Meet the Projects introduces Investors to recent expansion projects


January 22, 2020



   Jorge Diaz

Like many skilled trades, the airline maintenance industry is experiencing a substantial worker shortage. To address its own need for 400 airline maintenance technicians, Airborne Maintenance & Engineering Services implemented an apprenticeship program to train the next generation of workers. Airborne turned to the EDC for help to get the program started, and CareerSource Tampa Bay helped identify potential candidates.

 

Upon completing the 12-week program, trainees “have a career for life,” said Airborne’s Jorge Diaz while addressing a crowd of more than 100 Tampa Bay EDC Investors at a recent Meet the Projects event sponsored by Fifth Third Bank and hosted at Tampa International Airport.

 

Meet the Projects is a semiannual event that introduces Investors to the leaders of some of the EDC’s recent corporate expansion and relocation projects. Diaz, along with five other presenters, shared why they chose to move their companies to the Tampa community or why they have decided to continue to expand their business in this market.

 

  • Anuvia Plant Nutrients announced in 2019 that it entered into a long-term strategic relationship with The Mosaic Company to repurpose a shuttered Plant City facility to produce 1.2 million tons of its sustainable bio-based fertilizers. The EDC helped Anuvia with expedited permitting, workforce assistance programs, and business introductions, including contacts at Port Tampa Bay.

 

  • Bluleadz, a Tampa-based inbound marketing agency, has made a long-term commitment to Tampa and has ambitious goals for continued growth. The EDC helped Bluleadz secure workforce training grants and make introductions in the business community.

 

  • C.-based TheIncLab is one of Tampa’s most recent expansion projects, announcing a new artificial intelligence lab at The Undercroft in Ybor City. The EDC provided the company with a site visit, market overview and research, and introductions to the local academic institutions – all services that founder Adriana Avakian said was instrumental in setting roots down in Tampa.

 

  • Julius Davis, President and CEO, of VoltAir Consulting Engineers contributes his company’s growth to the growth of Tampa. With projects through Tampa International Airport, the City of Tampa, HCC, and Water Street Tampa, just to name a few, it’s no wonder VoltAir needed to triple its office space and hire 10 new employees.

 

  • WebstaurantStore, one of the largest food supply companies on the Internet, chose Tampa for a new office that will create 300 new jobs. The company focuses on getting the right people in the door and then empowering them once they’re on board. The Tampa office opened in 2018 and has already hired 150 new employees.

 

Read more about these growing companies in the Tampa Bay Business Journal.

 

For more information on the EDC can help your growing business, visit tampabayedc.com/edc-services/ or contact Steve Morey, SVP of economic development, at smorey@tampabayedc.com or 813-518-2630.

 

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