Highlights of Economic and Business Growth in the Tampa Bay Region (News Briefs)

TAMPA BAY, Fla., June 1 /PRNewswire/ -- News briefs concerning economic and
business growth in the Tampa Bay Region from the Tampa Bay Partnership:

John Deere Division Opens National Service Center in Tampa Bay
Nortrax Inc., a John Deere construction and forestry equipment dealer
operating throughout North America, announced it is opening a new shared
services center in Tampa. Nortrax will employ 60 people in the fields of
accounting, finance, credit, human resources, information technology, sales,
marketing, parts, service, rental, used equipment and inventory management.
The new 24,000-square-foot shared services center will provide centralized
services to all 40 Nortrax U.S. branches and select services in Canada.
(Contact: 813-635-2300, www.nortrax.com)

Chromalloy to Invest $16.5 Million to Expand Tampa Bay Turbine Engine Facility
Chromalloy, a supplier of components, PMA parts and specialized component
repairs for turbine engines in aerospace and land-based applications,
announced a $16.5 million investment to expand its Tampa engine component
production to offer additional casting capabilities. Chromalloy's Tampa
operation employs 195 people. The company anticipates hiring up to 200
additional skilled employees as the new casting equipment and furnaces become
operational. The company's Tampa facility is one of more than 30 operations
and sales offices in its global network. (Contact: Cathy Gedvilas,
212-692-2078, cathy_gedvilas@sequa.com)

Global Engineering Headquarters Coming to Tampa Bay
Illinois-based Veethree Electronics and Marine LLC, OEM supplier of mechanical
and electronic instrumentation, has located its global engineering
headquarters to Manatee County. Veethree, which acquired the assets of the
Gauge Division of Teleflex Inc. that was closing operations in Lakewood Ranch,
also hired more than 50 people whose jobs would have been lost when Teleflex
closed. Veethree will manufacture the existing Teleflex product line serving
the marine and industrial markets in its 35,000-square-foot Manatee facility,
which will be the company's global engineering headquarters. Founding in
1976, Veethree has a worldwide presence as an OEM, defense and aftermarket
supplier of instrumentation, clusters, sensors and switches. (Contact: Shekhar
Tewatia, 941-538-7775, shekhar.tewatia@veethree.com)

Tampa Named Among North American Cities of the Future
New York, San Francisco, Tampa and Greenville were ranked as the top cities in
the 2009/10 North American Cities of the Future Competition published in the
April 2009 edition of fDi Magazine. Tampa ranked first in the small cities
category and sixth overall in the competition that involved data collection
from nearly 400 cities. The information on foreign direct investment projects
was set under six categories: economic potential, human resources, cost
effectiveness, quality of life, infrastructure and business friendliness along
with foreign direct investment promotional strategy. (Contact: Chris
Steinocher, 813-878-2208, csteinocher@tampabay.org)

Sparton Electronics To Remain In Tampa Bay
Sparton Electronics, a leading manufacturer of electronic circuit boards used
in aerospace, medical, homeland defense and military applications, has
announced it will remain in their Hernando County production facility.
Sparton had considered consolidating all Florida operations to their
production facility in Michigan but was swayed to remain in Tampa Bay with a
local business retention incentive package put together by Hernando County
Office of Business Development in conjunction with incentives offered through
Enterprise Florida. The company currently occupies a 137,000-square-foot
building and employs 179 full-time workers. The company plans to expand their
facility and add at least 100 additional employees by the end of 2011.
(Contact: Dick Pacini, 248-276-1970, dpacini@millerschingroup.com)

USF Poly to Collaborate with Vietnamese University
Continuing to seek international partnerships, the University of South Florida
Polytechnic (USFP) has entered into an agreement to exchange faculty with Vinh
University in Vietnam. Up to three faculty members from each institution will
be welcomed each year to work on a project funded by the World Bank to
strategically improve Vinh University's information technology curriculum. In
March, USFP announced the signing of a collaborative agreement with France's
Euromed Marseille School of Management and a program to host students from
Polytech Marseille. (Contact: Tom Hagerty, 863-667-7077,
thagerty@poly.usf.edu)

Global Trade Training Program
Southwest Florida marine industry businesses can now access international
export training as a result of a partnership between the Economic Development
Corporation (EDC) of Sarasota County, Workforce Florida and Enterprise
Florida. The Global Trade Training program is a $1.1 million training
partnership involving six statewide organizations. The EDC received a $48
thousand grant to help area small and medium-sized marine-related businesses
master the exporting process and enhance international sales opportunities
that will ultimately grow the businesses and create jobs. Participants
attending the full series of workshops will develop a complete export
marketing plan as part of the program. (Contact: Emily Sperling, 941-309-1200
x106, esperling@edcsarasotacounty.com)

TBARTA Regional Transportation Master Plan Adopted
The Tampa Bay Area Regional Transportation Authority (TBARTA) Board adopted
its Regional Transportation Master Plan at its May 22 Board meeting. The
TBARTA Regional Transportation Master Plan provides a framework for a
seamless, linked transportation system using a variety of transportation types
such as highways, rail, and bus. The Regional Plan defines a network of high
capacity corridors that demonstrate improved mobility and get people to where
they want to go throughout the seven county Tampa Bay region, regardless of
how many city boundaries or county lines are crossed. "The adoption of this
Regional Transportation Plan means that we will be able to begin to take the
next steps toward building a balanced transportation system that will improve
the quality of life for everyone in the region," said Shelton Quarles,
Chairman of TBARTA. (Contact: Cindy Sharpe, 813-986-0877,
c.sharpepr@verizon.net)

UCH Long Term Care Center Opens
University Community Hospital recently opened its Long Term Acute Care Center
in Connerton, Pasco County. The 48,000-square-foot facility was built to
accommodate up to 50 beds and serves patients who suffer from chronic
illnesses that need care longer than a few nights. (Contact: Debi Martoccio,
813-903-3703, dmartoccio@mail.uch.org)

SOURCE Tampa Bay Partnership

Betty S. Carlin of Tampa Bay Partnership, +1-813-872-2811,
bcarlin@tampabay.org