International business has nearly doubled in 2007 at RGF Environmental Group, says VP Sharon Rinehimer. [Photo: Michael Price]

Florida is a leader in global trade, and for good reason. With its prime geographic location, top-notch transportation systems, multilingual workforce and abundance of readily available financial resources, this state has international connections that are well established and difficult to beat.

Transportation

Moving It

No state moves products faster or more efficiently than Florida, according to a joint study by CNBC, America’s Business Channel and CNBC.com, which looked at air, rail, road and water connections on a state-by-state basis. With 12,000 miles of state roads, 14 deepwater ports, nearly 3,000 miles of rail, 21 major airports and 779 general aviation centers moving supplies in and finished products out, it’s easy to see why Florida’s transportation system is ranked number 1 in the nation.

More than 28,000 companies chose Florida’s ports, airports, roads and rails to export their products in 2005, according to U.S. Department of Commerce figures. About 95% of these companies were small and medium-sized enterprises with fewer than 500 employees.

The Jacksonville metropolitan area in Florida’s Northeast region has particularly strong transportation connections. Direct access to I-95, I-295 and I-10, plus ready proximity to a major north-south artery, I-75, just 60 miles west, are driving forces behind JAXPORT’s continuing success, says the port’s executive director Rick Ferrin.

“We have the best inland intermodal reach in Florida,” Ferrin says, noting that ease of moving cargo out of JAXPORT and into other markets was “way up at the top” of a list of reasons Asian carrier MOL decided to build a 158-acre terminal here. MOL is the first of what Ferrin expects will be several Asian carriers doing business from JAXPORT in the near future. In fact, Ferrin predicts that within about five years a full 35% of the port’s business will be east-west routes.

Noting a 206% increase in value of exports between 2001 and 2005, research group Global Insight ranked the Port of Jacksonville as the fastest growing U.S. foreign trade gateway, earning it the title “fastest growing port in the United States.”

Doing good and growing

Years before “going green” became a widely accepted corporate strategy, RGF Environmental Group had the goal of making the world a better place for future generations. To that end, RGF has been in the business of designing, manufacturing and distributing products that purify water, air and food for more than 20 years.

While the majority of the company ’s clients are domestic, RGF Vice President of Business Development Sharon Rinehimer reports that the firm has nearly doubled its international business in 2007. RGF uses the Port of Miami for all its ocean exports and has easy access to two international airports — Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood and Miami — for air freight services.

Thanks to its strategic and attractive south Florida location, RGF has been able to easily recruit a high caliber of sales executives and engineers who for the last 20-plus years have helped design award-winning, innovative pollution solutions.

“While the great climate and lack of state [personal income] tax are certainly incentives,” Rinehimer says about moving to Florida, “our company offers a unique and challenging work environment along with a fairly aggressive relocation package.”

Exports

New Arrivals Among the 2,300 foreign-affiliated companies in Florida in 2007 are several recent arrivals, including: > Canadian engineering consulting and testing firm Rowan Williams Davies & Irwin, which opened an office in Miramar and is expected to make a $5-million capital investment and employ more than 50 people over the next three years. > Areas USA, a Spanish-held firm which specializes in providing integrated management services to international airports. The firm recently landed a $5-million contract at Miami International Airport and will hire upwards of 130 people within three years. > Braun International, which has made a $500,000 capital investment in Orange County and plans to hire 12 employees at an annual average wage of $41,000. The company is responsible for sales, marketing and distribution within the United States of airport security equipment such as body scanners and X-ray equipment manufactured in the United Kingdom Global Presence Total holdings by non-U.S. companies in 2004 (most recent data) were valued at $31.7 billion, putting Florida in 11th place among all U.S. states. In the same year, total holdings in Florida by firms with at least 50% foreign ownership reached $26.7 billion. Canada, the United Kingdom and Germany are the countries with the largest presence in Florida. The majority of foreign-affiliated holdings are in the manufacturing industry, which also is responsible for approximately 28% of jobs at foreign- affiliated companies.

Reaching Far and Wide

Florida has 20 Foreign Trade Zones, mostly located at or near its seaports and international airports, where value can be added to foreign goods tariff-free before shipping them on to another country. These trade zones, plus solid transportation options, are two good reasons why Florida exports so many goods.

In 2006, Florida’s total exports topped $52 billion, up from $37 billion in 2004. The majority of exports leaving the U.S. from Florida are headed for destinations in Latin America and the Caribbean.

Meanwhile, the amount of Florida-origin exports also continues to increase. The latest figures show that exports grown, mined, manufactured or assembled in Florida totaled $38.5 billion in 2006, a whopping 15.5% increase over the previous year’s Florida-origin exports. Florida ranks an impressive 7th in the nation in value of origin exports. The state’s leading export category is computers and electronic products, which alone accounted for 29% ($11.1 billion) of Florida’s total merchandise exports in 2006.

Some 222 foreign destinations received exports from Florida in 2006. At $3.7 billion, Brazil remained the largest market for Florida-origin exports in 2006, while the biggest growth market, in dollar terms, was Venezuela. Export shipments from Florida to Venezuela have more than doubled in the last five years, rising from $1.2 billion in 2002 to $2.9 billion in 2006.

In addition to tangible products, Florida exports knowledge-intensive services in the legal, accounting, medical, educational and consulting fields, too. Enterprise Florida estimates that professional services accounted for as much as $23 billion in exports in 2006.

Florida-origin phosphate moves through the Port of Tampa's Mosaic Terminal for export. [Photo: Tampa Port Authority]

Attracting a Solid Workforce Moving the corporate offices of Associated Aircraft Manufacturing and Sales from Maryland to Fort Lauderdale 30 years ago turned out to be one of the best decisions this firm, which specializes in exporting aircraft parts to countries in nearly every corner of the world, ever made. ? Frank Lannon CEO Frank Lannon says the company has blossomed from five employees to more than 55. “And we are still growing,” he adds. With access to ports in Miami and Fort Lauderdale, Lannon sends goods to South American clients with ease and is able to deliver most of his shipments to the United Kingdom, France and Germany overnight. Besides exporting products out of Florida, Lannon imports qualified people into the state, successfully luring away from his Northeast competitors some of the best and brightest recent college graduates. “I win hands down because south Florida isn’t a bad place to live.”

Florida's Top 10 Merchandise Trading Partners

1 Brazil $11.3 billion 2 Japan $7.3 3 Germany $6.8 4 Venezuela $6.1 5 China (Mainland) $5.6 6 Chile $5.0 7 Colombia $4.9 8 Dominican Republic $4.8 9 Costa Rica $4.2 10 Mexico $3.6

International Flair

U.S. Census Bureau figures show that nearly one in four (23.1%) Florida households speaks a language other than English. More than 16% of the population in Florida is foreign-born.

According to the Florida International Bankers Association, some 70 banks active in foreign trade/finance have offices in Florida, including six of the world’s 10 largest banks. With 240,000 residents employed by foreign-affiliated firms, Florida ranks 4th in the U.S. for number of employees at foreign-held companies.

Global Connectivity

Florida is connected to the world and “wired for success” via:

AMPATH — A high-performance exchange point located at the NAP (Network Access Point) of the Americas in Miami, which facilitates peering and network research between U.S. and international research and education networks.

LAGrid — An international multi-disciplinary research community and virtual computing grid that enables commerce and industry to connect with Latin America and other regions.

Florida LambdaRail — A state-of-the-art Internet system created to facilitate advanced research, education and economic development activities throughout Florida and to complement the efforts of the National LambdaRail initiative.