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REIDSVILLE — A new loan and an ordinance change could make it easier for a wet wipes manufacturer to expand its facility on South Technology Drive.  

AFG Wipes,  owned by Israel-based Albaad USA,  has requested an industrial development bond not to exceed

$10 million from the Rocking­ham County Industrial Facilities and Pollution Control Financing Authority.

The authority will consider giving preliminary approval for the bond at a public hearing Friday.

This type of loan enables a lender to receive tax-exempt interest and could lower Albaad’s cost of borrowing, said Graham Pervier,  president of the county’s Partnership for Economic Development.  The loan carries no risk for taxpayers, he said.

“Only fairly solid companies are able to borrow this way because they have to have a letter of credit to secure the loan,” Pervier said.

Company officials declined to provide details on the expansion, but a representative told the Reidsville City Council last week that the company wanted to double the plant’s current space and possibly add up to 100 employees over the next year.

The council approved a text amendment to its zoning ordinance allowing AFG Wipes and any other businesses located in the 300-acre Reidsville Industrial Park  to do off-street loading in front of their buildings as long as they do so at least 50 feet from the main building wall.

AFG Wipes requested the change because it plans to build a warehouse on the south side of its facility. The company leases 50,000 square feet of warehouse space in Eden.

“We’re really looking forward to that (expansion), but we don’t have anything specific on when they’re going to break ground on attempting something new,” Councilwoman Joan Zdanski  said Tuesday.

Charles Milks,  a human resources manager with AFG Wipes, said the company has 200  employees and is applying for a business grant from the state commerce department.

“We have been adding employees since October of last year at a moderate pace,” Milks said. “Any future growth would include additional jobs.”

Another Reidsville company, Commonwealth Brands,  announced recently that it plans to invest $6.7 million in its cigarette manufacturing facility and add 35 jobs.

Contact Morgan Josey Glover at 627-4881, Ext. 119, or morgan.josey@news-record.com