With its enticing combination of affordable sites, dynamic workforce and exceptional quality of life, Southwest Florida appeals to companies in such diverse industry sectors as healthcare, business services, logistics and manufacturing. Companies that start here tend to stay here, and those that relocate to this region find it a good place to grow.

Globally minded firms enjoy easy access to both domestic and international markets via I-75, which puts four deep water ports — Manatee, Tampa Bay, Miami and Everglades — within an average 160-mile drive. Southwest Florida International Airport, among the nation’s 50 busiest, and Page Field, a general aviation facility, are designated Foreign Trade Zones, and at Punta Gorda Airport, 23 mid-sized U.S. cities are now just one non-stop flight away thanks to Allegiant Air’s continued expansion.

Educational assets in this region include Florida Gulf Coast University, offering 51 undergraduate and 28 graduate degree programs, plus workshops and one-on-one-counseling for entrepreneurs at its Small Business Development Center, and Florida SouthWestern State College (formerly Edison State College), serving 17,000 students at campuses in all three Southwest Florida counties.

WHO LIVES HERE

Growing workforce
Employers looking to put down roots in this region can anticipate having the workers they’ll need in the years ahead. The University of Florida’s Bureau of Business and Economic Research projects a 9% increase in Southwest Florida’s 25-54 age group by 2020, compared to 4% across the entire state.

Employers who are hiring
The Naples-Marco Island MSA had the nation’s highest job gains last year, according to the financial news website 247wallst.com Between October 2012 and October 2013, the number of jobs here jumped by 8%. Industry sectors leading the way: professional and business services, up 10%, and leisure/hospitality, up 7%.

Hispanic influence
At 26%, Collier County has the highest concentration of Hispanic population of any Florida county bordering the Gulf of Mexico, U.S. Census data reveals. Of the total 38,309 businesses in Collier, 16% are Hispanic owned; Lee County is next closest at 14%.

ECONOMIC LIFE

Life Sciences/Healthcare

• • Site preparation has begun on the newest addition to the Arthrex family of facilities in Southwest Florida — a state-of-the-art “finishing” plant at Arthrex Manufacturing East (AMIE) in Ave Maria. The planned 54,000-sq.-ft. building will be used to complete the finishing stages of surgical device manufacturing, packaging and sterilization. Construction is expected to take 12-18 months; when completed, an estimated 50 employees will be assigned to the new facility, of which 30 will be new hires. AMIE, a 190,000-sq.-ft. surgical device and implant manufacturing plant in east Collier County, opened in October 2013.
• • Fort Myers-based cancer genetic testing firm NeoGenomics has acquired Path Labs (dba Path Logic), a provider of anatomic pathology services to hospitals and physicians in northern California. Operating as a subsidiary of NeoGenomics, Path Logic will provide specialized services for its clinical trials and pathology clients nationwide.
• • Ground was broken in April 2014 at HealthPark Florida in Fort Myers for the new 128-bed, stand-alone Golisano Children’s Hospital of Southwest Florida. Scheduled for completion in 2017, the $250-million project of Lee Memorial Health System will replace the 98-bed Golisano “hospital-within-a-hospital” that is currently located inside HealthPark Medical Center.

Corporate Headquarters

• • A little more than a year after deciding to move its world headquarters from Park Ridge, New Jersey, to Lee County, Florida, rental car giant Hertz Corporation is settling in. Construction is under way at the Fortune 300 company’s 34.5-acre campus at the intersection of Williams Road and U.S. 41 in Estero, and some 300 headquarters employees are already at work in Florida. The three-story, 300,000-sq.-ft. glass-covered structure that is slated to become Hertz’s permanent Florida home is expected to be ready for occupancy by the end of 2015. In the meantime, Hertz plans to increase the number of headquarters employees in Southwest Florida to 500 by the end of 2014. Projections are for a total of 700 jobs by the headquarters’ grand opening, and as many as 1,000 jobs by 2017.

Business Services

• • Global media/technology company Comcast is expanding its customer service “Center of Excellence” in Fort Myers, with plans to add 200 new customer service agents and 20 leadership positions to an existing Lee County-based staff of 400.
• • Wisconsin-based Alta Resources has begun hiring and training the first of 1,200 seasonal health insurance sales and customer service representatives the company will employ at its Fort Myers location to handle anticipated heavy call volume during the annual “open enrollment period,” which begins in mid-November 2014.

Logistics/Distribution

• • Riviera Beach-based Cheney Brothers Inc. broke ground in March 2014 on its much-anticipated $40-million West Coast Distribution Center in Charlotte County. The nation’s 11th largest food distributor, Cheney Brothers plans a complex near Punta Gorda Airport and I-75 that will include an administration building, plus 150,000 square feet of dry storage and 75,000 square feet of cooler and freezer space; 380 jobs are expected.

QUALITY OF LIFE

Happy and healthy
A July 2014 report from the U.S. National Bureau of Economic Research ranks Naples No. 4 on its list of 10 U.S. metro areas with the highest report of happiness, and one reason might be related to health. In 2014, Collier County ranked No. 1 among Florida’s 67 counties for length of life and No. 2 for overall health outcomes on “County Health Rankings & Roadmaps,” a report jointly published by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and the University of Wisconsin Population Health Institute.

Fun for all
Southwest Florida is home to sunshine — some boast 360 days of it each year — and miles of sandy beaches for snorkeling, kayaking or simply relaxing beside the Gulf of Mexico. There are symphony orchestras to enjoy in Fort Myers and Naples, plus a full complement of galleries, museums, theaters and festivals across the region. And if you’re up for a challenge, check out the Murder Mystery Dinner Train, a nostalgic journey to/from Fort Myers that includes a five-course dinner and interactive mystery to solve.

Major league action
Southwest Florida is spring training home to three MLB teams — the Boston Red Sox, Minnesota Twins and Tampa Bay Rays. Insider tip: spring training tickets are less expensive than regular season seats, and the hot dogs taste every bit as good!

NOTABLE ADDITIONS/EXPANSIONS

Information technology
Internationally recognized IT research and advisory company Gartner Inc., a Lee County fixture since 1998, plans to add 400 jobs in Fort Myers by the end of 2019. In 2012, Gartner consolidated its Fort Myers operations into a newly constructed 120,000-sq.-ft. facility and added 400 jobs. Gartner currently employs more than 600 in Lee County.

Aviation manufacturing
Punta Gorda-based Aviation Partners Group (APG) teamed up with aeronautic manufacturer OMA SUD Sky Technologies in early 2014 to assemble the Italian firm’s first SKYCAR aircraft. Now the two are partnering on an expansion at the APG manufacturing facility in Charlotte County to fulfill OMA SUD’s first order for 45 of the twin-engine, five-passenger aircraft, adding 10 new jobs to the 18 already in place there.

NOTABLE EMPLOYERS

Corporate Headquarters

• • ASG Software Solutions Naples
• • Chico’s FAS Inc. Fort Myers
• • Data2 Logistics Fort Myers
• • 21st Century Oncology Fort Myers

Life Sciences/Healthcare

• • Arthrex Inc. Naples
• • Lee Memorial Health System Fort Myers
• • LeeSar Fort Myers
• • NCH Healthcare System Naples

Information Technology

• • Gartner Inc. Fort Myers

Manufacturing

• • Heinz North America Fort Myers
• • Raymond Building Supply North Fort Myers
• • Shaw Development Bonita Springs