A Washington manufacturer takes flight with its entrepreneurial spirit
Video Transcript
V/O (Jeff Lavelle): My name’s Jeff Lavelle. I’m the owner of JL Manufacturing.
SUPER: Jeff Lavelle, Owner, JL Manufacturing
Jeff Lavelle: We’re a company that builds machine details and sub-assemblies for the aerospace industry. If you fly in a commercial airplane some of our parts may be on there. Some of our parts are probably on fighter jets.
SUPER: David Mullkoff, Director of Quality, JL Manufacturing
David Mullkoff: Jeff started it out with absolutely nothing. And he’s built a fantastic business.
V/O (Jeff Lavelle): I just got into this trade without a formal business background. High school had a metal shop. It was a great place to fix my dirt bike. Couldn’t afford to really go buy parts all the time. And this led to a job in a machine shop. Twenty-five years or so it kind of just flies by; and here you are.
V/O (Devin Blanchard): I think it’s special to see that true entrepreneurial spirit.
SUPER: Devin Blanchard, Client Manager, Bank of America Merrill Lynch
Devin Blanchard: Somebody like Jeff, a skilled machinist, and to see that you can take that to the next level. I think that’s unique.
V/O (Jeff Lavelle): As you get larger, a line of credit is a very important tool. Six months to a year could go by before you actually complete certain jobs, and turn them in and get actually compensated for them. So you really do need a bank that offers the tools that allow the corporation to kind of sustain itself. As we grew, we kind of grew out of the local bank, because it just didn’t offer the services that are required by our customer base. Mainly, things like electronic transfers. Larger companies don’t write checks anymore. It’s all handled electronically.
Devin Blanchard: Bank of America Merryl-Lynch has provided a full suite of resources and banking services to JL Manufacturing. Everything from a checking account, to a working capital line of credit, to help them through a transition. To technology solutions that a small bank just didn’t have the resources to. And ultimately, we helped them finance the building that’s gonna take them to the next level.
V/O (Jeff Lavelle): Devin was very instrumental in buying this building. Basically, we feel like he’s working for us. And, Bank of America Merryl Lynch opened my eyes to see what we could really afford. And that new facility is gonna offer us the opportunity to become much more efficient. And with efficiency comes growth.
V/O (Devin Blanchard): JL Manufacturing is special because they have that entrepreneurial spirit. And we’re here to help support that.
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