Florida is one of the fastest growing states in the nation and one of the strongest economies in the developed world. With 19 major commercial airports, 14 deepwater ports and plenty of roads and rails, Florida is the true gateway to the Western Hemisphere.
Complementing its transportation connections is a telecommunications network that is difficult to best. Dozens of undersea and terrestrial fiber-optic cables ensure Florida’s ready connectivity to Latin America, the Caribbean and beyond.
Multicultural Workforce
Florida's Population |
|
| Non-Hispanic White | 61.3% |
| Hispanic or Latino | 20.2% |
| African-American | 15.8% |
| Foreign-Born Persons | 16.7% |
| Households speaking languages other than English | 23.1% |
| Source: U.S. Census Bureau, 2006 | |
Cultural and linguistic diversity is only one characteristic that sets Florida’s workforce apart. In its recent study titled “America’s Top States for Business,” CNBC rated all 50 states in 10 categories, and Florida rated the No. 1 slot for workforce. Among the factors considered for each state were: the education level of its workforce, the number of available workers and the relative success of worker training programs in placing participants in jobs.
Right People, Right Place
 Access to skilled workers and Shands Jacksonville are reasons why IBA chose Florida, says President Bernt Nordin. [Photo: Kelly LaDuke] |
The presence of a highly trained workforce helped attract Belgium-based Ion Beam Applications (IBA) to Jacksonville, says its president, Bernt Nordin.
Widely acknowledged as a leader in particle therapy — a precise and effective clinical radiotherapy method used in the selective destruction of cancer cells — IBA needs scientists, engineers and technicians to accomplish its work, and the company found them all in Florida. IBA recruits many of its scientists from the University of Florida’s physics program in nearby Gainesville. The engineers and technicians needed to complement the scientists, says Nordin, are mostly Navy veterans.
“There are a lot of good, trained Navy people who have been based in Jacksonville and want to continue to live in this area,” he says. “There’s a good pool of talent to draw from, both ex-Navy types and scientists from the universities around here, which is part of the reason we like it here. There are other places with Navy bases, but we’ve found that we can find very good people here.”
Jacksonville serves as IBA’s U.S. headquarters. Nordin says service at Jacksonville International Airport provides easy access to his clients located in Philadelphia, Boston and Chicago.
“It feels like we made the right choice,” he adds, “and it’s nice to walk around with a smile on your face.”
Florida's Top 5 Merchandise Trading Partners (in billions) |
|
| 1 Brazil | $13.0 |
| 2 Japan | 7.4 |
| 3 Germany | 6.4 |
| 4 Venezuela | 6.3 |
| 5 China (Mainland) | 5.8 |
Trade
A total of $115 billion in merchandise and goods moved in and out of the state of Florida via land, rail, air and/or sea in 2007.
Brazil remains the state’s top trading partner, accounting for $13 billion of that total, followed by Japan whose total trade with Florida equaled $7.4 billion in 2007. Early quarterly data from 2008 shows that trade with Brazil and Japan continues to be strong.
When tracked by region, no countries trade more with Florida than those located in Latin America and the Caribbean. A full 76% of the state’s exports head south, with Brazil, Venezuela and Colombia as the major destinations.
Florida is the nation’s 3rd largest exporter of high-tech products; sales in 2007 equaled more than $13.3 billion, an increase of more than $977 million from the previous year. Industrial machinery, computers, television equipment and surgical devices are among the state’s top exports.
Florida also has its share of so-called “invisible exports” — accounting, communications, consulting, educational, financial, legal, medical and other services. In 2007, these exports totaled $26 billion and accounted for an estimated 364,000 jobs for Floridians.
Another way to examine exports is to consider those that originate in Florida, such as goods grown, mined, manufactured, assembled or otherwise had value added in the state (regardless of where they exited the United States). In all, Florida-origin exports totaled $44.8 billion in 2007, a 16.3% increase over origin exports in 2006.
Japan and China are the top importers into the state, accounting for about $12.5 billion of imports coming into Florida in 2007. Motor vehicles are the No. 1 import to Florida from the East.
Much of the international commerce coming into and out of the U.S. travels through Foreign Trade Zones (FTZs). In Florida, businesses have access to 20 FTZs, the second largest network in the nation. While primarily located in or around the state’s international airports and seaports, FTZs also function in inland areas such as Ocala, Sebring, Sanford and Homestead. FTZs allow tariff-free value to be added to foreign goods before they are shipped on to other countries.
Foreign Direct Investment
In 2006 (most recent data), the total value of holdings by foreign-affiliated companies in Florida reached $39.3 billion, employing 273,100 Floridians. Among the U.S. states, Florida ranks 9th in total value of inward FDI and 5th in total employment by foreign-affiliated firms.
The main sources of FDI in Florida include Germany ($3.8 billion), Japan ($3.8 billion), United Kingdom ($3.7 billion), Canada ($3.0 billion), Australia ($2.8 billion) and France ($1.3 billion). The largest numbers of Floridians are employed by companies from the United Kingdom, Netherlands, Canada, Germany, Japan, France and Switzerland. Key sectors for foreign investment into Florida’s economy include manufacturing, retail trade, wholesale trade, real estate, information and the financial and professional services.
More than 70 foreign and domestic banks have office locations in Miami, including six of the 10 largest banks in the world. New York is the only U.S. city with a larger international banking presence.
For more information on FDI in Florida, visit eflorida.com.
A Cutting-Edge Location
The Canadian engineering firm Rowan Williams Davies & Irwin Inc. is just one example of a foreign company thriving in Florida. When it came time to open its first U.S. branch office, RWDI chose south Florida.
RWDI’s niche is wind engineering and the design of sustainable, high-performance buildings and livable outdoor spaces. RWDI does it all — from designing pool decks for luxury resorts to developing wind-resistant downtown skyscrapers.
“The work is very, very, exciting,” says Mark Chatten, business manager and head of RWDI’s Florida operations. “It’s definitely the cutting edge of architecture and engineering.” Cutting-edge work needs a cutting-edge location, he adds, and for RWDI, Miramar in south Florida was the logical choice.
RWDI is helping Terra Architecture design One Bayfront Plaza, the twin tower hotel and office complex overlooking Biscayne Bay and Bayfront Park that will be the tallest skyscraper in the South. The firm also is working on several low-rise hotel and resort developments in the Caribbean, Mexico and south Florida, including the wind-resistant Soho Beach House project in Miami’s historic South Beach district.
RWDI’s Miramar location not only puts the firm close to Florida clients, it offers easy access to clients in other parts of the U. S., the Caribbean, Panama and Latin America.
“There are two major airports in south Florida [Miami and Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood]; you can get anywhere in the United States. If you’re trying to fly to Canada or Latin America, Miami is the natural hub,” Chatten adds.
Making the transition from Ontario to Florida was easy, Chatten says, especially considering that he made the move during the middle of winter. “South Florida is an interesting place. It’s very international, very diverse. I’ve always lived in big cities, and I really like the cosmopolitan feel of this place.”
Wind tunnel testing on the One Bayfront Plaza project in Miami. [Photo courtesy of Rowan Williams Davies & Irwin Inc.]
