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Economically savvy companies find affordability and a convenient location in Florida’s heartland.
Hendry County
New Jobs Welcome
 City Mattress [Photo: Naples News] |
In Hendry County, where the average age of the 40,000+ residents is just over 30, unemployment rates are among Florida’s highest. Officials happily welcome new projects, especially those that create jobs.
Bonita Springs-based City Mattress is making plans to manufacture its Prana Sleep brand mattresses at a new $8.5-million plant at the 34-acre Clewiston Commerce Park. In exchange for the firm’s promise to create up to 100 jobs at the 62,500-square-foot factory, Clewiston and Hendry anted up 10 free acres and other incentives worth about $1.5 million to City Mattress. “Clewiston is perfectly situated between our two distribution centers on Florida’s coasts,” says CEO Stephen Schiller. “We were welcomed with open arms in Clewiston, where there is a good labor pool. We feel very good about bringing these jobs to the state of Florida.”
Roadway improvements
To spur additional development, county leaders have made the widening of State Road 80 a top priority. Further improvements to this major transport artery, which has already been widened to four lanes from LaBelle west to Fort Myers, could create an east-west alternative to Alligator Alley.
Fuel for Florida’s future
If all goes according to plan, Hendry County will soon be taking a lead role in providing an innovative source of fuel for Florida consumers.
In July 2007, FPL Energy, a subsidiary of FPL Group, one of the nation’s largest providers of electricity-related services, signed a letter of intent with Boca Raton-based Citrus Energy to develop the first-ever commercial scale citrus-peel-to-ethanol plant. The cellulosic ethanol plant, which will be owned and operated by FPL Energy and located on the grounds of a citrus processing plant south of Lake Okeechobee near Clewiston, will take approximately a year to build. When completed by late 2008, the $10-million plant is expected to produce some 4 million gallons of ethanol per year.
Florida’s citrus processing plants generate approximately 5 million tons of citrus waste annually. FPL estimates that ethanol made from citrus peel could result in a new Florida industry producing more than 60 million gallons of fuel per year, which could potentially replace about 1% of Florida’s annual gasoline consumption.
Educational Opportunities
Many sites mean easy accesss to college classses
- Healthy growth: Based in Avon Park with satellite sites in Arcadia, Lake Placid and Bowling Green, South Florida Community College serves more than 25,000 students per year, offering associate degrees in more than 60 fields, plus baccalaureate and post-graduate degrees in partnership with four-year institutions. A new $11-million, two-story, 51,000-square-foot Health and Science Education Center will permit SFCC to double its nursing program to more than 100 students; nearly 250 students in all will be enrolled in health programs in 2008. SFCC is also spending nearly $1.5 million in 2007-2008 to renovate its Lake Placid Center.
- Expanded reach: Two colleges based in Florida’s Southeast region have a South Central/Heartland presence — Indian River Community College in Okeechobee County and Palm Beach Community College in Glades County; both have extensive workforce development programs. Fort Myers-based Edison College currently houses its Hendry-Glades Center at LaBelle High School; plans are to build a permanent, 1,000-student campus in western Hendry County near State Roads 80 and 29.
Okeechobee County
The Perfect Site
 Entegra Roof Tile [Photo: Jimmie Presley] |
Companies with widespread logistics and distribution needs are finding Okeechobee County especially attractive. One example is Entegra Roof Tile Corp., which produces about 80 million pieces of tile annually. Since opening its plant just north of Lake Okeechobee at the intersection of State Road 70 and U.S. 441 in May 2006, Entegra has already expanded operations, according to Craig Dallas, general sales/marketing manager. “We have the most centrally located tile plant in Florida,” he says. “We can reach Orlando, Miami, Tampa and the Treasure Coast easily from Okeechobee. Within a 150-mile radius we can access all of our major markets. We couldn’t have found a better location.”
Resources
Community Colleges
• South Florida Community College
Airports
• Sebring Regional Airport
