Stirling-Cooke Insurance Co. is the anchor tenant in a new 26,000-square-foot building in the Financial Park at Town Center at Lakewood Ranch.

At Trilectron, HEICO built on Borax's foundation, bringing in C. Phillip Joy as president. He made sweeping changes in production and sales techniques. The results have been an increase in annual sales to about $30 million and expansion of staff from 93 to 165 workers. Trilectron recently occupied its new $4-million, 135,000-square-foot headquarters - dedicated to founder Bud Borax - on U.S. Highway 41 about a mile south of its former 35,000-square-foot facility near Port Manatee.

"We considered moving out of the area, but really wanted to stay," Joy says. "This area makes it possible for us to offer a lot to our customers when they visit the facility, and we're special here. The county has been very supportive. They put up the bond for our new facility and are helping us recruit manpower."

Joy, who came from Pratt & Whitney, immediately implemented more modern production principles at Trilectron. "The firm had been using 1960s manufacturing processes," he says. "I focused on the product lines and we began to apply powerful management tools such as synchronous manufacturing, lean thinking, sinjitsu kaisan and 'just in time' delivery to streamline operations. Large corporations have been using these methods for years in order to be competitive in the international marketplace."

Trilectron has also moved into the commercial airline market. Corporate logo flags for Northwest, Continental, Delta, USAir and Southwest fly in the plant. "We are maintaining our defense industry contracts," Joy says. "We have a big contract for the F-22 Raptor (the U.S. Air Force's stealth fighter jet) and may have the contract for the new Eurofighter."

Trilectron is also involved in the international space station as the provider of power for testing electrical systems before they are launched. Testing equipment operates at four one-millionths of a second. "Our resident geniuses are really pressing the envelope for these electronics," says Joy.

The firm recently celebrated a minor victory when it delivered 91 air conditioning units within a four-month window to Northwest Airlines. "Last year we could do three air conditioning units a month," Joy says. "Now we're delivering a unit every day. Even Northwest admitted this was an impossible task, but we did it. And this has spurred new business for us."

That new business is showing in the numbers. Sales for first quarter 1999 grew by 27 percent over last year's first quarter; income grew by 50 percent.

The company is expanding through acquisitions. The firm recently acquired Radiant Power Corporation of Santa Ana, Calif., a subsidiary of Toronto-based Derlan Industries Ltd. The product line includes backup power supplies and battery packs for commercial aircraft. Production is being relocated to Palmetto, adding 30 new jobs.

Finding a qualified workforce was made easier by hiring from a firm that recently left Sarasota, but Trilectron is also in early stages of setting up training programs with Manatee Community College and the University of Tampa. "These students will get real-time experience and college credit for their work," says Joy. "We're starting with 20 positions."

Cheetah off the leash
Brett Price is another entrepreneur showing prodigious results at Bradenton's Cheetah Technologies. The firm, started in 1971 as Superior Electronics Group Inc., builds network management systems for broadband telecommunications networks.

"Ben Price purchased the firm in 1989 when there were seven people in the company," says Brett, Ben's son and now president of Cheetah. "I came down in 1992 when the firm was doing less than a $1 (in annual sales). There were 10 or 12 people. We were doing a lot of development work at that time. We reformulated strategies and product development tactics and it took off from there. Our annual sales in 1998 were near $40 million."

Last year Price consolidated operations into a new 135,000-square-foot facility. They were previously in five buildings totaling 60,000 square feet. The firm employs 300 workers and is continuing to add staff.

The new Cheetah Technologies facility was built as part of a Rapid Response Team project with Manatee County. "Manatee went above and beyond to help us," Price says. "We couldn't have gotten into the facility as quickly as we did had it not been for their support. In business, you want your government beside you and behind supporting you, but please don't get in front of us. Manatee has adopted a philosophy of helping business grow and providing more economic well-being to the community. It's a refreshing approach."

Price attributes the recent explosion of his company's growth to changes within the telecommunications industry. "You know you're in a hot industry when you're on CNN every night," he says. "If you can beat out Monica Lewinsky, you're doing really good. AT&T's intent to purchase TCI has put the entire industry on a fast pace. A lot of capital is flowing into our industry."

Trilectron and Cheetah Technologies are symbolic of recent Manatee County growth, and there are many other examples.

"We have 24 projects amounting to $100 million of capital investment," says Nancy Engel, executive director at the Manatee County Economic Develop-ment Council. "Sysco Corporation, Securitylink and Tropicana boosted capital investment last year. We still have companies doing expansions."

The county's EDC staff was pleased, too, with the relocation of the executive staff of Intertape Polymer Group Inc. (AMEX: ITP) to the southern end of the county. The Canadian firm, which will retain its Montreal headquarters, manufactures specialized polyolefin plastics and paper-based packaging products for industrial use in 14 facilities throughout North America and Europe. In the second quarter of the firm's 1998 fiscal year, sales grew to $143 million, more than 13 percent higher than the 1997 figure.

