It's no longer news that Manatee County has a strong and vital economy, with many of its corporations in varied industries busy adding bricks and mortar as well as staff to meet increased demand for products and services. But emerging out of this general expansion are two clusters that seem particularly strong: The packaging equipment industry has a significant and growing presence, and the marine and pleasure boating industry is plowing ahead after a swoon during the last decade. Trailing close behind, the county's technology firms are also making a very strong showing.

If there's just one concern in this rosy picture of business expansion, it's where to find the workers to make these products and provide those services. With a 2.3 percent unemployment rate (second lowest in the state, just 0.2 percent more than Sarasota County), captains of industry are becoming innovators in recruiting and retaining their workforce. And a Manatee-Sarasota county alliance has been the first in the state to open one-stop job centers to help employers and employees find one another.

GEBO Corporation USA, a designer and manufacturer of packaging assembly lines, finds many of its recruits through the University of South Florida.

"It's not as easy to recruit here as in a big city with four universities," says Marc Aury, the firm's president and CEO, referring to his days of recruiting staff in the firm's Montreal headquarters. "But we have a good relationship with USF and it is very easy to attract good employees. Since it takes a two- or three-year investment to get people to perform at their best, having a nice environment for the family is crucial. We've brought people from Canada and Europe and if their family isn't happy, it won't work. This area is safe, the schools are good, and when the work week is over it's almost like a holiday. We've been able to attract people from the north, especially in the winter. The sunshine is an allure."

The allure of the Tampa Bay area for GEBO's United States headquarters is clear. "We were looking for a place to expand our North American operations outside Montreal," Aury says. GEBO's parent company, the Sidel Corp., is headquartered in Le Havre, France- the firm manufactures blow-molding equipment- and GEBO has additional operations in Santiago, Chile, and Sao Paolo, Brazil. "It made sense to be close to South America."

Not wanting to start its operations from scratch, the firm purchased the Aidlin Company, already in the packaging equipment industry locally. "It was perfect," Aury says. "It was on the West Coast of Florida and a good, complementary business."

Packaging capital?

Another factor in the move is the cluster of packaging equipment firms already in the area.

"The packaging industry has moved from the Midwest and this is now a top location for this industry," Aury says. "The top four major manufacturers are here and about 20 in all are located from Sarasota to Tampa. Twenty companies doing the same thing builds a reservoir of talent. And we can consult with local companies on special projects. It's nice to have these companies to draw from and trade services with."

Marine hardware supplier G.G. Schmitt & Sons is located within a mile of three boat builders. Like other firms, it's looking for workers.

In its transactions, GEBO acquired a campus in southern Manatee with several large manufacturing facilities, creating a situation that left its corps of engineers scattered. "This is an engineering-driven type of company and we needed a building for selling services," says Aury. "We decided to do this investment and designed an open concept for our people to work together, building 40,000 square feet of offices."

Of the firm's 175 employees, 100 are engineers who are now consolidated in the new two-story administrative center. But that's not all the expansion planned at GEBO. The firm is in the process of designing and getting permits for another 30,000-square-foot assembly building.

"We design conveyors, machinery, conveying lines and packaging lines for the food, pharmaceutical and personal care industries," says George Louli, the firm's marketing director. "We provide a turnkey packaging line."

Significant innovations are under way at GEBO.

One involves the production of the new plastic jars that Campbell's has introduced for its soups. "That project is ours," Louli says. "Florida is one of the first test markets at Publix stores."

And others are on the way. "The next wave consumers may expect to see is beer in plastic bottles," says Louli. "It's already being packaged in limited test markets. It was at the Super Bowl. This is the beginning of the end for glass."

And while busy with new inventions and expanding its headquarters, GEBO seems constantly to be adding staff. Forty new positions were created last year. "Local college engineering departments help us get young talent in," Louli says. "But when we need more experienced engineers, we'll go out of state and out of the country in some cases. We have the Florida factor as a positive. The cost of living is definitely lower, real estate is more affordable and, of course, the weather. Who doesn't want to live in Paradise?"

