The PPP was included in the two-party-backed CARES law, which provided economic aid to small businesses, workers and citizens amid the COVID-19 pandemic. US Senator Rob Portman, R-Cincinnati, said P3 funds gave Vinylmax a “bridge” to get to the point where the economy has started to recover.

And because the company hasn’t laid off any employees, Doerger Roberts said it was able to resume production faster than its competitors, some of which have shut down permanently.

Portman said the loans, if used for payroll, could be converted to a grant, so “they were basically able to get a grant to stay in business for a while.”

The senator said he would use Vinylmax as an example of why the program, which ran out of money on August 8, must continue.

“Part of what we’ll do, if we pass another bill, will be continue the P3,” Portman said. “I think it should be even more targeted this time around to make sure the companies that use it really need it in terms of lost revenue this year compared to last year.”

“You have to have something for these small businesses,” said Portman, as many are still going through tough times and have temporarily closed their doors.

“We want to make sure they don’t close their doors permanently,” he said.