South Central Florida

ECONOMIC LIFE

Distribution

• Lykes Bros. and A. Duda & Sons continue moving ahead with joint plans to develop Americas Gateway Logistics Center, an “inland port” in Moore Haven. In 2013, the companies tapped Panattoni Development to market the center, which combines warehousing, distribution and transportation services.

Agribusiness

• West Palm Beach-based BioNitrogen Holdings Corporation hosted a ribbon-cutting ceremony at the Hendry County site of its first-ever plant for converting biomass into urea fertilizer. The $300-million facility is expected to employ 50 and yield 124,000 tons of fertilizer annually.
• With new phosphate mines planned in Hardee and DeSoto counties, Mosaic Company could add another 500 workers to the 440 currently employed at its South Fort Meade and South Pasture mines in Hardee County.

Manufacturing

• LaBelle-based CPR Tools, manufacturer of products to recover and/or eradicate information from the hard drives of computers, phones and other electronic devices, has landed a contract with OfficeMax to provide data recovery and security services for its customers. CPR plans to grow its staff from 33 to 50.
• Gulf Coast Supply & Manufacturing opened its fourth Florida location at Sebring Regional Airport in January 2014 with plans to develop a fully functional manufacturing plant and create 49 full-time jobs. Gulf Coast is the state’s largest supplier of residential metal roofing.
• PFMan, a high-precision parts maker for the aerospace industry among other high-impact sectors, has opened a 20,000-sq.-ft. manufacturing facility at Hardee County Commerce Park in Wauchula; 50 new jobs are planned.
• Charles Composites, a division of Rolling Meadows, Ill.-based Charles Industries, has opened a $3.85-million facility in Okeechobee for the manufacture of the underground boxes telecom companies and utilities use to house splice points and other wiring; 28 jobs resulted.

NOTABLE ADDITIONS/EXPANSIONS

Manufacturing
Italian light aircraft manufacturer TECNAM opened its U.S. headquarters and a 21,000-sq.-ft. manufacturing facility at Sebring Regional Airport in early 2014 with 10 new jobs and hopes for 100-150 total as it ramps up for production of 10 aircraft models. TECNAM delivered its first aircraft — a P2008 Turbo — from the Sebring site in April 2014.

Agribusiness
Sarasota-based Florikan, a manufacturer of controlled-release polymer-coated fertilizer, has begun constructing a new manufacturing/distribution facility at Hardee County Commerce Park in Wauchula, where it will employ 30 workers by late 2015. The company is continuing to maintain its headquarters and 12-15 employees in Sarasota County, at a new Lakewood Ranch site.