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Kenosha County hears loan fund updates as Falcon USA, Centresis and Smurfit projects advance
Summary
An economic development report to the Kenosha County Finance Committee said no loans are currently in default and several loan-funded expansion projects are pending disbursement, including loans to Falcon USA, Centresis and Smurfit West Rock; a 2022 award to Spartan Fasteners is in repayment after missed job targets.
Kenosha County Finance Committee members were briefed on second-quarter revolving loan fund activity and pending disbursements, including loans supporting local manufacturing expansions in Pleasant Prairie and the county business park.
The committee heard that no low-interest loans were in arrears and that two pending loans make up about $1.4 million shown in the report. Brock Portillo, with Kava, said one of those loans will support Falcon USA’s recent expansion in Pleasant Prairie, adding about 15,000 square feet to a manufacturing facility and an estimated 60 jobs that will raise the company’s local headcount to roughly 120. The other loan is for Centresis, which recently built about 50,000 square feet in the county business park and expects to add about 20 jobs, bringing its county headcount to about 180.
Portillo told the committee the Belkin USA funding should be released within days and that Centresis funding should follow shortly. He also reviewed activity in other county-managed funds: the EDA CARES RLF showed the same split between Belkin USA and Centresis; the county revolving loan fund included two active loans, for the Mills Hotel and Better World Realty; and a Mills Hotel payoff was received in August 2025 (the reports distributed to the committee ran through June).
Portillo said the county’s high-impact fund recorded repayments and a new disbursement in the quarter. Spartan Fasteners (formerly Stavio) is repaying a roughly $200,000 award made in 2022 after falling short of the job-creation goal; repayments are being made in quarterly installments. The committee was also told a new loan disbursement of $800,000 supported the Smurfit West Rock project in Pleasant Prairie. Portillo said county staff requested and received $250,000 (part of a larger $500,000 request) in August 2025 to meet pending project needs.
Committee members did not take formal action on these reports during the meeting; the presentation was informational and staff invited questions.
The county committee packet contains the loan schedules and a listing of active and pending loans; Portillo said he would answer further questions as needed.
