Southeast Florida

ECONOMIC LIFE

Aviation/Aerospace/Defense

• South Florida aviation parts manufacturer HEICO Corporation continues to grow by acquisition. In January 2015, HEICO acquired majority ownership of Netherlands-based aircraft interior parts manufacturer Aeroworks International Holdings; two weeks later, HEICO assumed ownership of Phoenix-based maintenance, repair and overhaul firm Harter Aerospace. HEICO has headquarters in Miami and Hollywood.
• Military aircraft repair and overhaul firm Kellstrom Defense Aerospace is expanding its south Florida operations to Miramar and adding 20 jobs. Kellstrom’s customers include Lockheed Martin and Northrop Grumman.
• Melbourne-based Harris Corporation has opened a new 19,000-sq.-ft. facility in Sunrise with 41 software development engineers to support the firm’s tactical radio business and serve as its Caribbean and Latin American sales hub for secure radio communications products and services.
• Following its acquisition of California-based Luchner Tool Engineering, Aerospace Precision, an aircraft company which already has operations and 40 employees in Florida, will move its headquarters to Hollywood from San Diego and create 25 jobs.
• Commercial aerospace giant GA Telesis announced plans in June 2015 to relocate one of its USA-based distribution centers to Miami, adding 55 new jobs. One of the firm’s aerostructure business units, GA Telesis Composite Repair Group, recently moved from Arizona to Fort Lauderdale.
• Palm City manufacturer of private and business jet seating products PAC Seating Systems has been selected by GDC Technics in San Antonio to provide the seating products for two Boeing 787 VIP planes and one narrow Boeing Business Jet. PAC was named a 2014 “Manufacturer of the Year” by the South Florida Manufacturers Association.

Corporate/Regional Headquarters

• Logisics firm Exquisite Import/Export Trading Company, which also operates under the names ETC Logistics USA and Talford-Guyana Agro Industries, is moving its headquarters from South Carolina to Miami and building 350,000 squre feet of facilities for palm oil processing and bulk storage; 75 jobs expected.
• Charter Schools USA, the nation’s leading charter school management company, is expanding/relocating its national corporate headquarters in Fort Lauderdale; 73 jobs expected.
• USPA Properties, licensing division and wholly-owned subsidiary of the U.S. Polo Association, is relocating from Lexington, Ky., to West Palm Beach; 30 jobs anticipated.
• Sunnyvale, Calif.-based network security firm Fortinet, which opened a 30-person Latin American and Caribbean headquarters in Sunrise in 2014, anticipates a total of 200 jobs within five years.
• Conergy, one of the world’s largest solar energy companies,is relocating its U.S. headquarters from Denver to North Miami; 50 employees, a combination of new hires and relocating personnel, expected.

Life Sciences

• Lupin, the U.S.-owned subsidiary of a Mumbai-based pharmaceutical company, plans to create 45 jobs at its new lab in Coral Springs. The firm develops drugs for treating chronic lung diseases.
• Medytox Solutions, a holding company that owns and operates businesses in the medical services sector, plans to expand its corporate headquarters in West Palm Beach and create up to 90 jobs.
• Vicinitas Cancer Care, a nationwide network of physicians and oncology care providers serving cancer patients at the community level, is locating its headquarters in Boca Raton with the expectation of 200 jobs. Vicinitas is an affiliate of Cancer Treatment Centers of America, which relocated its headquarters to Boca Raton from Illinois in 2014.

Trade and Distribution

• PortMiami, one of the nation’s top 20 ports according to Global Trade magazine and the world’s busiest for cruises, now offers post-Panamax gantry cranes that can service cargo vessels up to 22 containers wide, on-dock intermodal rail service and a tunnel providing direct access to I-95.
• Port of Palm Beach provides direct access to Florida East Coast Railway, CSX and Norfolk Southern rail lines via on-dock rail and five miles of port-owned track.
• Miami International Airport is Florida’s busiest cargo airport and was 12th busiest in the world in 2014, according to the Airports Council International.
• Miami-based Carnival Corporation has received approval from the U.S. Department of Commerce to operate cruises to Cuba. Carnival plans to add a Cuba itinerary to its newly established “social impact brand” Fathom beginning in May 2016.
• Coral Gables-based All Aboard Florida has named GE Transportation Systems to design and manufacture the signaling equipment that will be used along the express passenger train’s 235-mile route from downtown Miami to Orlando. All Aboard Florida plans to begin service in two phases: from Miami to West Palm Beach in late 2016, and from West Palm Beach to Orlando in 2017.
• SeaLand will create 65 jobs as it establishes a corporate headquarters in Miramar for its intra-Americas containerized shipping operations.
• Chiquita Brands International is moving the headquarters of its banana division from North Carolina to Dania Beach, bringing up to 90 jobs.

Manufacturing

• Syntac Coated Products, manufacturer of pressure-sensitive adhesive products for the healthcare, automotive, graphic arts and construction industries, will expand its operations in Deerfield Beach; 20 jobs expected.
• Ocean Master Marine, builder of off-shore center console fishing boats since 1975, has relocated its headquarters and manufacturing facility to a 15,000-sq.-ft. building in Martin County and hired two dozen workers.
• Doral-based Badia Spices has opened a 101,000-sq.-ft. distribution hub near its existing manufacturing operations; 20 jobs were created.
• Allied General Industries, a Brazilian manufacturer of office supplies, is expanding to the U.S. and adding 33 jobs in Pembroke Pines.
• Expert Shutter Services, the largest retail manufacturer of hurricane and security shutters along Florida’s Treasure Coast, will build a new 24,800-sq.-ft. manufacturing facility and hire 10 new full-time employees.
• Chicago-based S&C Electric Company is expanding its Florida operations with construction of a new manufacturing facility in Palm Beach County and the addition of 170 jobs.
• Valley Forge Fabrics, a worldwide manufacturer and distributor of high-end fabrics and textiles and the largest supplier of decorative upholstery fabrics for the hospitality industry, is expanding to Fort Lauderdale with 40 new jobs and 120 retained.

Technology

• UTC Building & Industrial Systems, the world’s largest provider of building technologies, has selected Palm Beach Gardens as the site of its new product showcase; 380 new jobs are expected at The UTC Center for Intelligent Buildings.
• Tokyo-based SATO Holdings has established its subsidiary, SATO Global Solutions (SGS), in Fort Lauderdale, creating 35 jobs. SGS provides technology to tag, track and link objects to IT systems by barcode, radio frequency identification (RFID) and other high-tech solutions.
• Avid Technology, a provider of audio and video technology for the media and entertainment industry, will expand its North American administrative offices in Boca Raton over three years; 100 new jobs anticipated.

Tags: Business Florida