Flagler Lands New Aerospace Company and 300 New Jobs
AVEO Engineering, a leader in international aerospace engineering, is opening a design and manufacturing operation in Flagler County with plans to hire 300 employees.
Palm Coast, FL – July 30, 2013 – Governor Rick Scott was the keynote speaker at the announcement ceremony for AVEO Engineering today. AVEO Engineering, a leader in international aerospace engineering, is opening a design and manufacturing operation in Flagler County with plans to hire 300 employees.
The event was attended by elected officials and business representatives and AVEO President Christian Nielsen.
Governor Scott said, “AVEO Engineering’s decision to expand in Flagler County and create 300 jobs is great news for Florida families. AVEO Engineering considered other locations like Texas and Malaysia, but they liked what Florida had to offer. Since taking office, our focus has been on job creation and turning Florida’s economy around . . .and with the creation of more than 330,000 private-sector jobs since December 2010 and our unemployment below the national average at 7.1 percent, we know that it’s working in Florida. Today is great news for Flagler County and the state of Florida and we look forward to watching AVEO Engineering grow in the Sunshine State.”
AVEO is a world-leading producer of high-technology electronics solutions and innovative LED lighting products for the aviation, marine, vehicle, mining, industrial, and obstruction warning/safety markets worldwide. With extensive facilities in the USA, Czech Republic, Slovakia, United Kingdom, India and Malaysia and engineering skills and experience, it has also been tapped by numerous leading companies worldwide to provide custom-engineered solutions and innovations.
The company has determined that Flagler County is an ideal location for the new plant, citing the county’s receptive business climate, an airport location with runway access, skill and knowledgeable workforce, incentives and employee quality of life as a recruitment tool.
“We’ve been working closely with the County and have conducted our workforce analysis over the past few months. We’ve learned that Flagler County and the region provide an amazing pool of talent from which to draw,” AVEO President Nielsen said. The firm plans to hire approximately 300 people over the next 3 years, starting with 50 employees in year one. The average wage for employees will be $43,000.
The company is associated with several well known aircraft manufacturers, including Sikorsky, Gulfstream, General Atomics, Hughes MD Helicopters, Boeing, Lockheed Martin, and Raytheon.
“The estimated $7 million that AVEO Engineering will invest through the construction of a new facility at the Flagler County Airport demonstrates their commitment to the community and their confidence in a long term partnership with the County,” Flagler County Administrator Craig Coffey said.
The company will temporarily operate from a leased facility in Palm Coast while the new building is being designed and constructed.
“Recruiting AVEO Engineering shows that Flagler County is competitive in today’s high-tech manufacturing market,” Flagler County Commissioner Barbara Revels said. Commissioner Revels is the chair of the County’s Economic Development Advisory Council. “It was a team effort and a game changing success for Flagler County.
Compare and Contrast
For those that want to do a Compare and Contrast:
What attracted Industries to Palm Coast / Flagler County in the 1980’s:
Palm Coast Industrial Sites:
Pine Lakes Industrial Park: a 70 acre prestige part bordered by U.S. Highway 1, Berke Parkway and St. Joe Road. Current Tenants: The Wittemann Company, Inc. ( 61,000 sq ft. headquarters and plant); Cardiac Control Systems, Ind., ( 30,000 sq foot facility) and Racal Decca marine ( 33,000 sq foot facility) Still available are sites ranging from 3.65 acres to 5 acres or combinations thereof.
Palm Coast Industrial Park: A 90 acre park bordering U.S. 1 and served by the main line of the Florida East Coast Railroad. Current tenants: Classic Lighting Corporation, Culbertson Plastics, Inc. ( opening summer, 1984), Mike Morello, Inc. Tradex Electronics, Inc. Still available are sites ranging from under an acre to 50 acres, or combinations thereof. Also industrial space in a multi-tenant building.
Both Industrial parks are two miles from I-95 which is served by nine major motor carrier lines.
Lehigh Industrial Site: A prime location on State Highway 100 offering existing space for administrative, manufacturing and warehouse distribution needs. Current tenants: Semor, Inc. and Bear Paw Mining, Inc. Offers shipping access to the Intracoastal Waterway. ITT-CDC will work with the company on renovation of existing facilities. Site is approximately four miles from Interstate 95/S.R. 1000 interchange.
Flagler County Airport Site: Located on State Highway 100 adjacent to the Flagler County Airport, a non-commercial facility with a 5,000 foot runway and company place storage favilities. No tenants, ideal for aviation-related industry. Site is approximately 3 miles from Interstate 95.
The Palm Coaster, Spring 1984, p. 17.
Other costs are lower in Palm Coast. In fact, studies show Palm Coast industries enjoy one of the lowest industrial life-style costs in the nation. Property taxes in Flagler County are among the lowest in Florida. Electric rates are 50 percent lower than New York’s Con Ed. Attractive land prices and 100 percent financing are offered by ITT-CDC. Also available are relocation assistance and discounts on house/lot packages for employees. Excellent transportation – rail, motor carries, shipping, air – is readily available.
Common line advantages aren’t exclusively statistical and factual. The well-being of employees plays a critical role, and the Palm Coast lifestyle, by improving life off the job, can improve productivity on the job.
