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Economic Yearbook 2007
SOUTHWEST: New Directions
A commercial boom.
Bradenton
WHAT'S HOT: Downtown By Design, the city's five-year road map for transforming downtown Bradenton into a destination where people can live, shop and work. With 75% of buildings in the downtown core devoted to civic and office space, locals will need to attract more retail and entertainment to the area to create residential appeal. ... The $150-million Promenade at Riverwalk condos are sprouting up a short walk from downtown on the site formerly known as the "sand pile." The luxury waterfront condos are running about six months behind schedule because of the soft real estate market. City officials are also embarking on an effort to revitalize historically neglected areas of east and central Bradenton.
Innovators
? A designer and manufacturer of standard and customized packaging equipment, New England Machinery has designed a "beltless unscrambler" that sorts and sends randomly situated bottles or containers through an automated production line. The company has also designed a "server capper" system that allows companies to track containers and validate how secure container lids are. Such information is critical in the pharmaceutical and food industries. The privately held company's sales grew 53% last year.
? Global Modular Concepts hopes to revolutionize residential construction with aerated autoclave concrete, a durable, lightweight and energyefficient building material invented in Sweden that's created by combining cement, lime, water, sand and aluminum powder. Structures built with aerated autoclave concrete don't require insulation or drywall: "You can put a 1,200-sq.-ft. home together in three days," says company President Erwin Andersen.
? Guardian Solutions develops computer- aided surveillance and intelligent video systems used to protect major transportation hubs, financial centers and military facilities around the world. Last year, the company signed a multimillion- dollar contract to upgrade security for off-shore oil production platforms in the Gulf of Mexico for a major U.S. oil company.
