Contact: Sharon Goble (517) 241-8280

Detroit Auto Body Firm Earns Pollution Prevention Loan

Auto Body #1 of Detroit is the state’s first auto body repair business to be approved under the Department of Environmental Quality’s new Small Business Pollution Prevention Loan Program.

The $100,000 loan enables Auto Body #1 to buy a solvent distillation unit that reduces paint thinner waste by over 400 gallons a year. In addition, the company will implement several energy-saving building improvements including roof insulation, lighting upgrades, and installation of a high-efficiency heat and air conditioning unit that will reduce energy usage by 50 percent.

The program is part of the Clean Michigan Initiative, a $675 million environmental bond proposed by Gov. John Engler and overwhelmingly approved by voters in 1998. It provides low-interest loans to small businesses with fewer than 100 employees to encourage the implementation of projects that eliminate or reduce waste through source reduction or recycling, including energy and water conservation projects.

"Pollution prevention is an integral part of the state’s environmental initiative," DEQ Director Russell Harding said. "This program is generating a lot of interest, and benefits participants as well as our environment."

Tony DeTorre, owner of Auto Body #1, said: "We want to run a business that is both economically and environmentally sound. Thanks to the assistance provided by this program, we can work to achieve that goal."

Under the program, the DEQ funds half of the loan in partnership with the company’s local bank, which funds the other half, ensuring that the company’s interest rate does not exceed 5 percent. In this instance, Michigan National Bank of Detroit is participating in the loan.

Loans of up to $100,000 are available to all private business sectors, including manufacturing, farming, retail and service.

For more information or to request an application, contact the DEQ’s Environmental Assistance Center at 1-800-662-9278.