The Progressive Insurance Miami International Boat Show attracted 94,980 visitors in 2014 and, in 2013, generated $312.2 million in sales for Florida companies.
Sikorsky Aircraft unveiled its most powerful helicopter -- "King Stallion" -- at its West Palm Beach-based Development Flight Center in May of 2014.
Following its merger with Naperville, Ill.-based OfficeMax in 2013, Office Depot will remain headquartered at its existing 625,000-sq.-ft. campus in Boca Raton, creating close to 400 new jobs and retaining some 2,000 positions.
In downtown West Palm Beach, businesses and events offer easy access for cyclists. There's bike racks and rental lockers readily available.
Tradition Medical Center opened in St. Lucie County in 2013, next door to Mann Medical One, the first building in a planned 22-acre complex of medical offices and research facilities.
Florida Organic Aquaculture raises sushi-grade shrimp at its Fellsmere facility.
Carnival Cruise Lines is headquartered in Miami.
The newly opened 390-unit, 35-story NINE at Mary Brickell Village is one of many new condominium developments currently on the market in eastern Miami-Dade County.
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Business Florida 2015 - The Regions
Southeast Florida
Boca Raton, Fort Lauderdale, Jupiter, Key West, Miami, Port St. Lucie, Stuart, Vero Beach, West Palm Beach
Florida’s Southeast is the state’s most heavily populated region. And with so many business advantages — proximity to global markets, a multicultural workforce, world-class educational institutions and an exceptional quality of life — the challenge for companies considering relocation to any of these seven counties is less about finding right sites for expansion than it is about choosing just one.
Here, where five deep water ports and four international airports are conduits for worldwide tourism and trade, globally minded firms enjoy easy access to the lucrative and rapidly growing Latin American market. Those that distribute their goods by land are closer than ever before to key domestic markets now that upgrades to I-595, the major artery linking I-75, I-95 and Florida’s Turnpike, are complete. Is it any wonder, then, that companies in such high-impact industry sectors as aviation, life sciences and technology have chosen to “cluster” in this region?
Tourism remains a significant economic driver here too. From Indian River County to the Florida Keys, visitor numbers are up and communities stand ready to welcome vacationers as eagerly as CEOs wanting to sink permanent roots.
WHO LIVES HERE
Globally savvy
South Florida isn’t in Latin America, but it’s the best place for doing business there, according to the business/finance magazine América Economía, which based its rankings on such factors as infrastructure, regional platform for global business, corporate executive safety and executive salary-to-cost-of-living ratio.
Heavily Hispanic
In Miami-Dade County alone, 51% of the population is foreign-born, and at 31% and 22% respectively, the populations of contiguous Broward and Palm Beach counties aren’t far behind. Latinos are the most prevalent immigrant group here, averaging 25% of the population region-wide with Miami-Dade, at 66%, the runaway leader among all seven Southeast Florida counties for concentration of Hispanics.
Well-connected
Miami ranks 5th among U.S. cities for smartphone penetration. According to a November 2013 survey from the global information firm Nielsen, 73% of people in Southeast Florida’s largest city own a smartphone, compared to 67% nationwide. The next closest city to Miami was San Francisco at 74%; Dallas topped the list at 76%.
