Central Florida Business News

The latest trade figures show the value of Florida exports rose 3 percent in August to $4.5 billion, after declining 4.5 percent in July, according to figures compiled by e-forecasting.com.

However, the report warned Florida exporters can expect a “weakening in export orders from their major foreign markets next year, especially from advanced economies.”

Florida ranked 35th in the United States for exports, rising 17.5 percent in the first eight months of the year, based on World Trade Organization estimates compiled by the New Hampshire-based consulting and research firm.

However, nearly 70 percent of Florida’s exports are manufactured goods, and those exports were relatively flat, rising 0.4 percent in August to $3.1 billion.

Florida’s monthly manufacturing stagnation was mirrored by overall U.S. exports this year, which were hurt by weak demand in the summer months due “to the slowdown in the global economic recovery, particularly evidenced in the European political and economic turmoil,” according to Evangelos Simos, e-forecasting.com’s chief economist. U.S. exports in August were flat at $107.7 billion.

Overall, August manufactured goods output this year outpaced last year by 18.3 percent, seasonally adjusted. Foreign shipments from Florida factories rose to $489 million in August.

Non-manufactured goods rose 9.6 percent in August to $1.3 billion, reflecting an uptick in exports of agricultural, mining and other products.

Globally, the “value of world merchandise trade” rose about 25 percent in the first six months of 2010, up strongly from a year ago, totalling $7.1 trillion.

The United States was the second-largest exporter in the world, after China, with foreign sales reaching $705 billion, up 23 percent from the first six months of 2009.

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Valencia Community College awards more associate degrees than any other two-year school in the nation, according to a report just published by Community College Week.

In addition, Valencia also leads all two-year schools in the number of associate degrees awarded to minorities, an 18 percent increase from the year before.

The report was compiled using data from the U.S. Department of Education’s National Center for Education Statistics and focused on degrees conferred during 2008-2009.

In that academic time period, Valencia awarded 5,128 associate degrees, including 1,956 earned by minority students.

“Valencia’s focus on improving student success, particularly in the critical first year of college, is paying off,” said Valencia President Sanford C. Shugart. “The rankings also underscore the role Valencia plays as the primary entry point to a college education in our region.”

Valencia also ranked first in the number of degrees awarded in general studies, 10th in nursing and 15th in engineering technology

Read more: Valencia No. 1 for associate degrees - Orlando Business Journal

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Space Coast 

In a region famous for thrill rides, space travel and NASCAR racing, high-technology ventures are propelling new industries forward.

As Bill Warren looked nationwide for the perfect place to locate VaxDesign Corp., he had plenty of options. "We were enticed by a lot of different cities, from Dallas to Boston to Pittsburgh to San Diego," says Warren, company CEO.

Among VaxDesign's needs were access to a highly skilled workforce, proximity to a top-notch research university, a good airport and an affordable, pleasant standard of living that would appeal to new and existing employees.

Orlando has all those attributes. And, says Warren, "it is a place where everyone wants to live and visit."

So VaxDesign moved into a 14,500-square-foot space at the Central Florida Research Park next door to the University of Central Florida (UCF). Warren has 25 employees now, and he expects VaxDesign to grow to 40 or more; salaries average $100,000.

A spinoff of Oklahoma-based Sciperio Inc., VaxDesign does heady, important research. The company is attempting to create tissues from collagen that mimic the human immune system. Vaccines, medicines, even cosmetics would be tested on the tissue rather than go through the decades-long processes of animal and human trials.

Speedier testing would enable vaccines to be developed faster to fight newly emerging diseases, bio-warfare agents or mutating viruses. VaxDesign, with U.S. Department of Defense funding, is collaborating with researchers from 17 other companies and universities around the globe, including Harvard and MIT.

Warren relishes being one of the early biotech companies "to put a toe in the (regional) pond," he says. "We want to be part of the growth and steer and influence that growth."

Diversified growth
VaxDesign is one of many companies that are diversifying the eight-county Central Florida/Space Coast economy far beyond its staple tourism and service industries. High-profile attractions such as Walt Disney World, Sea World and Universal Studios continue to be economic powerhouses, but technology is firmly rooted now, too.

The region encompasses busy metro centers, rural pasture land and Atlantic Ocean beaches. Metro Orlando's four counties are Orange, centered on Orlando; Osceola, home to Walt Disney World; Semin fast-growing Orlando Sanford International Airport; and Lake, where residential growth is taking off.