Boating in Paradise

The paradisiacal quality of life must have something to do with the area's burgeoning marine industry. Five years ago American Marine Holdings- owned by Wall Street investors Lee Kimmell and Lewis Ranieri and other partners- purchased Outboard Marine Corp. and expanded the Donzi Marine brand from three high-performance boats to more than 30 models.

Current annual revenues at "well over $100 million is no comparison to what we were previously doing," says Nick Miller, the firm's vice president of marketing. "We're leaps and bounds ahead of where we were when we started the company. We researched our buyer and produced a product for that market. They want performance, handling qualities, speed and functionality. That's been the formula for our success."

The 379-employee company recently added another 40,000-square-foot facility to its 100,000-square-foot boat manufacturing center in Whitfield Industrial Park. Customer service operations and two production lines have been set up in the new building. "This expansion is our first step," Miller says. "We're looking to expand more."

The only drawback has been finding the employees to staff expansion plans.

"Our unemployment rate is at an all-time low," Miller says. "We're very fortunate in that we have good people working for us. They are very loyal. But as we grow there are new positions to be filled and we as an industry are finding it harder to fill those positions with qualified people. We recruit from out of the area if necessary."

Miller cites advantages to being part of a marine cluster in the area. "There are five manufacturers in the area and more little ones, I'm sure," says Miller. "A lot of vendors are located here because of the size of this industry in Sarasota and Manatee counties. And we've found it easy to do business here. We feel welcome here and this is a great area to build business relationships."

Buoyed by numbers

One of those firms Donzi has established relationships with is G.G. Schmitt & Sons, based in Lancaster, Pa. The firm's marine hardware division has been operating in Manatee for 15 years and is currently building a 70,000-square-foot manufacturing plant to consolidate operations from two facilities.

"There are three major boat builders within a mile radius of our new plant," says Ron Schmitt, the marine hardware division's president. "We have Wellcraft, ChrisCraft and Donzi and many small boat-building companies. That's why we're there. The synergy is there. If we were in the auto business, we'd be in Detroit."

And this "Little Detroit" of the boat-building industry is likely to be the recipient of some product lines from the firm's Pennsylvania center, although no plans have been finalized at this time. "We're looking at adding 20 or 30 more people," Schmitt says. "We've been able to accumulate very good personnel in Manatee. We are very successful in Florida because of our people. They're the key to any successful business. It's difficult finding qualified people because of the low unemployment in the area. We try to offer a very good employee package with benefits and everything we can do to be competitive in the market place."

Another marine supplier has made $782,000 worth of improvements to its 186,000-square-foot plant in Manasota Industrial Park. Taylor Made Systems is also adding anywhere from 30 to 75 employees to its staff of 220 for the manufacture of windshields, canvas boat covers and upholstered seats.

And an expansion is also under way at Ameritex Technologies Inc., which makes marine canvas and marine interiors for boat manufacturers. The 60-employee firm, which started operations in 1998, is more than doubling in size with its move into a 38,000-square-foot manufacturing facility.

"Manatee has been a good business climate," says Don Zirkelbach, the firm's president. "The Economic Development Council has helped our business. The boat manufacturing industry in this area is an advantage for us. We have a pool of boating manufacturers in this area. It's a nice hub which aids suppliers in this area. But our biggest reason for staying in Manatee is because of the strong support of the Manatee government."

Cool air power

That support is also making things happen on a short deadline at Trilectron Industries. The high-tech manufacturer of ground support equipment for power, cooling and jet starts for aircraft recently acquired Air-A-Plane in Suffolk, Va., and is transferring production to its new $4-million, 135,000-square-foot facility in Palmetto. The addition of manufacturing from Suffolk requires that the Palmetto facility grow by another 30,000 square feet.

"The Economic Development Council is helping us make this happen quickly," says Phil Joy, the firm's president. "We plan to be moved in and fully operational by the end of May."

From its February 8th close on the acquisition of Air-A-Plane, that's a four-month turnaround. "It will take a lot of help from the EDC," Joy acknowledges.

Marine canvas and interiors are made by Ameritex Technologies Inc., which has expanded into a new 38,000-square-foot manufacturing facility.

