Almost 200 Fall River businesses received federal PPP loans

FALL RIVER -- At least 187 city businesses – large, small, for-profit and non-profit – received Paycheck Protection Program loans of more than $150,000 from the federal Small Business Administration, according to data released Monday by the SBA and Treasury Department.

Thirty received loans of at least $1 million. And according to the data, 10,441 total jobs were retained with the loans to city businesses.

The data, however, does not specify the exact amount of loans any given company received, rather in ranges of $5 million to $10 million; $2 million to $5 million; $1 million to $2 million; $350,000 to $1 million in loans.

For loans granted below $150,000 the SBA did not release the names and addresses of those businesses.

Nationwide, 4,885,388 loans totaling $521.5 billion were approved under the program. Massachusetts had more than 18,000 loans of at least $150,000.

The Paycheck Protection Program was part of the CARES Act. It allowed small businesses to apply for forgivable loans if certain criteria was met.

The Fall River company receiving the greatest PPP loan amount was Gold Medal Bakery, Inc. It was the only city business in the $5 million to $10 million category.

Gold Medal Bakery is owned by the Lecomte family. Another one of their businesses, Bakery Products Corporation, also received a PPP loan of $1 million to $2 million.

Nine businesses and non-profit organizations received from $2 million to $5 million, including the Catholic Memorial Home; Catholic Schools of the Diocese of Fall River; SSTAR; and Family Service Association of Greater Fall River.

For-profit companies that received loans in the same range were Mikel Inc., an undersea defense and technology provider for the U.S. Navy; Raw Sea Foods Inc.; Rhode Island Novelty; Spectrum Lighting Inc.; and Teufelberger Fiber Rope Corp.

Here is the full list of the local companies given PPP loans of at least $150,000. If you are having trouble reading it in your viewer, click here.