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Economic Yearbook 2007
SOUTHWEST: New Directions
A commercial boom.
Manatee County
TREND: Businesses looking for cheaper office space, room to grow and proximity to Sarasota, Pinellas and Hillsborough counties are flocking to Manatee, where office vacancy is 12.5%.
FAST COMPANIES: In 2005, MadahCom, a digital wireless public warning system manufacturer, opened a facility in Manatee County. ... Earlier this year, Dutch company Enza Zaden announced plans to build a $10-million "seed-research campus" in Manatee County, where researchers will work on developing a superior tomato plant. ... Animal Replacement Technologies develops next-generation synthetic human cadavers, body parts and tissue that are used by companies like Johnson & Johnson to replace live animals in development tests and by medical educators to replace cadavers.
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Naples
WHAT'S HOT: Commercial construction is "carrying the market," says Tammie Nemecek, president of the Economic Development Council of Collier County. After a 50% dropoff in residential housing activity from 2005 to 2006, the local EDC is looking internationally to attract secondhome buyers. While Naples' banking sector is strong, leisure, hospitality, construction and manufacturing are still the region's fastest-growing sectors. Naples has become a hot spot for corporate meetings and conventions, drawing such notable companies as Deutsche Bank and Johnson & Johnson.
Innovators
? Naples Community Hospital Regional Cancer Institute is using painless, cutting-edge technology to eliminate tumors in cancer patients without making an incision. NCH was the 17th hospital in the nation to purchase a CyberKnife, a $4.7-million robotic device that aims hundreds of radiation beams at a tumor simultaneously. The device cuts treatment time from seven weeks to about five days.
? Kim Patrick Kobza's company, Neighborhood America, builds and manages interactive virtual social networks for major media outlets, governments and corporations. The company created for CNN a Hurricane Katrina "safe list," allowing storm victims to communicate with friends and relatives. Last year, CBS hired the company to manage viewers' suggestions for how Katie Couric should sign off each evening. The company recently acquired Movo Mobile in Sarasota to enable it to reach mobile phone customers.
? Arthur Allen started business software maker ASG 20 years ago. Today, the Naples company has more than 900 employees and more than 45 offices. It recently signed its first deal with China.
