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North Central: Timing is Key
Growing companies see new opportunities in just right North Central locations.
Ocala/Marion County
Research Institute Chooses Ocala: Leaders in Ocala and Marion County will be seeing a dream come true when the Pensacola-based Institute for Human and Machine Cognition (IHMC) opens a branch research lab in the former public library building in downtown Ocala. IHMC’s researchers specialize in artificial intelligence and robotics and focus on making technology fit humans rather than the other way around. In addition to high-caliber computer scientists and engineers, IHMC employs cognitive psychologists, neuroscientists, physicians and social scientists. Fifteen to 20 high-paid scientists will work in the Ocala facility.
Quoted in Florida Trend magazine in summer 2008, Marion County Commissioner Stan McClain said, “This is precisely the kind of business any community would love to have because it will spark change. It really raises the bar for Marion County.”
IHMC is headed by Director Ken Ford, the only Floridian on the National Science Board. Institute officials began considering Ocala for a branch because of its proximity to partner universities in Orlando, Tampa, Melbourne and Gainesville. They also cite the area’s quality of life that could help lure some of the country’s top scientists.
“The folks we hire tend to be people who can live anywhere,” says IHMC Deputy Director Timothy W. Wright, who’s overseeing the renovation of the library. “They spend a lot of time thinking deep thoughts and working on computers, and then they may want to escape to the coasts or to the national forest.”
Corporate Headquarters On the Way: Marion County is also preparing for the arrival of Duratek, a manufacturer of precast concrete walls used to provide sound barriers along busy highways, as well as security and aesthetic walls for gated residential communities.
A new company subsidiary builds precast walls for homes, and for commercial and institutional projects that are designed to provide high-quality stability and protection from strong winds. Duratek recently built the first “fortified-designated” home in Belleview’s Cobblestone community. “Fortified-designated” is a new standard developed by the Institute for Business Home Safety to signify disaster-resistant structures.
Duratek is relocating its corporate headquarters and bringing 150 new jobs to Marion County. With the slow-down in residential construction, some might deem this the wrong time to expand an operation with such a strong housing component, but Duratek’s President and CEO Barry Stem sees opportunities.
“Actually, costs are down somewhat right now to build,” he says. “It will take about a year to complete the Marion facility. I believe the markets will rebound, and we’ll be ready when they do.”
