PORT ANGELES, WA -- Cash-strapped Peninsula Plywood (PenPly) is in line to receive $212,500 from the state Department of Commerce to help it keep its doors open.

To secure the funds, the company's investors will be required to raise $230,000, according to the Peninsula Daily News. The company reportedly sent a letter to the city stating it would provide those funds.

The $212,500 is part of an overall $500,000 grant that Port Angeles helped the plywood company secure, contingent on raising funds on its own. The company will need to come up with an additional $470,000 in the next two months to qualify for the balance of the grant, the newspaper reported.

Proceeds from the grant are to be used for paying off some of the company's debt and to purchase raw materials to produce plywood, some of which is being exported to Japan. PenPly reportedly owes Port Angeles approximately $400,000 for delinquent utility bills and facility rental.

The plant, which PenPly reported in March 2010, employs about 115 workers, about 50 of which were temporarily furloughed on June 7, the same day the city approved the $500,000 grant.

Posted by Rich Christianson