Marion County and the city of Ocala are northwest of Orlando, in the geographic center of the state, while Sumter is home to the fast growing residential community called The Villages. On the Atlantic Ocean, Brevard County is home for Kennedy Space Center and attendant industry, while Volusia County is known nationally for Daytona Beach and NASCAR. At the 1,027-acre Central Florida Research Park (CFRP) campus that VaxDesign calls home, there are about 105 companies with 9,500 employees, including hundreds of UCF students and graduates.

Headquartered there are the Naval Air Warfare Center Training Systems Division, the Air Force Agency for Modeling and Simulation and the Army Simulation, Training and Instrumentation Command. CFRP is the focal point of the U.S. simulation and training industry: About $1.4 billion in defense contract work is done annually at CFRP.

The UCF Institute for Simulation and Training at CFRP provides a wide range of research and information services for the modeling, simulation and training community. CFRP companies also work in optics and lasers, medical equipment, behavioral sciences, diagnostic test equipment, cancer research, electric power generation, wireless communication and other ventures.

Entertainment economy
The Metro Orlando area is a hub for digital media companies: Some 1,200 digital media companies are based there, employing 30,000 people and annually generating $9 billion, according to the Metro Orlando Economic Development Council. Creative services include website design, corporate training, interactive e-commerce, computer animation and video game development and production.

In Maitland, the Electronic Arts-Tiburon studio produces video games including the world's best-selling sports title, the Madden NFL series. EA-Tiburon is expanding rapidly and should have 600 employees by mid-2006; many were hired to work on Madden NFL 06ole, home to the.

To help prepare a workforce for the video gaming industry, UCF, Electronic Arts and state and local governments teamed to create the Florida Interactive Entertainment Academy (FIEA). The new school was primarily funded by a $4.2 million grant from the state.

Orlando agreed to lease its downtown Expo Centre to UCF for $1 per year, and FIEA classes started in August 2005. FIEA is part of UCF's School of Film and Digital Media, and the unique academy draws praise from Steven Chiang, studio general manager for EA-Tiburon.

"We've always loved this area, and now, with the combined support from state government, local business and academic institutions, we can build the infrastructure needed to sustain our rate of growth here," says Chiang.

Meanwhile, Full Sail Real World Education, a Winter Park college, also offers associate and bachelor of science degree programs in game design and development as well as computer animation, music and other creative arts. Indeed, higher education excellence is a theme throughout the eight-county region.

In addition to UCF, Florida's second-largest public university, major institutions include the private Florida Institute of Technology in Melbourne in Brevard County. Founded in 1958 and with nearly 40,000 graduates, FIT colleges include sciences, engineering, aeronautics and business.

Daytona Beach-based Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University teaches the science, practice and business of aviation, aerospace and related technologies, offering nearly 40 degree programs. Among other programs and in partnership with airlines and corporations, Embry-Riddle provides non-degree customized pilot flight training.

Other private schools include Stetson University, Bethune-Cookman College, Rollins College and the Florida Hospital College of Health Sciences. Six community colleges include Valencia Community College, one of America's largest two-year institutions with nearly 58,000 students at several Orlando area campuses. VCC's major expansion plans include a new $70 million campus in unincorporated southeast Orange County.

Brevard Community College, with nearly 27,000 students, offers an aerospace program at Kennedy Space Center, while Lake-Sumter Community College's three campuses offer "2+2" programs that allow students to earn bachelor's degrees from nearby UCF and other schools.

Central Florida Community College west of Ocala has many workforce programs in place. The on-campus Enterprise Center, for instance, houses four agencies connecting workforce resources to the community.

Seminole Community College operates at two campuses, an instructional center, area businesses and elsewhere. Some 80 percent of SCC's faculty has advanced degrees. Daytona Beach Community College has a modeling, simulation and training program leading to a four-year degree.

Easy distribution
Transportation is a key ingredient to success in the Central/Space Coast Region. In the heart of the state, with major highways and rail and international airports in Orlando, Sanford, Melbourne and Daytona, goods distribution is a growing sector.

Marion County is at the state's geographical center, halfway between Jacksonville and Tampa, and also midway between Miami and Atlanta. Marion's excellent location is a plus for Cheney Brothers Inc., a major food distribution company based in South Florida that opened a Marion facility in 2005.

