Ex-Im Approves $35 million Loan Guarantee to Finance Export of U.S. Products and Expertise to Iraq
November 8, 2012
(Ex-Im Bank)
Washington, D.C. – The board of the Export-Import Bank of the United States
(Ex-Im Bank) voted to guarantee a JPMorgan Chase loan totaling $35 million to
Devco International LLC (Devco) of Tulsa, Okla., for the design and construction
of a sulfur purification plant in Mosul, Iraq.
Ex-Im Bank’s financing will support approximately 380 U.S. jobs, according to
bank estimates derived from Departments of Commerce and Labor data and
methodology.
“This significant transaction not only supports American small-business jobs
here at home, but it also supports the sulfur and agricultural industries in
Iraq,” said Ex-Im Bank Chairman and President Fred P. Hochberg. “By providing a
working –capital guarantee, Ex-Im Bank is demonstrating that we are always
looking to support U.S. exporters and grow our economy by creating quality jobs
here at home.”
Devco utilizes as part of its design a modular concept that maximizes labor
concentration in a fabrication-shop environment. The company will design,
procure, fabricate, and pre-assemble the plant in the United States and then
ship the plant in modular form to Iraq. Upon arrival, Al Hawarth, an Iraqi-owned
company, will re-assemble the facility outside the riverside city of Mosul.
The plant will process sulfur from underground deposits utilizing a priority
process, Submerged Combustion Distillation, developed by CTI Consulting of New
Orleans, La. The Al-Mishraq Sulphur State Company, which will own and operate
the facility, plans to retail the purified sulfur output in Iraq for domestic
use. Sulfur is a key ingredient in fertilizer and therefore is in demand within
the agricultural sector.
"We are proud to support Devco International LLC in this important transaction
which will create hundreds of American jobs,” said Lillian Labbat, managing
director, J.P. Morgan. “We see exports as a key driver of economic expansion.
Our export finance capabilities and global footprint are what enable us to help
small businesses to compete and to succeed.”
Founded in 1978, Devco is a chemical-engineering firm that designs
sulfur-handling equipment. The small-business company developed a wet-processing
technology known as the Devco II Wet Pelletizing Technology, which converts
molten sulfur into solid sulfur pellets in a process that is both economical and
environmentally friendly.
“We are very pleased with the support being provided to us by Ex-Im Bank on this
critical project. A project such as this would have been difficult to obtain
without their dedicated assistance,” said Doug Houston, the owner and chief
executive officer of Devco. “Projects of this magnitude allow us to extend and
expand our technical staff, while supplying significant job opportunities for
our fabrication partners in several locations throughout the United States. This
project heightens the company’s opportunity to provide additional United States
based technology and equipment solutions for Iraq.”
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