AST Sportswear Inc.—- an Anaheim, Calif.-based manufacturer and distributor of T-shirts, activewear, private label garments and labor force uniforms — has received a $600,000 loan from Mercantile Capital Corp. (MCC) — an Orlando, Fla.-based provider of U.S. Small Business Administration 504 loans — to fund expansion of its apparel manufacturing operations.
AST Sportswear will use the funds to purchase furniture, fixtures and state-of-the-art equipment for its 115,810-square-foot commercial building, which MCC financed in December 2012. According to the company, the new equipment – which includes a box packaging system, racking system, security system and air system — will help it to increase its production and efficiency.
AST Sportswear's products are 100-percent Made in USA at its vertical mill in Orange Country, Calif., and sold under the Bayside brand name.
