Website: centralgrip.com
Location: Columbus, Ohio
County: Franklin County
Lending Partner: Park National Bank
Loan Program: SBA 504

Built on Experience, Built for the Long Haul

Central Grip & Lighting has been a trusted name in Columbus video production since 2011. Co-founded by Jared Greene and Keith Brad Keplinger, the company was built on something most competitors cannot replicate overnight: 15 years of hands-on grip and lighting experience in the Columbus market, shared between two founders who came up through the industry together.

That experience is the foundation of everything CG&L does. They offer onsite studio filming, offsite location shoots, equipment and gear rental, and production support through a tight network of trusted crew members. Their clients range from commercial advertising and corporate video to industrial and live event productions, serving Columbus, the Midwest, and beyond.

What sets CG&L apart is not just their equipment or their studio. It is the relationships they have built over more than a decade in a market they know inside and out. Jared and Brad understand how Columbus productions work, who the key players are, and what it takes to deliver on time and on budget in any environment.

The Challenge With a Variable Rate

Like many small businesses that finance their facilities and equipment early in their growth, Central Grip & Lighting had an existing SBA 7(a) loan with a variable interest rate on their office and warehouse. The variable rate meant payments could shift over time as rates change, making it harder to plan, budget, and make strategic decisions with confidence.

For a production company managing equipment inventory, crew relationships, and the natural ebbs and flows of project-based work, predictability in fixed costs is not a nice thing to have. It is essential.

How the SBA 504 Made It Work

OSDC partnered with Park National Bank to structure an SBA 504 loan that refinanced Central Grip & Lighting’s existing SBA 7(a) loan on their office warehouse. The SBA 504 is a government-backed loan program that helps Ohio small businesses purchase and refinance commercial real estate and major equipment with a low fixed interest rate and a smaller down payment than a conventional bank loan.

For CG&L, the move from a variable rate 7(a) to a fixed rate 504 means the payment they have now is the payment they keep for the life of the loan. No adjustments. No surprises. And real annual savings that go back into the business.

More Predictability. More Room to Grow.

For Jared and Brad, refinancing into the SBA 504 was not just a financial decision. It was a strategic one. With a fixed rate structure in place, Central Grip & Lighting can plan ahead, invest in equipment, and take on new opportunities without the uncertainty of a rate that could shift at any time.

That kind of stability is what helps a small business stop reacting and start growing.

Central Grip & Lighting has spent more than a decade building one of Columbus’s most respected production support operations. With the right financing in place, the next chapter is on solid ground.

If your Ohio business has an existing variable rate loan and you are looking for more predictability, refinancing into an SBA 504 might be worth a conversation. Contact OSDC at osdc.net or 614-481-3214 today.