Prism Logistics is the leading third-party logistics company in Northern California. The proud family-owned company had a humble start dating back to 1993 when they had a small 48,000 square foot warehouse and three employees in Benicia, CA. Today, they have 1.7 million square feet in seven buildings located throughout Northern California.
“While we have expanded significantly and have a large reach, we are still a small business,” explains co-founder and president, Jere Van Puffelen. “We proudly own three of our buildings and we could not have made any of those purchases if it weren’t for the SBA 504 Program and the 10 percent down payment.”
Van Puffelen made his first commercial real estate purchase in 2010 to escape a rising rental rate. Kurt Chambliss, executive vice president of TMC Financing, administered the SBA 504 loan that allowed Van Puffelen to make the $5.2 million purchase with only a 10 percent down payment and a historically low interest rate, fixed for 25 years.
“Kurt was a tremendous help,” said Van Puffelen. “This was uncharted territory for us so he led the way. He helped us get a competitive rate from the first mortgage lender and made sure we closed quickly to meet the seller’s deadline. He has been a fantastic resource for us.”
Following the first purchase, Chambliss continued on to help Van Puffelen make the switch from leasing to owning on two additional properties. In 2016, Van Puffelen purchased his Stockton property for $4.5 million and this year, he purchased his property in West Sacramento for $4 million. Both acquisitions were completed with 10 percent down payments.
“The SBA 504 Program has allowed Prism to not only expand their reach and offer stability, but it has allowed them to finance the costs of retrofitting the property,” Chambliss explains. “By upgrading the roof to high energy and adding LED lighting to their Sacramento property, they were able to reduce their energy usage by 10 percent. These improvements were rolled into the total project cost and were 90 percent financed. Adding energy efficiencies increases your borrowing capacity with the SBA 504 Program.”
Van Puffelen admitted to TMC that above all else, he felt scared when he made his first building purchase. But looking back, he feels it is the best decision they ever made.
“The building purchase supported our long-term goals and positioned us to grow– and that’s exactly what we did,” concluded Van Puffelen.