The Board of Directors of the Export-Import Bank of the United States (EXIM) today approved a direct loan for more than $4.7 million to Aquatech, a small, minority-owned business based in Canonsburg, Pennsylvania. The financing approved today, the first transaction authorized under EXIM’s Make More in America Initiative, will support the purchase of services and laboratory equipment to modernize and expand Aquatech’s existing Applied Development & Testing Laboratories at two locations in Pennsylvania and Wisconsin. The transaction will also support 10 construction jobs and 8 new jobs at Aquatech and allow the company to compete to win significant contracts supplying foreign and domestic lithium extraction projects.
“We are thrilled that Aquatech, a small business with more than 25-years of history with EXIM, is the first company we are able to support under the Make More in America Initiative,” said EXIM President and Chair Reta Jo Lewis. “Supporting companies looking to expand their domestic manufacturing capabilities is not only a critical step to ensure they can grow through exporting, but also strengthens our supply chains and brings good paying jobs back home.”
The Make More in America initiative is a tool designed to unlock financing for American manufacturing, strengthen America’s global competitiveness, close critical supply chain gaps, and support American jobs. The initiative makes EXIM’s existing medium- and long-term loans and loan guarantees available for export-oriented domestic manufacturing projects as part of the Biden-Harris Administration’s whole-of-government efforts to strengthen the resiliency and security of America’s supply chains, following the enactment of Executive Order 14017.
"We are honored that Aquatech’s growth plans will catalyze the Administration’s Make More in America (MMIA) initiative as the first transaction under this vital initiative, and we applaud EXIM for providing critical tools for companies to grow exports, US jobs, and critical supply chains,” said Venkee Sharma, Executive Chairman at Aquatech. “Aquatech is committed to providing innovative technologies to accelerate the energy transition and support climate adaptation. This financing enables Aquatech to better support Critical Minerals (Lithium) and Electric Vehicle supply chains in the US and globally, demonstrating the power of public-private coordination to strengthen American manufacturing competitiveness.”
The transaction also qualifies for EXIM’s China and Transformational Exports Program (CTEP), which provides financing flexibilities for certain transformational exports, including critical minerals used in the energy storage supply chain. EXIM is also a participant in the State Department’s Minerals Security Partnership, which seeks to bolster the security, diversity, and resiliency for supply chains of critical minerals, which are essential in driving the clean energy transition.
During today’s meeting, EXIM’s Board of Directors also approved a more than $46 million loan guarantee to support the export sale of a general aviation aircraft produced by Gulfstream, a company based in Savannah, Georgia, to a company in Turkey. The transaction is estimated to support around 300 jobs.
The Export-Import Bank of the United States (EXIM) is the nation’s official export credit agency with the mission of supporting American jobs by facilitating U.S. exports. To advance American competitiveness and assist U.S. businesses as they compete for global sales, EXIM offers financing including export credit insurance, working capital guarantees, loan guarantees, and direct loans. As an independent federal agency, EXIM contributes to U.S. economic growth by supporting tens of thousands of jobs in exporting businesses and their supply chains across the United States. Since 1992, EXIM has generated more than $9 billion for the U.S. Treasury for repayment of overall U.S. debt. Learn more at www.exim.gov.
EXIM has awarded this to Aquatech in recognition of an export transaction that was authorized as a result of EXIM's flagship initiative, Make More in America, and the impact it has for U.S. exporters looking to expand their domestic manufacturing capabilities.
Aquatech's Executive Chairmen, Venkee Sharma, was re-appointed to serve on the Export-Import Bank of the United States (EXIM) 2023-2024 Advisory Committee.