The acquisition means that Trilectron will add another 50 positions. "We have acquired a major competitor and this will broaden our product line and increase our customer base," Joy says. "We'll have a new structure of customer service due to the acquisition. We'll be able to provide service such has never been seen before."

The subsidiary of Miami-based HEICO Corp.- which was recently named by Ernst & Young as the best managed company in 1999- has had an increase in sales from $13 million to over $42 million in less than two-and-a-half years. This significant increase is due to Trilectron's move into commercial aviation. It previously supplied military aircraft exclusively. "With the acquisition we'll have an additional $10 million in sales over the next year," Joy says. "Air-A-Plane products are well known in Asia, and this will help
Trilectron grow in that market."

In another move from strictly military applications to commercial accounts, WPI Sarasota has seen a boost in revenues and is more than doubling its operations in a 58,000-square-foot building recently acquired from Lockheed Martin. The cable and harness assembler has 140 employees and plans to add another 40 in this expansion.

"Our business is 75 percent military and we're working to expand commercial applications," says David A. Rodriguez, the firm's contract manager. "Our commercial accounts include Cheetah Technologies and Disney World."

The 12-year-old company, based in Salem, N.J., likes its Manatee location. "Our major customers are in Florida," Rodriguez says. "And those that are in the north like to visit us in the winter. The Tampa Bay area has been attracting a lot of corporations and many new businesses are moving to this area."

But along with other corporate leaders in Manatee County, Rodriguez admits it's tough finding staff. "There's a lot of competition," he says. "But we train our employees and treat them well if they'll stick with us."

Expansion fever

Sun Hydraulics, another high-tech manufacturer in Manatee, recently purchased acreage near the Sarasota/ Bradenton International Airport for future expansion. "We plan to build a 35,000-square-foot plant," says Clyde Nixon, the firm's president. "I don't know when. It depends on the global economy. Over one third of our consolidated sales are outside the United States."

The manufacturer of hydraulic cartridge valves and manifolds also owns facilities in England, Germany, Korea and China, and has 545 employees in Manatee and Sarasota counties.

The county's largest private employer has also bought acreage for expansion. Tropicana Products Inc., a subsidiary of PepsiCo Inc., spent much of 1999 selecting the best location for a new 150,000-square-foot Class A office building. The firm finally decided to build in its own back yard, due largely to the acquisition of acreage adjacent to its headquarters.

Another expansion, not quite so large as Tropicana's, has taken place at Glenroe Technologies. The manufacturer of orthodontic products has doubled in size to 36,000 square feet and added another 12 employees for a total of 86. "Increased business is the reason for our expansion," says John Bozman Sr., the firm's president. "Manatee's rapid response team made our expansion 10 times easier than I thought it would be."

The government's proactive economic development council also made the difference when it came time for Casual Creations to expand its operations. Previously operating in a 38,000-square-foot facility in Sarasota County, the manufacturer of patio equipment recently occupied a 100,000-square-foot building in Manatee. "The Economic Development Council was very helpful," says Rainer Scheel, the firm's president. "This building gives us room to grow quite a bit."

The only thing holding Scheel back in growing his 75-employee company further is finding additional staff. "This last year we grew 20 percent, compared to years before at 7 or 8 percent," he says. "We started a second shift but couldn't find employees interested to work those hours. It's evident that the unemployment rate is hovering around 2 percent. That is full employment. Those people who are available bring baggage with them and aren't really interested in working. We're going to job fairs and can only recruit people who basically are employed somewhere else and aren't actively looking."

One creative solution to filling staffing needs has been to locate adjacent to Bradenton's Staff Leasing. MarCom Technologies, a Sunrise, Fla.-based telemarketing services company, has leased a 12,240-square-foot call center previously leased by the Signature Group and has plans to staff it with 200 people in two shifts. The firm's clients include J.C. Penney, American Express, United Healthcare and Cigna Healthcare.

It's entertainment!

