Southeast Florida Business Briefs - Jan. 2005

DELRAY BEACH -- Office supply retailer Office Depot (NYSE-ODP) plans to cut its headquarters staff by 97 jobs and eliminate 520 retail positions across the continent. The cuts are expected to save the company $26.3 million.

FORT LAUDERDALE -- An investment group led by Richard C. Rochon, former president of the H. Wayne Huizenga investment company, plans to infuse as much as $90 million into Sunair Electronics, a high-frequency radio equipment producer looking to expand into pest control.

FORT PIERCE -- A University of Florida aquaculture demonstration project has yielded its first crop of Pacific white shrimp. Researchers are studying the science and economic viability of an expanded aquaculture industry in Florida. Plans for future crops include tiger shrimp and pompano.

The Harbor Branch Oceanographic Institution has broken ground on a 40,000-sq.-ft. research center designed to contain the collaborative research the institution conducts with students and faculty from Florida Atlantic University. Construction is expected to be completed in 18 months.

JUPITER -- Dyadic International, a biotech company that specializes in the development of proteins and biological products for industrial use, has obtained $25.3 million in financing and will be publicly traded on Nasdaq's bulletin board under the symbol DYAD.

PALM BEACH COUNTY -- While Scripps Research Institute created only 28 jobs on its own, it is responsible for nearly 500 spinoff jobs and total economic activity of more than $40 million in its first year, the institute's overseers said in their first annual report.

Tags: Southeast, Treasure Coast