One unintended consequence of the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP), which gave businesses loans on the basis the funds are used to pay employees during the pandemic, is that manufacturers are left with little or no work to do now a year later.
Dakota Micro in North Dakota makes camera equipment for rugged terrain. It took out a PPP loan last year after sales fell by 30 percent. That meant their employees could continue working, mostly doing a lot of prepwork for the manufacturing process, but a year later business is picking up and there’s nothing left to do.
One reason is because their employees have caught up with getting things ready for the manufacturing process and the also company isn’t receiving any inventory now.
We talked to the company’s CEO Charissa Rubey.