It’s common for employees to live no more than five miles fro the job and the golf courses, tennis clubs, marina and other amenities. Still, homes are available at prices ranging from about $ 50,000. to over $ 150,000., bordering fairways, on salt water canals and on wooded homesites. Says Simon Fuger, executive vice-president, secretary and treasurer of Cardiac Control Systems, a manufactures of pacemakers and ancillary mechanisms in Pine Lakes Industrial Park, " A rewarding lifestyle was the most important consideration in where we located. That’s why we’re in Palm Coast today."
Each of the companies here, with total employment of more than 1,000 – had different priorities that were met in Palm Coast: rail service, 100 percent financing, expansion potential, deepwater port access, a rewarding lifestyle and dozens more.
They ignored the slogans and looked closely at what Palm Coast had to offer. What they found was the needle in the haystack.
_________________
* Alexander Grand and Company’s fourth study of General Manufacturing Business Climates.
Rail service is a prime advantage of Palm Coast industrial parks. Culbertson Plastics 57,000 square foot plant site is in the background.
DOING BUSINESS IN…
Palm Coast
100 percent financing for land and building at favorable rates to qualified companies.
Excellent transportation at a variety of industrial sites, offering rail service, shipping access to the Intracoastal Waterway , and a deepwater port in Jacksonville, nine motor carrier lines traveling I-95 and U.S. 1.
Relocation assistance and discounts on house/lot packages for employees.
Recruitment assistance and an immediately available labor force of 85,000.
Lower labor costs than the national average, attractive land prices and low utility costs. In short, one of the lowest life cycle costs in the nation.
Property taxes among the lowest in Florida.
The resources if ITT Community Development Corporation, including industrial construction and renovation of existing facilities to suit new tenants’ needs.
The Palm Coast lifestyle, which few communities can match.
Florida
Number one business climate in the U.S., according to Alexander Grant and Company’s most recent study.
A Right-toWork state.
Called "the next Silicon Valley" by many experts, Florida’s high tech firms have increased in number 27 percent in five years.
No personal income, inheritance, or franchise tax.
Industrial revenue bonds and numerous state and local government assistance incentive programs.
A state government attuned to business needs.
A rapidly expanding market within the state and across the Southeast.
Excellent transportation facilities for intrastate, interstate and international commerce.
To Find our more, call 1.800.874.2101
The Palm Coaster
The Community’s Newspaper
Volume 15, Number Two
Winter 1988
Cover
A sunrise provides a dramatic backdrop for Palm Coast’s new bridge over the Intracoastal Waterway, the link to beautiful beaches Palm Coasters have been waiting for.
Featureline
1. The Front Page, 2. People 3. Business , 6 Food, 7. Homes, 10. Vacations, 12. Schools, 14. Sports
Highlights of 1988:
The Palm Coaster Winter 1988 Twenty Five Cents
Palm Coaster – The Community Newspaper
The Palm Coaster Winter 1988 Volume 16, Number Two
The Palm Coaster
The Community’s Newspaper
Volume 15, Number Two
Winter 1988
Cover
A sunrise provides a dramatic backdrop for Palm Coast’s new bridge over the Intracoastal Waterway, the link to beautiful beaches Palm Coasters have been waiting for.
Featureline
1. The Front Page, 2. People 3. Business , 6 Food, 7. Homes, 10. Vacationa, 12. Schools, 14. Sports
The Palm Coaster – The Community’s Newspaper Winter 1988
Palm Coast Blossoming as New Hometown
PALM COAST< Florida This rapidly growing planned community is becoming the ‘resort hometown’ planners at ITT Community Development Corporation envisioned ten years ago.
The "hometown’ aspect of life in Palm Coast is evident everywhere. Citizens are involved with community growth; activities and challenges. Local government and ITT-CDC play stong roles in planning for and meeting those challenges successfully.
The ‘Resort’ envionment is Florida at her finest. Palm Coast golf courses and all-surface tennis club have earned national recognition. Complimenting these are five miles of beach.., a new beach club with pool, waterways and marina for boating, community-wide landscaping and a waterfront hotel and timeshare resort for vacationers and visitng friends. It is an atmosphere that attracts new industry, stores, services and more than 100 new residents each month to Palm Coast.*
* The Palm Coaster, Winter 1988, Page 1.
Highlights of 1988:
Palm Coaster – The Community Newspaper
The Palm Coaster Winter 1988 Volume 16, Number Two
The Palm Coaster The Community’s Newspaper VACATIONS Page 10
PALM COAST RESORTS ARE PICTURE PERFECT
Palm Coast, Florida – If you’re not among the lucky 11,000 or so who live here all the time, you can still enjoy the Palm Coast life for a week or two or more, at vacation resorts among Florida’s finest.
Seeing is believing, so we shall let pictures do most of the talking.
A pelican’s view of a people’s paradise…the Palm Coast beach, and new beach club, a place in the sun for vacationers and residents.
The Sheraton Palm Coast Resort and Palm Coast Marina…early evening.
The Harbor Club vacation ownership resort…villas surrounding Oak Tree Island.
You’ve seen the photographs. Now see the real thing. For Harbor Club sales information—vacations for a lifetime–contact your nearest Palm Coast sales office or call toll-free 1.900.874.1828 and ask for the Harbor Club at extension 870.
To reserve your waterfront room at the Sheraton, call 904. 445.3000 and ask for the Harbor Club at extension 870.
Palm Coast property owners can arrange for a holiday through area sales offices.