"Our company is growing at 25 percent a year," says Mel Yull, the firm's chairman of the board. "We're expanding into Mexico and Latin America in the near future and this location is a staging platform for entering those markets."

Another corporate newcomer to the area is New Castle Modular Specialties, based in New Castle, Ind. The firm is opening a 12-employee, 18,000-square-foot facility in south Manatee to manufacture portable classrooms for schools throughout Florida. Ronald Sawicki, the firm's president, says he chose the area because of the county government's attitude. The Rapid Response Team helped Sawicki find a suitable site and quickly provided information on impact fees and permitting.

Whether they're in bricks-and-mortar or portable facilities, schools need the food and paper products that Sysco Food Services, a subsidiary of Houston-based Sysco Services and System Company (NYSE:SYY) offer. The firm opened a 200,000-square-foot distribution center in Palmetto in 1996 and recently added another 100,000 square feet. The firm, which employs 500, provides food service products to restaurants, hotels, hospitals and schools in central west Florida. Sysco's president also speaks highly of the county.

"The county was extremely easy to work with," says Carl Cannova. "They made it easy to expand by working with us, as opposed to what we've experienced in some other parts of the country. Manatee bends over backwards."

Researching citrus
Orange juice producer Tropicana Products Inc., the county's largest employer with a staff of 3,200, has been squeezing citrus at its 250-acre corporate headquarters for 52 years. At the height of the citrus season 400 trucks deliver 45,000 pounds of fruit every day.

Last summer Tropicana opened a $17-million, 69,000-square-foot research center. "It's the world's largest citrus research and development center," says Mark Gutsche, Tropicana's vice president of communications. "We're doing global research for new products, new packaging and processing techniques and improved root stocks for trees."

Ownership of the company changed yet again last August when PepsiCo acquired the firm, which has worldwide sales of $3 billion, from Seagrams. "There have been very few changes," Gutsche says. "They're very supportive and understand consumer goods."

Another firm with a long Manatee history is Beall's Inc., which opened its first store on the riverfront in downtown Bradenton in 1915. That small presence has since grown into a corporation with 64 department stores and 186 outlets in several southern states. Annual sales in 1998 were $410 million, up $40 million from the previous year. Also last year, Beall's opened a 270,000-square-foot distribution center to serve its entire network of stores. This complements a 400,000-square-foot distribution center at corporate headquarters, which employs about 775 people.

"We had four facilities around the state doing outbound distribution that we consolidated to Bradenton," says Steve Knopik, the firm's president. "Our new distribution center is designed to meet our needs through the year 2003."

Distribution center construction Bradenton developer and contractor Mike Carter "was a marvel," Knopik says. "We struck the deal with Mike in January 1998 and took occupancy by November. It was a phenomenally well-orchestrated construction project. The county put the project on a fast track and that enabled a lot of the permitting and approval processes to go more quickly than normal."

Another manufacturer of retail products is also significantly expanding. CFI Manufacturing, which produces outdoor furniture and cushions and umbrellas, has added 100,000 square feet to its 162,000-square-foot facility in Whitfield Industrial Park.

Elcotel Inc., a manufacturer of microprocessor-based components and software for public pay telephones, which had 1998 sales of $48 million, has doubled the size of its corporate headquarters and manufacturing facility to 87,000 square feet in several buildings at Parkland Center. Last year the firm acquired Atlanta-based Technology Services Group (TSG) and a portion of the assets of Lucent Technologies.

The operations of TSG have been transferred locally, bringing 30 jobs. "We used to be in the independent phone market but with these acquisitions, we have moved into the regulated pay phone market," says Ken Noack, the firm's vice president of operations. "This gives us a greater presence."

An expansion of markets has meant growth for St. Armands Baking Company, too. That firm is building a new 41,000-square-foot baking facility in Bradenton, doubling the size of its current bakery. St. Armands employs 85 people, who produce and ship 200,000 units a week. "We were doing business mostly on the west coast of Florida and decided to cover the rest of the state, minus the panhandle," says Bernard Vroom, the firm's president. "This is a good location for distributing throughout the state. We can reach any part of our market within five hours."

Lakewood Ranch
Not that long ago, the 5,500 acres in southeast Manatee that are now Lakewood Ranch were suited mostly to grazing cattle. Now that acreage is being transformed into a master-planned residential and commercial center that currently includes 1,200 homes and Town Center, where SecurityLink from Ameritech operates a 100,000-square-foot call center, and Stirling Cooke Insurance is headquartered in 12,000 square feet as the anchor tenant of a 26,000-square-foot office building.

"Lakewood Ranch is booming," says John Swart, president at Lakewood Ranch Realty. "We had 500 home sales last year. We've also developed retail, medical, office and apartments and have had good success in putting people in there."

