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Central Florida Business Briefs - Nov. 2004
DAYTONA BEACH -- Humphrey Florida Corp. has proposed moving and expanding a beachfront walkway -- the first step toward allowing the company to build a 21-story, $100-million condo on Ocean Dunes Road. Nearby residents object to the plan, saying they don't want high-rise condos in their neighborhood.
MAITLAND -- ITCDeltaCom of West Point, Ga., plans to buy FDN Communications as part of a $187-million stock deal that also includes Network Telephone Corp. of Pensacola. FDN, with about 600 employees, provides telephone and internet service to 55,000 businesses in Florida and around Atlanta.
MELBOURNE -- Harris Corp. (NYSE-HRS) has won a contract potentially worth $1 billion over the next decade to support the National Reconnaissance Office. The company will provide operations and maintenance support to the NRO, which operates spy satellites and forwards data to the CIA, Defense Department and other agencies. The company will add about 200 workers in Washington, D.C.
ORLANDO -- Agere Systems will begin producing a new microchip for hard drives at its Orlando plant. Full production will begin early next year.
Northrop Grumman has pledged $25 million to the University of Central Florida to enhance the school's research in extreme ultraviolet lithography, a process that could allow computer chips to become smaller and more powerful.
WINTER HAVEN -- Scotty's has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, blaming Hurricane Charley. "The company was surviving against the big-box competitors, Home Depot and Lowe's, until Hurricane Charley destroyed the company's largest store in Punta Gorda and seriously damaged several other stores," the company said. Scotty's has more than 30 Florida stores, down from 164 stores six years ago.
