Expanding companies that are first attracted to South Central Florida for its natural beauty and wide open spaces soon discover that this relaxing environment offers many business advantages too. This region’s location in the heartland of Florida means that approximately 85% of the state’s entire population is within a 150-mile radius. The workforce in these six counties alone tops 106,000; another 3.8 million workers can be found in bordering counties. Population density in this region averages just 46.3 persons per square mile compared to the average statewide density of 351.

Here, where cattle lands, citrus groves, sugar cane fields and subtropical foliage still dominate the landscape, three interstate highways, Florida’s Turnpike, four U.S. highways and 12 state roads provide ready links to airports and seaports in key Florida cities and to important markets throughout the Southeast. Additionally, this region is bisected by the Okeechobee Waterway, a system of navigable rivers and canals linking Florida’s east and west coasts through Lake Okeechobee.

WHO LIVES HERE

Hispanic clout
28% of South Central’s nearly 250,000 residents are Hispanic, compared to a statewide average of 24%. At 50%, Hendry County has this region’s largest concentration of Hispanics, with Hardee County a close second at 43%.

Farmers, ranchers and more
While South Central’s location in Florida’s heartland has contributed to an increase in the number of firms engaged in distribution and manufacturing, agriculture remains the dominant industry here. Four of the top five citrus-producing counties in Florida are in this region as are the only two Florida counties with more than 100,000 head of cattle.

ECONOMIC LIFE

Distribution

• Lykes Bros. and A. Duda & Sons continue moving ahead with joint plans to develop Americas Gateway Logistics Center, an “inland port” in Moore Haven. In 2013, the companies tapped Panattoni Development to market the center, which combines warehousing, distribution and transportation services.

Agribusiness

• West Palm Beach-based BioNitrogen Holdings Corporation hosted a ribbon-cutting ceremony at the Hendry County site of its first-ever plant for converting biomass into urea fertilizer. The $300-million facility is expected to employ 50 and yield 124,000 tons of fertilizer annually.
• With new phosphate mines planned in Hardee and DeSoto counties, Mosaic Company could add another 500 workers to the 440 currently employed at its South Fort Meade and South Pasture mines in Hardee County.

Manufacturing

• LaBelle-based CPR Tools, manufacturer of products to recover and/or eradicate information from the hard drives of computers, phones and other electronic devices, has landed a contract with OfficeMax to provide data recovery and security services for its customers. CPR plans to grow its staff from 33 to 50.
• Gulf Coast Supply & Manufacturing opened its fourth Florida location at Sebring Regional Airport in January 2014 with plans to develop a fully functional manufacturing plant and create 49 full-time jobs. Gulf Coast is the state’s largest supplier of residential metal roofing.
• PFMan, a high-precision parts maker for the aerospace industry among other high-impact sectors, has opened a 20,000-sq.-ft. manufacturing facility at Hardee County Commerce Park in Wauchula; 50 new jobs are planned.
• Charles Composites, a division of Rolling Meadows, Ill.-based Charles Industries, has opened a $3.85-million facility in Okeechobee for the manufacture of the underground boxes telecom companies and utilities use to house splice points and other wiring; 28 jobs resulted.

NOTABLE ADDITIONS/EXPANSIONS

Manufacturing
Italian light aircraft manufacturer TECNAM opened its U.S. headquarters and a 21,000-sq.-ft. manufacturing facility at Sebring Regional Airport in early 2014 with 10 new jobs and hopes for 100-150 total as it ramps up for production of 10 aircraft models. TECNAM delivered its first aircraft — a P2008 Turbo — from the Sebring site in April 2014.

Agribusiness
Sarasota-based Florikan, a manufacturer of controlled-release polymer-coated fertilizer, has begun constructing a new manufacturing/distribution facility at Hardee County Commerce Park in Wauchula, where it will employ 30 workers by late 2015. The company is continuing to maintain its headquarters and 12-15 employees in Sarasota County, at a new Lakewood Ranch site.

QUALITY OF LIFE

Where history runs deep
South Central is known as a region where the lineage of many families goes back multiple generations and Florida’s history can be seen along back roads and in small towns. Browse for antiques in Arcadia, spend an afternoon perusing one man’s collection of oddities at “Solomon’s Castle” just outside Wauchula or pop in to see 700 pieces of clown memorabilia for free at Toby’s American Clown Museum and School in Lake Placid, where dozens of working clowns have received training.

“Real” Florida fun
It’s no wonder that getting back to nature is a favorite pastime here. South Central is home to Lake Okeechobee — the nation’s second largest freshwater lake — plus many smaller lakes and one of Florida’s oldest parks, Highlands Hammock State Park, circa 1931. World-class fishing, bird watching, camping and small game hunting are popular activities here, as are festivals devoted to such “natural wonders” as swamp cabbage (LaBelle), sugar (Clewiston), speckled perch (Okeechobee) and caladium (Lake Placid).

NOTABLE EMPLOYERS

Agribusiness

• Lykes Brothers Glades, Highlands and Okeechobee counties
• Mosaic Wauchula
• Southern Gardens Citrus Clewiston
• TKM Farms Belle Glade
• United States Sugar Clewiston

Distribution

• Walmart Distribution Center Arcadia
• Walpole Okeechobee

Healthcare

• DeSoto Memorial Hospital Arcadia
• Florida Hospital Heartland Medical Center Sebring
• Florida Institute for Neurologic Rehabilitation Wauchula