you prior to the loan decision to get to know you and to understand better your business. The decision process can take approximately 2-4 weeks depending on the complexity of the transaction.

CEI IN THE NEWS!

U.S. Finance Expert Encourages Banking Investment in Maine Communities
At CEI's 32nd Annual Meeting, Ellen Seidman, Exec. VP of ShoreBank in Chicago, and Sr. Research Fellow with the New America Foundation in Washington, DC, urged Maine bankers and community activists to consider “greater community investment…meeting the actual needs of the community, not just counting dollars invested.” See full speech.

See annual meeting remarks by Ron Phillips, CEO, on triple bottom line investing and the next 5 years for CEI…

See the 12/14/09 article on CEI and the state of investing in communities. It’s where mission happens…

CEI Receives $125 Million in NMTC Through its subsidiary, CEI Capital Management LLC, CEI will use the allocation to attract private capital investments for primarily rural economic development projects. See press release here.

CEI Receives Investment Funds
In partnership with Manufacturers Association of Maine, CEI will receive $765,000 over from the Federal Department of Health and Human Services, Office of Community Services (OCS), to finance several job-generating small-to-medium enterprises. This funding will create 78 full-time, year-round jobs. Read press release here.

Bangor Savings Bank and CEI offer low-interest loans to small and medium-sized enterprises in disadvantaged areas in Maine. Read more here.

AM Wood Designs LLC - Finding the Right Help

In Bingham, Maine, population 856, the forest products industry used to be the major source of employment. But over the past two decades, the community has seen jobs go oversees or vanish altogether. When Richard Casey lost his job, he wanted to stay in Bingham, his home for twenty-five years. Working at AM Wood Designs

In 2000, when he began looking for funds to start his own unfinished pine furniture company, CEI was there to help pull together a loan package with local banks and other economic development agencies.Casey converted a vacant mill into a manufacturing plant, purchased equipment and began operating. Later, when AM Wood Designs began to struggle with low margins and inefficient production, CEI's PACT project helped pay for extensive training in lean manufacturing. The training helped Casey realize he'd have to remake the company in order to survive.

The Maine Small Business Development Center at CEI helped Casey plan for change and better his chances of finding an investor. It took three years, some hard choices, and the efforts of many, but AM Wood Designs is turning around. Casey found Anania and Associates which made major investments in operations and marketing. They dropped unprofitable lines, added higher margin products, and are doing more with the same number of employees. Now AM Wood Designs boasts a line of charming cedar gazebos.

"Without PACT and CEI, we wouldn't be here", says Casey. At every turn, CEI was there with the right resources - capital, training grants, and management assistance.