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Global Reach
Location, transportation, resources and diversity make Florida a leader in international trade.
 International business has nearly doubled in 2007 at RGF Environmental Group, says VP Sharon Rinehimer. [Photo: Michael Price] |
Transportation
Moving It
No state moves products faster or more efficiently than Florida, according to a joint study by CNBC, America’s Business Channel and CNBC.com, which looked at air, rail, road and water connections on a state-by-state basis. With 12,000 miles of state roads, 14 deepwater ports, nearly 3,000 miles of rail, 21 major airports and 779 general aviation centers moving supplies in and finished products out, it’s easy to see why Florida’s transportation system is ranked number 1 in the nation.
More than 28,000 companies chose Florida’s ports, airports, roads and rails to export their products in 2005, according to U.S. Department of Commerce figures. About 95% of these companies were small and medium-sized enterprises with fewer than 500 employees.
The Jacksonville metropolitan area in Florida’s Northeast region has particularly strong transportation connections. Direct access to I-95, I-295 and I-10, plus ready proximity to a major north-south artery, I-75, just 60 miles west, are driving forces behind JAXPORT’s continuing success, says the port’s executive director Rick Ferrin.
“We have the best inland intermodal reach in Florida,” Ferrin says, noting that ease of moving cargo out of JAXPORT and into other markets was “way up at the top” of a list of reasons Asian carrier MOL decided to build a 158-acre terminal here. MOL is the first of what Ferrin expects will be several Asian carriers doing business from JAXPORT in the near future. In fact, Ferrin predicts that within about five years a full 35% of the port’s business will be east-west routes.
Noting a 206% increase in value of exports between 2001 and 2005, research group Global Insight ranked the Port of Jacksonville as the fastest growing U.S. foreign trade gateway, earning it the title “fastest growing port in the United States.”
Doing good and growing
Years before “going green” became a widely accepted corporate strategy, RGF Environmental Group had the goal of making the world a better place for future generations. To that end, RGF has been in the business of designing, manufacturing and distributing products that purify water, air and food for more than 20 years.
While the majority of the company ’s clients are domestic, RGF Vice President of Business Development Sharon Rinehimer reports that the firm has nearly doubled its international business in 2007. RGF uses the Port of Miami for all its ocean exports and has easy access to two international airports — Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood and Miami — for air freight services.
Thanks to its strategic and attractive south Florida location, RGF has been able to easily recruit a high caliber of sales executives and engineers who for the last 20-plus years have helped design award-winning, innovative pollution solutions.
“While the great climate and lack of state [personal income] tax are certainly incentives,” Rinehimer says about moving to Florida, “our company offers a unique and challenging work environment along with a fairly aggressive relocation package.”