The impact of the move by Sterling & Reid Brothers Circus and Ice Capades to Bradenton is yet to be fully realized, but it appears that the circus may be back on its way to the Sarasota/Manatee area. "Trucks are moving 60 years of sets and costumes from Phoenix and Los Angeles to Bradenton," says Fred John, the firm's vice president who handles routing and operations of the Ice Capades. John indicates that the 10,000-square-foot facility is simply for storage.

The entertainment downtown won't be live, but developers are working steadily to bring an 18-plex Regal Cinema movie theater to Bradenton's waterfront. That's the initial effort that precedes plans for a mixed-use commercial and office development. "The commercial will mainly be restaurants," says Ron Allen, president at NDC Construction Co. and a partner in the joint venture with Benderson Development and other investors. "We're toying with the idea of throwing in residential, but we're not far enough along to make a commitment to that."

Allen does plan to build 80,000 square feet of office space and 40,000 to 50,000 square feet of restaurant space. "Downtown is revitalizing and there aren't a lot of restaurants," he says. "A lot of businesses have shown interest with a traffic generator like the theater next to it."

The partners also plan to build a suites hotel. "That hasn't been finalized, but it should be a 150-room facility," Allen says. "It's predicated on Tropicana building their corporate center at their site. We'd be the closest facility to that location."

Another project in the works for Allen is the renovation of the old city hall building, owned by Dottie McCarthy. "This will be a 40,000-square-foot office building," he says. "We will renovate the front of the existing building and connect a new building toward the water. It will be two stories and will have 'under-building' parking for 65 cars. We're finalizing leases and right now have commitments for 100 percent of the building."

In addition to the $25-million waterfront development that Allen and friends are working on, plans are under way for a 250,000-square-foot judicial center in the downtown business district. "The county has retained the services of Dr. Michael Wong from San Diego, a highly recognized authority on designing judicial centers," says Bill Theroux, executive director of the Downtown Development Authority. "Preliminary studies have been concluded and eight potential sites have been narrowed to two, both within the central business district. A decision will be made soon on its location."

Development on the Palmetto side of the Bradenton River is also proceeding at a quick clip. "Palmetto is on the threshold of something really great," says Mayor Pat Whitesel. "We're working out the various challenges and what's exciting is that we're all on the same page. The growth is wonderful. Sometimes I could use three more assistants to handle everything that keeps coming into this office."

Retailers have found Palmetto, including Winn Dixie, Eckerd, Walgreens, Blockbuster and Save-A-Lot. Albertson's is currently considering a site. "They're looking to see if we can meet some things they've requested," Whitesel says. "They need some streets vacated. The residents aren't opposed to it. We can work it out."

Local developer Gil Waters plans to build a hotel next to the Manatee County convention center. And First Dartmouth, a residential developer based in Pinellas County, is building homes along the waterfront at Riviera Dunes. The 202-acre community will accommodate 250 single-family homes and 367 multi-family units. "They've sold most of the waterfront properties and are building their first model," says Whitesel.

Palmetto also has a school- Lincoln Middle School- under construction. "We've had an elementary and high school but no middle school," Whitesel says. "This will help rejuvenate our economy."

A new industrial park is also planned for Palmetto. MBK Properties, developer of the project, estimates that the 15-acre parcel will bring as many as 250 jobs to the city.

Back at the ranch. . .

Jobs are growing in Lakewood Ranch, too. Approximately 250,000 square feet of office space has been built or is under construction at the mixed-use development that straddles the Manatee and Sarasota county lines. The 83,000-square-foot Publix shopping center recently opened fully occupied. SunTrust, Southtrust and First Union banks are building branches at the center's outparcels.

"There is a strong financial presence in Lakewood Ranch," says John Swart, president of Lakewood Ranch Realty. "Six banks are planning a presence along University Parkway. And we'll be adding stock brokerage firms. This will be a fairly nice investment area. We have 1,800 residential homes in place and our employment growth will be strong. We're at 2,500 people now and will triple that within two years because of firms like FCCI and new companies coming on board."

Meanwhile, Manatee Memorial Hospital is awaiting approval to transfer 180 of its beds to a 30-acre satellite campus in Lakewood Ranch. A decision from the state Agency for Health Care Administration is due in June.

