Lending Financing & an Ease of Doing Business

Since General Digital was founded in 1973, the company has engineered and delivered scores of standard and custom flat panel display products, optical display enhancements, and software testing and development solutions. Over 40 years later, General Digital remains a proud entrepreneurial company with deeply rooted traditions of quality and service. They have become a leader in innovative flat screen LCD display design, integration, and enhancement, while continuing to provide turnkey software solutions and consultative engineering services.

General Digital needs a line of credit available in order to fulfill large orders, many of which are placed by government contractors, prior to being paid. After a few decades of having their line of credit with a different financial institution, General Digital was beginning to feel more like a number than a name. As a small business, the company valued the idea of keeping their business relationships in Connecticut. They were interested in partnering with a community bank that could provide the small town feel, but with the products and capabilities of a bigger bank.

Chelsea Groton met with General Digital to discuss how they could help with their commercial line of credit needs. After learning more about General Digital, the Bank recommended two lines of credit. The first would be a revolving line of credit, for short term working capital and general corporate purposes. The second would be a guidance line of credit, to support specific contract funding needs when the revolving line of credit was fully extended. This structure would replace the existing line of credit they previously held with a different bank. In addition to the line of credit, General Digital was introduced to the cash management tools that Chelsea Groton Bank offers.

"After meeting with General Digital, and understanding all of their needs, we knew we could support them with a properly structured line of credit. We also asked the cash management team to introduce their product offering, since we thought it could be a great fit," explained Bill Checkosky, VP, Commercial Loan Officer at Chelsea Groton Bank.

"We met with General Digital to get a better sense of how they were doing business, and places where we could help them do things more efficiently from a cash management perspective," explained Alex Masse, VP, Cash Management Services Manager at Chelsea Groton Bank. "Based on their needs, we introduced Remote Deposit Capture, our online business banking platform, ACH, and our credit card processing services."

The 4th quarter is the biggest quarter for General Digital in terms of sales, and that happened to be the same time that the transition from the previous bank to Chelsea Groton was occurring. The team at Chelsea Groton ensured there was no interruption to General Digital's line of credit availability during the transition. Since Chelsea Groton was able to respond to their needs in a same-day or next-day timeframe, General Digital was able to complete and deliver all orders as promised during the busiest part of their year.

Representatives from the Bank went to the General Digital office to explain how to use each of the cash management tools. The Bank also prepared letters for the government contractors who purchase from General Digital to inform them that Chelsea Groton was their new bank, in order to ensure that payments would not be delayed.

"I wear many hats at General Digital, so no change is a small change, but Chelsea Groton took on most of the load, and made this change seamless," explained Sandi Gudrian, Executive Assistant, General Digital. "Every time I call, I'm immediately connected to a real person who can help me with my question. It has been so refreshing to have everything go as promised!"

"There is such an ease of doing business with the team at Chelsea Groton," continued Gudrian. "They have worked with me on every need, either through phone calls, emails, or in-person training sessions. They look at challenges proactively, really listening to our needs and coming up with solutions before we are faced with the problem. And they are flexible too! As our needs change, they've been able to change with us. I have no doubt they will continue to do so in the future."

Chelsea Groton Bank is proud to be a lending and cash management partner for General Digital. To learn more about Chelsea Groton's business banking capabilities, click here.

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