Florida Spotlight, September 2002, page 4, Site Selection magazine

BARTOW, Fla. —
What Florida county just reaped major expansions from Publix Super-markets, Coca Cola and Progress Energy?
If you guessed Polk County, you are correct -- and you are probably also in a distinct minority. Despite Polk's track record, it's probably the best-kept secret in Florida.
Home to such giants as Scotty's, W.S. Badcock Corp., IMC-Agrico and Comcar Industries, Polk represents a $13-billion economy and 500,000 residents in search of an identity. But that identity may be falling into place for the county in the middle of Florida's High-Tech Corridor.
"The demographic numbers show that Polk is shifting from blue-collar to white-collar jobs," says Gordon Kettle, economist for the Polk County Office of Economic Development. "New jobs are being created in business services and health services, and we are showing growth in logistics users and insurance carriers such as State Farm and GEICO."
Three recent corporate announcements illustrate Polk's progress:
• On July 3, the Minute Maid Division of the Coca Cola Co. announced that it had selected Auburndale over locations in Alabama and Georgia as the location for a $130 million bottling facility.
• Earlier this year, Publix completed the relocation of its corporate headquarters to a new 320,000-sq.-ft. (29,760-sq.-m.) complex on Airport Road in Lakeland. About 2,300 people work at the headquarters of the $14.6-billion company.
• Florida Gov. Jeb Bush has approved a 530-megawatt, $200-million expansion of the Progress Energy Andrew Hines generating plant near Bartow -- one of 10 new power plants either planned or under construction in Polk.

A Kingdom of Industry

Med-tech, however, isn't the only industry cluster taking root in Central Florida. In the Orlando area, advanced manufacturing and simulation technology are driving plant expansions.
On April 9, Florida Gov. Jeb Bush announced that Indra Sistemas, a Spanish company involved in information technology, defense electronics, simulation systems and automatic test equipment, will expand its operations in the Orlando suburb of Winter Park.
The Madrid, Spain-based company makes computers, radar detectors for aircraft, flight simulators, air traffic control systems and software-related products.
Most of the company's work in Central Florida comes from defense-related activities. Indra has a contract with the U.S. Navy for simulators for F-14 and AV-8B combat aircraft. Indra Systems estimates that the 160 new jobs at the Winter Park facility will pay an average of $61,000 per year.
Mitsubishi Heavy Industries of America last year announced that it would build a $40-million manufacturing plant in the Seminole County city of Lake Mary, where 450 people will make turbine engines.
A pivotal component in Central Florida's ability to attract high-tech facilities is the presence of venture capital. Even though technology companies were hit hard in 2001 by the sudden decline of their stocks, Florida ranked second in the nation in 2001 in attracting venture capital.
The biggest winner in Florida last year was Florida Digital Network Inc. of Orlando, a high-tech communications services firm which last year raised $130 million in VC cash. FDN plans to use the money to expand its network and infrastructure throughout Florida and offer a broader package of services to its customers.

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