Northwest Florida’s engaging combinationof natural springs, sugar white beaches, abundant pine forests and towns with names like Mossy Head, Sunny Hills and Cedar Grove has made this region a popular vacation destination. But along with a thriving tourism industry, these 16 counties boast an energetic workforce and, thanks to a site certification program launched by Gulf Power in 2013, plenty of shovel-ready properties for companies seeking to prosper. Here, businesses enjoy easy access to key southeastern markets via interconnected highways and rail lines and to the world at large from three deep water ports.

Industry sectors that are particularly strong in Northwest Florida include aviation/defense and information technology. Manufacturing, which currently generates more than 30,000 direct and indirect jobs in the region and is projected to grow at a faster rate here than elsewhere in Florida, has prompted formation of the Northwest Florida Manufacturers Council. This association for manufacturers of all sizes and sub-clusters is combining forces with area educational institutions to create training programs that will ensure a steady stream of welders, aircraft mechanics, metal fabricators and other skilled workers to meet future employment needs.

WHO LIVES HERE

Active and retired military assets
Close to 44,000 highly trained military personnel are on active duty at six Air Force and Navy installations across Northwest Florida. And of the approximately 6,000 who retire from military service here each year, many choose to remain in the region and pursue second careers, bringing to area employers the advanced technical skills they acquired while in military service.

Highly educated
Florida’s capital city of Tallahassee is home to two public universities — Florida State and Florida A&M — and some of the state’s best-educated people. U.S. census figures reveal that 47% of Tallahassee residents age 25+ have a bachelor’s degree or higher compared to the statewide average of 26%.

Heavily employed
At 6%, the Crestview-Fort Walton Beach-Destin MSA recorded the nation’s 3rd highest job growth between October 2012 and October 2013, according to the financial news website 247wallst.com. Surprisingly perhaps, considering the heavy military presence in Okaloosa County, none of that growth came from the public sector.

ECONOMIC LIFE

Aviation/Defense

• Northwest Florida’s economy is dominated by military facilities, including: Eglin Air Force Base, the USAF’s largest by area; Tyndall Air Force Base, soon to have the world’s largest collection of F-22 Raptors; Hurlburt Field, supporting special operations; the Pensacola Naval Air Station, home of the legendary Blue Angels; Naval Support Activity Panama City; and Whiting Field. Collectively, these installations account for more than 178,000 military and civilian jobs.
• On-Point Defense Technologies in Fort Walton Beach has embarked on a multi-year expansion that is expected to create 29 jobs. The company, which designs and tests advanced weapon systems, had considered relocating to Alabama, but chose to remain in Okaloosa County for its talent pool of prior service military and proximity to defense contractors.
• Panama City-based DeTect Inc. has received another installation order for its MERLIN Aircraft Birdstrike Avoidance Radar system; the destination this time is the U.S. Navy Townsend Bombing Range in Georgia. MERLIN systems are in place, providing real-time birdstrike alerts, at numerous U.S. Air Force and Navy installations and at commercial airports in Europe.
• Slated for completion by the end of 2014, Emerald Coast Aviation’s new 5,600-sq.-ft. terminal at Crestview Bob Sikes Airport will house a reception area, pilots’ “snooze” room and corporate offices.
• Carolina Aeronautical Airframe & Powerplant, an aeronautics vocational school based in South Carolina, has opened a branch center at the Okaloosa Industrial Air Park in Crestview, where it will offer FAA Mechanic and Inspection Authorization Certification.

Logistics/Distribution

Port Panama City’s new 250-acre Inter-modal Distribution Center has attracted two companies:

• FedEx Ground, which opened a 60,000-sq.-ft. package distribution facility with 30 employees on-site and another 40 at remote locations; and
• AAdvantage North American, a Panama City-based firm providing vendor-managed inventory warehousing/distribution services in 75,000 square feet of leased space.

Professional/Financial Services

• Construction continues at Navy Federal Credit Union’s Pensacola campus where two new buildings and 2,000 new jobs are planned by 2016. Navy Federal currently employs 3,400 workers in the Pensacola area.
• iGATE Corporation will expand its corporate headquarters in Pensacola and hire as many as 385 full-time employees. iGATE is owner of CHCS Services, a Pensacola-based customer service center handling insurance claims and health referral services for seniors.
• National law firm Kaye Scholer has consolidated administrative functions previously divided among its offices in New York, Washington D.C. and Los Angeles at a single operations center in Tallahassee, bringing 100 jobs.

Information Technology

• Bit-Wizards Information Technology Solutions of Fort Walton Beach plans an expansion that will create 20 new jobs in software development, account management and advertising.
• Gulf Breeze-based email and web security provider AppRiver continues to grow, opening its second European office in Barcelona, Spain, and a branch office in Atlanta.
• Global Business Solutions Inc. remains on track to expand its corporate headquarters in Pensacola by 120 employees over five years. GBSI provides technical training and technology services to public- and private-sector clients.

QUALITY OF LIFE

Plenty to see and do
Living in Northwest Florida is like being on a permanent vacation. Visit the old and new state capitols in Tallahassee and the historic homes in Pensacola. Go tubing down the spring-fed Chipola River in Jackson County or simply stretch out on your own quiet patch of sand at St. George Island. There are one-of-a-kind special events to enjoy here too, like the Panhandle Watermelon Festival held each June in Chipley or the Boggy Bayou Mullet Festival every October in Niceville. All this and more awaits you in Florida’s Northwest!

Educational opportunities
Northwest Florida is home to nine not-for-profit colleges and universities including: Florida State University, ranked among the top 40 national public universities by U.S. News & World Report; Florida A&M University, named a “Best in the Southeast” College by The Princeton Review; Tallahassee Community College, cited by Military Advanced Education as a “Top Military-Friendly College” for its flexibility of online learning options and support for military families; Gulf Coast State College, offering technology-related degrees and certificates at its new 93,000-sq.-ft. Advanced Technology Center; and the University of West Florida, where the Center for Cybersecurity is a hub for research and career opportunities in the fast-growing field of cybersecurity.

NOTABLE EMPLOYERS

Aviation/Defense

• DeTect Inc. Panama City
• DRS Technologies Fort Walton Beach
• InDyne Fort Walton Beach
• Jacobs Technology Fort Walton Beach
• L-3 Communications Fort Walton Beach

Professional/Financial Services

• Absolute Consulting Navarre
• CHCS Services/iGATE Pensacola
• Navy Federal Credit Union Pensacola

Manufacturing

• Ascend Performance Materials Pensacola
• Eastern Shipbuilding Group Panama City

• Home Source International Marianna
• Mowrey Elevator Company Marianna
• RockTenn Company Panama City

Information Technology

• AppRiver Gulf Breeze
• Bit-Wizards Fort Walton Beach
• Global Business Solutions Pensacola
• iSirona Panama City

NOTABLE ADDITIONS/EXPANSIONS

Information technology
Medical software development company iSirona, a unit of NantHealth and provider of solutions for integrating patient data with electronic medical records, is expanding its operations in Panama City, adding 300 new jobs to its current staff of 180. Founded in 2008, iSirona was named to the Inc. 500 list of America’s fastest-growing private companies in 2012 and 2013.

Agribusiness/forestry
Ending a four-year hiatus on lumber production in Florida’s Northwest, Vancouver, B.C.-based West Fraser Inc. has resumed operations at its McDavid mill in northern Escambia County with 80 employees and plans to create an additional 20 jobs. The McDavid mill, which produces southern yellow pine lumber, has an annual production capacity of approximately 200 million board feet.