When fully operational, Cheney Brothers will employ nearly 500 employees at its 376,000-square-foot distribution facility. "We needed to expand in Florida and had some pretty specific criteria," says Byron Russell, CEO. "We needed airport access, highways to easily distribute to Tampa, Orlando, Jacksonville and Daytona, (and) we needed a railroad link. Ocala was able to meet all those criteria."

Also on the transportation front, New York-based JetBlue Airways opened a massive new training center at Orlando International Airport in 2005. Officials also announced plans to build a 300-room, $20 million lodge to house crew members in training.

The Orlando facility has room for up to 12 aircraft simulators to train the 4,500 pilots and 9,000 flight attendants JetBlue expects to hire by 2012. "We needed a campus, a place where people would want to come," says JetBlue Chairman and CEO David Neeleman.

Orlando International Airport in 2004 was the busiest passenger airport in the state, with 31.1 million arrivals and departures. OIA, No. 4 in the U.S. for domestic origin and destination travel, is the No.Ê2 airport worldwide in customer service, according to a recent J.D. Power and Associates survey.

The fastest growing mid-sized airport in Florida from 2003 to 2004 was Orlando-Sanford International, at about 47 percent. The airport grew from about 1.2 million enplanements to more than 1.8 million.

Space for growth
Space transportation is part of the region's economic development strategy. Brevard County's Space Coast Economic Development Commission recently signed a years-long pact with Kennedy Space Center that calls for the two groups to work together to develop new business and marketing opportunities.

Meanwhile, both state and local economic developers continue to promote Brevard to launch-vehicle companies as a logical home. NASA plans to replace the Space Shuttle with new spacecraft, while private firms around the world hope to capitalize on space tourism.

With those changes in mind, in mid-2005, state officials created the Commission on the Future of Space and Aeronautics in Florida to study existing space programs and make recommendations for maximizing the state's leadership.

Also in Brevard, Port Canaveral is Florida's busiest one-day cruise port and also handles an extensive range of cargo. Port Canaveral -- which is unique in offering quadramodal (sea, land, air and space) services -- exports the highest dollar-value cargo of any Florida port.

With its aviation-trained workforce, Brevard attracted Aircraft Engine Services Inc. (AES) to Titusville's Space Coat Regional Airport. AES, a former division of Bombardier Corp., is developing new piston engines for small aircraft. The company expects to grow locally to 25 employees and pay average wages of about $54,500.

Luc de Gaspe Beaubien, director of operations, says the qualified labor force and Florida's sunny weather helped convince AES. "When you are flight testing, the last thing we want is inclement weather," says de Gaspe Beaubien. "And there is a lot of airport infrastructure in Florida."

A very different kind of company also believes in Brevard. After scouting locations in North Carolina and Ohio, RMD Americas LLC, a Spain-based manufacturer of rubber products, made Brevard its U.S. base. RMD will create 70 new jobs and invest $5.5 million.

The plan: To turn old tires into various sizes and colors of mulch. RMD also makes crumb rubber products for playgrounds, rubber mesh for asphalt paving and other products. Officials credit local economic development officials for excellent support for RMD Americas.

Diverse options
Region-wide, all sectors are thriving, including financial services. Lenders First Choice, a national provider of real estate settlement services including title insurance, is creating a state-of-the-art processing facility in an existing 25,000-square-foot building in Longwood in Seminole County.

The company, which also considered Georgia sites, expects to create 240 jobs and invest $1.6 million. Seminole County approved a $675,000 tax refund package to attract the company, in exchange for job creation.

Osceola County in 2005 became home to the country's oldest and biggest sport fishing organization. The Bass Anglers Sportsman Society (BASS) moved to Kissimmee and Walt Disney World from Montgomery, Ala., in April 2005, creating 120 jobs with an average yearly wage of more than $47,000.

BASS is a multimedia company owned by ESPN, a subsidiary of Disney. BASS holds fishing tournaments, publishes magazines and produces the "Bassmaster" television show on ESPN2. Besides locating in one of the top regions in the world for fishing, BASS received an incentives package from state and local officials.

In Volusia County, manufacturing businesses are rapidly expanding. For instance, homegrown Ocean Design Inc., which makes connectors for undersea electrical and fiber-optic cables around the world, is building a new $13 million 100,000-square-foot headquarters in Daytona Beach.

