News

BDB ATTRACTS $220 MILLION IN CAPITAL INVESTMENT AND THOUSANDS OF JOBS TO PALM BEACH COUNTY

September 26, 2019 – PALM BEACH COUNTY, FLORIDA – The Business Development Board of Palm Beach County (BDB) completed its fiscal year with the growth of 34 companies that have either relocated to or expanded in Palm Beach County. All 34 companies have one thing in common: they have relocated or expanded using the BDB’s economic development services. Whether it’s expedited permitting, making the appropriate local connections, finding commercial or industrial real estate, or applying for city, county and state incentives, the BDB is positioned to ensure that Palm Beach County puts forward the most competitive information to win the deal. Within the past year, 2,725 high salary jobs were announced for Palm Beach County residents, creating a capital investment of more than $220 million through the BDB’s collaborative economic development efforts.

Over 10 of the companies coming to Palm Beach County are within the life science industry creating over 500 jobs. A proposed life science accelerator is planned for Jupiter, which will support up to 50 companies in its new 150,000 sq. ft. facility. Gift of Life opened the nation’s first stem cell collection center in Boca Raton and Expansion Therapeutics is creating cures for RNA-mediated diseases. Other companies that made moves include AlgafeedCapzer PharmaceuticalsCytonics, Detraxi, Beacon of Hope CROStrides Pharma20Lighter, and Secret Sequence.

The BDB also focuses an equal amount of time on growing companies that are already in the county. For example, the BDB assisted in the expansion of Levatas, which will create 127 jobs, and was recently named the Senate Small Business of the Week by the U.S. Senate Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship. Another local startup, Digital Resource,  just added 100 jobs in downtown West Palm Beach.  Founder Shay Berman said, “We are so proud to call downtown West Palm Beach our home. Our team here at Digital Resource is so fortunate to have the support of our community. It is unbelievably exciting to see what the future holds as we continue our expansion and build our local presence.” In the aerospace industry, the BDB assisted the expansion of CYIENT Defense Services, a local company in the north part of Palm Beach County with plans to employ up to 200 people.

The fast-growing infotech sector gained a new regional headquarters. ORBCOMM in Boca Raton announced it will employ over 30 people in its 11,500 sq. ft. office. Buyers Edge Platform, the leading nationwide restaurant and food service procurement platform, also opened offices in Lake Worth Beach. Another corporate headquarters that expanded in Boca Raton and plans to employ up to 200 people includes Flexshopper. “We appreciate the concerted efforts of all parties including the BDB and the City of Boca Raton for expediting the process and enabling us to meet key operational deadlines. We’re excited to have the entire FlexShopper family under one roof in Boca Raton and look forward to continued growth and expansion here,” said Brad Bernstein, President and CEO of FlexShopper. To the west, the BDB helped TechGarage to not only expand to Belle Glade, but also hire local Palm Beach State College students as robotics coaches.

Two companies chose Palm Beach County over other competing locations. Founded in Canada, Fluorotek USA opened a new manufacturing facility in Riviera Beach with plans to employ 100. Convergence Investment Partners relocated from Grafton, Wisconsin to Palm Beach Gardens to join Palm Beach County’s robust financial sector. “As an investment manager, there were several key attributes which led us to choosing Palm Beach County as our new home,” noted Dave Abitz, President of Convergence.  “The concentration of fellow investment professionals and hedge funds ranked high on our list of positive attributes that Palm Beach Gardens has to offer.  The favorable tax climate and weather conditions further tipped the scale in our decision.  Moving from a part of the country nicknamed the “Frozen Tundra” to a state where your license plate reads “Endless Summer,” made this an obvious choice for our team!”

Since demand in warehouse space is projected to rise over the next few years, Johnson Development Associates’ new 120,282 sq. ft. light industrial building located in Riviera Beach was a big win for the county. In fact, a recent distribution and logistics company, Sunshine Biofuels, a biofuel manufacturer that has developed alternative fuels to substitute diesel, recently announced the expansion of a 23,000 sq. ft. biofuel transloading facility in Riviera Beach, as well as an expansion in Lake Worth Beach.

All of the companies will occupy nearly 1.1 million square feet of space and are within high salary industries such as manufacturing, finance, infotech, life science, aviation / aerospace / engineering, distribution, and new corporate headquarters scattered throughout the county from Boca Raton all the way up to Jupiter.

Although 2,725 high salary jobs and $220 million capital investment definitely moves the needle, the Business Development Board also facilitated economic development success in other ways. The BDB provided technical assistance to 58 companies, connected 10 companies to talent, hosted 30 economic development events, presented 21 times on local and national platforms to promote Palm Beach County’s business climate, and traveled on 12 outreach missions. All of this activity combined demonstrates the importance of economic development and the Business Development Board will continue to foster growth for the local residents of Palm Beach County.

About Business Development Board: The Business Development Board of Palm Beach County is the official public/private economic development organization for Palm Beach County and Enterprise Florida.  Founded in 1982 as a not-for-profit corporation, our primary purpose is to attract and retain new industry, business investment, high quality jobs and workforce development through corporate relocations, expansions and international trade. During the past five years, the BDB has assisted companies that have created more than 12,822 direct jobs with average salaries greater than $69,062, resulting in more than $777 million in capital investment to Palm Beach County and an economic impact that exceeds $6.87 billion.  Additional information can be found at the BDB’s web site, BDB.org.

-BDB-