Small Business Loan in Fort Smith, Arkansas Saves a Family Warehouse
When Matt Merechka married his high school sweetheart, Brandy, he brought her into the family pallet business his father had started before him.
“It’s the only thing I’ve ever known as an adult,” Brandy said. “We got married right out of high school, and this is all that we’ve ever done.”
In 1998, the Merechkas opened their own pallet manufacturing and recycling company, Preferred Pallets, in Fort Smith, Arkansas. Nearly 30 years later, they’re still buying used pallets and refurbishing them for resale. Matt runs day-to-day production and warehouse operations. Brandy handles the business finances and pallet deliveries.
City
Fort Smith
State
County
Sebastian
District
AR-03
Funding
Department
Outcome
An Inherited Building, and an Inherited Debt
When the couple inherited the old Riverside Furniture building in downtown Fort Smith, they saw room to grow. The building offered 67,000 square feet, enough to expand beyond pallets into warehousing. Simmons Bank preapproved them for a construction loan to renovate the space. Then they learned the previous owner had left property taxes unpaid on the building, debt that came with it when they inherited it. The building would go up for auction if that debt wasn’t cleared by the end of July, months ahead of Simmons’ November closing date on the construction loan.
A Bank Referral Opens a Faster Path
Simmons Bank connected them with Communities Unlimited (CU).
“Y’all already had a relationship with Simmons, so it just worked out very well to have those connections through that,” Brandy said. “Y’all were able to help us a little quicker, it was just very convenient.”
Clearing the Debt, Keeping the Building
Working with CU’s Lending Team and Loan Officer Alex Cordero, the Merechkas secured a small business loan, made possible through an investment from the Sachs Family Foundation, that covered the inherited tax debt and kept the building off the auction block.
This kind of financing runs through Communities Unlimited’s lending work with entrepreneurs across Arkansas.
Looking Past the Pallets
Brandy is already looking past the pallets to what the new space makes possible.
“I would like to do less pallets and more warehousing,” Merechka said. “I’m hoping that once the construction’s done, that’s where we’re able to do less pallets and more warehousing. So I’m very excited for the construction to be done so we can hopefully do something a little different.”
Building the Next 30 Years
With that inherited debt cleared and construction underway, Preferred Pallets is positioned to spend the next 30 years building pallets and a warehousing business alongside them.
The Bigger Picture
- A bank referral connected a family business to CU financing
- Small business loan cleared inherited tax debt fast
- Quick financing kept a 67,000-square-foot building off auction
- Loan unlocked a bank construction loan for warehouse expansion