Johns Eastern Company Inc. of Sarasota is moving its 65 local employees into a new 20,000-square-foot corporate headquarters currently under construction there. The firm provides claims adjustment, third-party administration and risk management services for national and international clients. "We chose to go there because we can appeal to workers from Tampa and St. Petersburg," says Ken Johns, the firm's president. "The travel time is easier and we're looking for a broader base to draw employees from."

Other corporate moves into Town Center include Stanford Management Group, Northern Trust Bank and American Bank. Manatee Memorial Hospital has bought seven acres on which to build a 50,000-square-foot medical office building with emergency care services.

Residential development is bustling at Lakewood Ranch. "We have plans for 7,000 homes," Swart says. "We're working closely with GTE to provide pre- wiring of these homes for lines for telephones, computers, fax machines and the Internet (see "Business Parks Get Wired," Maddux Report, January/ February 1999). There are quite a few homeowners who run a business out of their home now." Publix is building a grocery store in Town Center. "It will be a 51,000-square-foot store with 32,000 square feet for other retailers," says Swart. "Six churches have bought land in Lakewood Ranch. Residents won't need to leave the ranch for most essentials: schools, shopping, churches and work."

Retail on the move
Buffalo, N.Y.-based Benderson Development Company is developing several retail projects throughout the county. The firm purchased Sarasota Outlet Mall and another contiguous 600 acres and plans to convert the mall into a more powerful retail center, with two national anchors. "We're going to bring in big box users," says Wayne Ruben, managing partner in the firm's Clearwater office. "We'll convert to a traditional power strip center with about 700,000 square feet of retail."

Benderson is also building a 110,000-square-foot shopping center (again anchored by Winn Dixie Supermarkets Inc.) in Bradenton and plans to develop a nearby corner with a national drug chain. As if that's not enough to keep the developer busy, Benderson is also planning to build a 120-room Hampton Inn and a 60,000-square-foot strip center nearer Ellenton's Prime Outlet discount shops.

Another Benderson project is the Sarasota-Bradenton Commerce Center near the Sarasota-Bradenton International Airport. Plans call for three 300,000-square-foot speculative flex buildings. The first building is expected to be completed in July.

By air and by sea
The Sarasota-Bradenton International Airport is working to extend runways by 2,500 feet and develop an industrial park with 85 acres in Manatee County. "If approvals come in the fall, we should see completion by winter 2002," says Fredrick Piccolo, the airport's executive director.

Port Manatee has been in the midst of a $30-million expansion, with a great portion of that funding spent on infrastructure improvements and harbor maintenance. The port purchased 412 acres of land for further expansion, and not long ago opened a new 121,000-square-foot warehouse.

"It was completely leased the day it opened," says Steve Tyndal, the port's special projects director. "Our primary users are Del Monte, Tropicana and Federal Marine Terminals. We've just signed an agreement with a firm (which he declined to name) that will use the port's foreign trade zone to import tobacco and perfume products."

New faces for downtowns
The riverfront in downtown Bradenton has been the center of new construction for the new city hall. The 130,000-square-foot, two-story City Center also houses the city's police department and a large civic auditorium. And the recently complete Twin Dolphin Marina is a $4-million project that added 175 slips, of which 95 percent are already leased.

Mike Carter has purchased the buildings along 12th Street West and plans to restore them to their 1924 original design. The $1.75-million Manatee County headquarters for SouthTrust Bank is under construction at Third Avenue. And the old City Hall site was recently purchased by Dottie McCarthy, who is planning a $3.5-million restoration to provide 20,000 square feet of office space and an additional 40,000 square feet due for construction.

Downtown Palmetto is also being revitalized. A 100-plus-room Hilton Gardens Hotel is planned, and the office building adjacent to city hall was recently sold. "Federal and state agencies will occupy the building," says Mayor Pat Whitesel.

"And we have a new Eckerd and Walgreens. We've also attracted a Winn Dixie MarketPlace and Blockbuster."

A minor league basketball team has selected Palmetto for its headquarters. The Gulf Coast Sundogs relocated from Jacksonville. "We did due diligence on the area and felt it would be a good move," says Greg Harris, the team's director of operations. "The Manatee Civic Center is a great arena for our league."

Being prepared
In the 1970s Manatee County invested in its infrastructure as a way of planning for growth. It was planning that appears to be paying off. With continual updating of its comprehensive plan, county planners pride themselves at keeping on top of infrastructure issues.

"Our growth plan is a dynamic process that is always revising itself," says Janet Hoffman, acting chief of comprehensive planning. "Our biggest issue is transportation. We are seeing roadways that are getting to capacity and we're looking at how to improve them."

The county has expanded its southeast wastewater treatment plant, adding 7.3 million gallons per day.