Case Study: Dry Ice Columbus – Aggressive and Sustainable Growth
As a young company experiencing exponential growth, Dry Ice Columbus has benefited from First Financial Bank’s sound financial advice that supports their aggressive growth goals in a sustainable way.
The Problem
Jason Thomas had grown up in the bagged ice business. Specifically, with Capital City Ice under the tutelage of Donald Dick—even returning to Columbus from Chicago to work for Donald again. When Donald passed away in early 2020 and the Dick family prepared to sell the business, Jason was offered dry ice equipment at an unbeatable price. He reached out to two lifelong friends with the idea of starting a business, and Dry Ice Columbus was born.
Of course, entrepreneurship is more complicated than that, which is where First Financial Bank came in. After a few months of conversations and networking, the three owners of Dry Ice Columbus (DCI) were ultimately matched with Josh Hamby as their Relationship Manager. It’s been a powerhouse partnership ever since.
“We value our relationship with Josh,” says Jason. “Sometimes dealing with the SBA is a double-edged sword, and he’s been great. He tells it how it is when he needs to but is also really positive about our growth.”
Working with First Financial Bank
They started out with only a business checking account, but soon after they needed to lease a space and purchase materials. They initiated an SBA start-up business loan, which included a loan and a line of credit.
“I was really scared of getting our first loan because it was a lot of money,” recalls Jason. “I remember the payment, $1700 a month. Then we started growing with our cash, to the point that we were able to buy a second CO2 tank with cash.”
Growth accelerated quickly, even through the 2020 pandemic. Grocery stores never shut down, and they always need dry ice on hand in case of power outages. DCI grew and the year closed out strong. Then Pfizer announced that its long-awaited Covid-19 vaccine needed to be kept on dry ice. Business exploded. They were selling semi-loads of dry ice as far as Maryland and Texas.
The increase in demand required more sophisticated equipment. Throughout it all, communication and strategic planning occurred seamlessly between Dry Ice Columbus and First Financial Bank.
“Josh was checking in, asking us how we saw our growth in the next couple years.” explains Jason. “He encouraged us to think about the next step, if there was something else we wanted to do to grow.”
Sustaining Growth
When the industry began to shift towards blocks of dry ice instead of pellets, the team identified a promising piece of equipment—a very expensive piece of equipment. This big investment would require a big loan and a big down payment. Jason remembers this turning point in the company, saying, “Josh looked at our balance sheet and P&L and said it was a no-brainer. They put the picture together about what money we have coming in, and that we can trust that they would not loan it to us if we could not pay it.”
The relationship and their process has provided a recipe for success. Each year the company has expanded and grown and nearly doubled their revenue. They have five machines now, and operations fill the entirety of their leased space. They were recently approved for a large loan to invest in yet another new piece of equipment, to drastically increase production while providing the potential of $300K worth of annual savings in CO2 expenses. While it was a big step for the company, it was one that Jason made confidently, knowing that he is supported by First Financial Bank every step of the way.
