Two years ago Matt Blazer found himself wandering around Salt Lake City trying to find someone to finance his dream business. An option to buy an existing steel manufacturing company was set to expire and he was sure it was not going to happen.
“I had already quit my job and all my options were running out,” said Blazer as he sat in a special meeting of the Pro-Carbon board on March 5. “Then Richard Tatton called me and told me to come and meet with Pro-Carbon.”
Tatton had seen Blazer at a county commission meeting making a presentation. Consequently he conferred with other board members and they decided to contact Blazer about helping him.
The Pro-Carbon board met with him the next evening, looked at him and liked what they saw, loaning him the money to get his business off the ground. He was able to incorporate Intermark Steel, which was recently named by the Utah Governor’s Office of Economic Development as Rural Business of the Year for Carbon County.
On Monday night last week Blazer demonstrated his appreciation—and diligence—by writing a check for $113.000 to finish paying back the loan from Pro-Carbon.
Because of that loan he was also able to obtain funding from the Revolving Loan Fund from the Southeastern Utah Association of Local Governments, which led to a business now employing 15 people in the Price area.
“It’s been a wild ride and what has happened has surpassed everyone’s expectations,” said Blazer. “If you remember you loaned us $170,000, and $120,000 of that went to purchase the assets of Trans America Steel. That left us $50,000 to try and make it run. Our first contract was for $42,000. We were able to deliver that contract and just parlayed into the next, which was $172,000 and then that grew to $600,000. Then we were able to secure a contract with the Salt Lake International Airport and the remodel there for $2.2 million. Today we have $14 million under contract for 2018.”
According to Blazer the company has contracts with the LDS Church for installs at temples around the country and in some foreign nations. He said Sun Devil Stadium in Mesa, Arizona is also doing a project and the shop has a full load of work from there. The company recently also provided manufactured metal products for an Amazon Distribution Center that was being built.
“I am grateful to everyone on this board for meeting with me that first day and believing in me,” said Blazer. “Everybody here in Price made the difference in this success. People are constantly asking me how I did it. I don’t see that it was me. I truly believe the secret sauce in all this was Price.”
Blazer added that this kind of success doesn’t happen every day.
“By my estimation the company has put over $1 million into the local economy since we began operations,” he said.
Pro-Carbon is a private investment corporation created in 1968. Since then it has loaned money on many projects to help the community. They continue to look for solid enterprises to aid.
Intermark Steel repays start-up loan, blazes new trails
Intermark Steel’s Matt Blazer presents a check to Pro-Carbon Board Chair Tom Patterick while Richard Tatton stands by.