The company was started in 1988 with a handful of employees in the Holly Hill garage of James Cairns, the co-founder and chairman of the board. Today Ocean Design employs about 200 people and works around the world.

Volusia and Daytona Beach economic development officials worked together to keep the company in the area. The state provided a $325,000 road grant, and the county helped secure the 15-acre site for the new headquarters.

"The support ODI has received from the city, county, and state was an integral part of the decision to move forward with this project," says CEO Mike Read.

Elsewhere in Volusia, government has been busy preparing infrastructure to attract new businesses by developing more business parks. "We were charged with having 300 acres under development in three years," says John Wickert, the county's project development director.

Thus, Tomoka Farms Industrial Park, a 120-acre park just south of Interstate 4, is scheduled to open in 2007. Planning and engineering are also under way for a new 80-acre business park on the south side of Daytona Beach International Airport.

Companies that make or distribute the components of homes are filling up business parks in Lake County's Clermont area as well as land surrounding Sumter County's mega-community, The Villages. As home construction has spread from Orlando into more rural areas, so have related supply businesses.

Home-building bonanza
Many of the tenants at Lake County's busy Ford Commerce Park on U.S. 27 at the Florida Turnpike are in homebuilding-related businesses. Kelly Homes is putting in a distribution center at the park. West Orange Lumber is doubling the facility it built just one year ago. And Adams Building Materials, a roof truss company, is building a 65,000-square-foot distribution space, says Greg Mihalic, Lake County's director of economic development and tourism. Peri International, a German company that makes concrete forms to support large concrete structures, has also established its Southeastern headquarters in the Ford Commerce Park.

Adjacent Sumter County has seen a business boom driven both by its location -- easy access to both the Florida Turnpike and Interstate 75 -- and by The Villages, an active adult community. The Villages built nearly 4,000 new homes in 2004, more than any other master planned community in the country.

The Villages community -- which straddles Lake, Marion and Sumter counties -- is building most of its homes in Sumter now.

All those rooftops have attracted many related businesses, and Sumter County is expanding several business parks to meet the demand for space.

Several building supply distribution centers have also opened recently. Restaurants, stores, motels and other businesses are being built to meet the demands of all the new residents.

Says Diana Lee, director of the Sumter County Economic Development Commission. "They have found us. It keeps us hopping up here, trying to keep up with all that's going on."

In the Central/Space Coast Region

· The region is home to more than 1,000 businesses specializing in software development and service, data processing and information retrieval.

· Thanks to Kennedy Space Center and attendant industry, there are tens of thousands of workers with aviation and aerospace know-how.

· The cluster of digital industries includes: modeling, simulation and training; film and television production; theme park rides and shows; and interactive and "immersive".

Florida's busiest airport is Orlando International, which in 2004 handled 31.1 million arrivals and departures. And the region is a prime

Tax Amendment Summary

A judge thinks this is confusing and threw it off the Jan. 29 ballot. Do you agree?

Proposing amendments to the State Constitution to increase the homestead exemption from $25,000 to 75 percent of the just value of the property up to $200,000 and 15 percent of the just value of the property above $200,000 up to $500,000, to subject the $500,000 threshold to annual adjustments based on the percentage change in per capita personal income, to authorize an increase in the $500,000 threshold amount by a two-thirds vote of the Legislature, and to specify minimum homestead exemption amounts of $50,000 for everyone except low-income seniors and $100,000 for low-income seniors; to provide for transitional assessments of homestead property under the increased homestead exemption that include preserving application of Save-Our-Homes provisions until an irrevocable election is made; to revise Save-Our-Homes provisions to conform to provisions providing for the increased homestead exemption and transitional assessments of homestead property; to require the Legislature to limit the authority of counties, municipalities, and special districts to increase ad valorem taxes; to authorize an exemption from ad valorem taxes of no less than $25,000 of assessed value of tangible personal property; to provide for assessing rent-restricted affordable housing property and waterfront property used for commercial fishing, commercial water-dependent activities, and public access at less than just value; and to schedule the amendments to take effect upon approval by the voters and operate retroactively to January 1, 2008, if approved in a special election held on January 29, 2008, or shall take effect January 1, 2009, if approved in the general election held in November of 2008.

location for the aviation/aerospace industry.