And while the hospital awaits regulatory approvals, the Sarasota/Manatee Airport Authority awaits approval of a development of regional impact for the Sarasota/Bradenton International Air-port. Projects planned for the airport include a 2,500-foot extension of the runway and noise berms, 38 additional T-hangars and a new taxiway. Also under consideration is development of an industrial park. "The park is a 54-acre parcel in Manatee County," says Fredrick Piccolo, the airport authority's executive director. "This will provide a new revenue stream that isn't tied into our airline service and allows us to diversify. Currently if our passenger traffic goes down, so does non-airline services revenues. This will allow us to maintain a certain level of revenues regardless of passenger count."

Piccolo is also happy to see a new Hilton hotel is planned for construction across the street from the airport. "This helps marketability of our parcel," he says. "This is good for the area and the economy. It provides a long-term upside for the airport for generating traffic and creating that synergy there to see our development go better."

The expected investment for airport expansions is about $21 million.

Deeper-water port

Port Manatee is also planning a significant capital investment of approximately $40 million for expansion. The port plans to dredge to a depth of 40 feet at its berths to accommodate larger ships and will add a new 60,000-square-foot cruise terminal. And it plans to add more warehouse space for both dry and chilled products.

"This expansion is a reflection of the need created by the port's own success," says Steve Tyndal, the port's special projects director. "It's no secret that the port has exceeded normal berth utilization capacities. This expansion will make life a lot easier for our present tenants. Their success has exceeded our ability to keep pace with them. And, finally, we'll be able to market the port's geographic advantages to the cruise line industry and some other companies currently doing business in Central and South America. It makes sense to do business in Tampa Bay."

Another big project headed for the port is the Gulfstream pipeline, which Gulfstream Natural Gas plans to build across the floor of the Gulf of Mexico from Mobile, Ala., with landfall at Port Manatee and then across the state to Fort Pierce on the Atlantic coast at a cost of $1.65 billion. "They've asked for a lease of up to 240 acres of land," Tyndal says. "They plan to move 12 supply and crew ships a day to their construction site in the Gulf."

The project, however, may be delayed due to a pending merger of Coastal Corp. and its subsidiary, Gulfstream Natural Gas, with El Paso Energy. The transaction is expected to close during the last quarter of this year. A spokesman for Coastal says both companies remain committed to building the 744-mile pipeline.

Benderson on the move

But that stalled project hasn't slowed down Benderson Development Company's interest in Manatee County. Benderson last year purchased the failing Sarasota Outlet Center and is transforming it into what it's calling "University Consumer Square," which will include a Home Depot and a Winn Dixie-anchored shopping center. "When it's finished it will have 650,000 square feet of retail," says Wayne Ruben, a partner in the firm. "We'll merge it into Sarasota Outlet Center and satisfy existing tenants. We're adding an anchor and another big-box anchor [specifics were pending at press time] to that piece of property."

The firm, which has 22 projects under way in Manatee, also plans to build 360 multi-family units and 550 single-family homes adjacent to the mall site. Benderson is developing another Winn Dixie-anchored shopping center in Bradenton adjacent to the Bollettieri Tennis Academy and is developing a business park at U.S. Highway 301 and Tallevast Road. "We plan for seven buildings at 123,000 square feet each," Ruben says. "The first one is up already and we're just signing our first leases. It will be ready for occupancy in May. Leasing activity has been great. We also plan to build two 10,000-square-foot office buildings there."

Besides bringing a hotel to the downtown Bradenton waterfront development project, Benderson is planning to develop a 120-room Hampton Inn and a 40,000-square-foot strip center on property adjacent to the Prime Outlet Center in Ellenton.

"There's great growth here and this is a great county to work in," Ruben says. "The planners and planning directors are tremendous. They're good, quality people and know what they're doing. They have good foresight about well-planned developments."

And Ruben has had opportunities to take notes on his favorite places to build in Florida, with projects in Naples, Orlando and Jacksonville also. "Manatee is the crown jewel in the state," he says. "The quality of life here is beautiful."