March 29, 2024

Economic yearbook 2011

Tampa Bay - Yearbook

Art Levy | 4/1/2011

St. Petersburg/ Pinellas County

Pinellas Population: 915,770
Population Growth Rate (2007-11): 0.08%
Population by Age:
0-14
15-19 20-39 40-64 65+
15.0%
5.2% 22.7% 36.4% 20.8%
Per Capita Income: $43,256

PINELLAS COUNTY GOALS

> Focus on helping local businesses generate jobs, rather than trying to lure companies to relocate to Pinellas.

> Develop plans for light rail, an express bus line or other options that would link St. Petersburg to the Gateway area, Clearwater and across the bay to Tampa.

>Keep tourism atop the priority list. Economic development officials say tourism helped carry the local economy during the recession.

batterStepping up to the Plate

> ROOKIE PLAYER: CoreRx — When Larry Kangaloo, director of technical business development, joined Largo-based CoreRx two years ago, the pharmaceutical maker had eight employees. Now it has 22 and has plans to add another 33 after it moves from Tampa to a larger facility in Largo this year. Kangaloo, 48, says this is a good time to be in CoreRx's business. As larger pharmaceutical companies look to downsize and cut costs, they're outsourcing work to CoreRx and its competitors, including many in India and China. "We're an American company and we do quality work, which is helping us capture business," he says.

Katee Tully, director of the Morean Arts Center
Katee Tully (above), executive director of the Morean Arts Center, helped build a home for the Chihuly Collection, which includes more than $6 million worth of glass art by Dale Chihuly. The facility opened last summer along Beach Drive, not far from the new $36-million Salvador Dali Museum. [Photo: Mark Wemple]

> EMERGING STAR: Lakeside Occupational Medical Centers — With 16 locations from Pinellas County to Orange County, Lakeside Occupational Medical Centers has the most occupational medicine clinics in the state. The Largo chain, founded by Dr. Richard Johnson, typically focuses on treating employees of the companies or municipalities it has contracts with, but CEO Fred Nussbaum says the company is planning a move into the "urgent care" market, which would open its clinics to the public. He envisions new locations in Pasco and Manatee counties, as well as Jacksonville, Miami and West Palm Beach. "We would expect within the next couple of years to double in size," Nussbaum says.

> HEAVY HITTER: America II Electronics — President Jim Magee is thinking 2011 is going to be a good year, which is why he has St. Petersburg-based America II Electronics, one of the world's largest independent distributors of semiconductors and other electrical components, in hiring mode. "We're investing because we think the second half of the year will be pretty robust," Magee says. "With that being said, 2010 was the second-best year in the history of America II." The company sells globally — it's a big player in China, Singapore and Japan — and Magee says it's also a big player in Florida's economy: "We tend to bring jobs and revenue into the state through point of sale because a lot of the things we sell globally are purchased by our Florida sales teams and then sold and shipped out of this location."

playersImpact Players

> Chris Steinocher, president/CEO, St. Petersburg Area Chamber of Commerce — Chris Steinocher has 25 years of experience in economic development, coming to the chamber post after serving as COO of the Tampa Bay Partnership. Steinocher plans to build on what St. Petersburg already has, including its impressive marine sciences cluster. "Economic developers always talk about clusters," he says. "Well, we've been blessed with a real cluster that other communities would love to have."

> Daniel James Scott, associate director, Sustainable Entrepreneurship & Innovation Alliance, USF St. Petersburg College of Business — Within eight months of joining the alliance at USF St. Petersburg, the 32-year-old co-founded a business accelerator program, created a series of networking breakfasts for students and entrepreneurs and became associate editor of the Journal of Business & Entrepreneurship. He's just getting started. "We want to have massive economic impact for St. Petersburg and the region," Daniel James Scott says.

> Thomas Osypka, president/CEO, Oscor — Oscor, a Palm Harbor medical device maker, is adding 70 jobs and beefing up its research and development efforts. The company's growth stands out in Pinellas County's already robust medical device industry, which includes Linvatec and Halkey-Roberts. Thomas Osypka says the company considered other communities to expand, but ultimately chose Pinellas because it's a "great fit."

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