October 2019, PALM BEACH COUNTY, FL – What do Rocket Engines, Arcade Games, Sugar, Biofuel, and Microalgae have in common? They’re all made in Palm Beach County’s advanced manufacturing industry. In honor of Florida Governor DeSantis declaring October as “Manufacturing Month”, the Business Development Board of Palm Beach County (BDB) is proud to showcase the diverse industry sector. In fact, there are over 20,900 manufacturing jobs in Palm Beach County with average earnings of $76,179.
Palm Beach County boasts some of the finest manufacturers in the world. With over 70 corporate headquarters in the county, some are well-known manufacturers that employ thousands of local residents. Florida Crystals produces sugar and employs around 2,000 people. TBC Corporation’s corporate headquarters produces tires and employs more than 800 people. Zimmer Biomet, a global dental headquarters in Palm Beach Gardens, manufacturers dental implants. ADT makes security systems in Boca Raton and employs around 500 people. Also headquartered in Boca Raton, Shoes for Crews manufactures footwear known throughout the world.
The Aviation, Aerospace, and Engineering (A/A/E) industry includes some of the most high tech companies that have picked Palm Beach County as their launchpad. Aerojet Rocketdyne builds high-performance rocket engines and Pratt & Whitney manufactures aircraft engines. Other companies that fuel the world from Palm Beach County include Belcan Engineering, Chromalloy, Florida Turbine Technologies, Northrop Grumman, Lockheed Martin, Parametric Solutions, PSM, Rockwell Collins, Sikorsky, and SV Microwave. In fact, this industry alone boasts $6.78 billion in total estimated impact.
The life Sciences industry is developing world-changing technologies and producing cutting-edge products. Alphazyme, a developer, manufacturer and global distributor of enzymes, chose Jupiter over Boston for its headquarters. KRS Global Biotechnology is a manufacturer of sterile and non-sterile compounding services to patients, hospitals, clinics, and universities nationwide. The Scripps Research Institute and Max Planck, the world’s top two research institutes ranked by Nature, paved the way for new discoveries happening everyday in Palm Beach County’s life sciences industry including over 700 companies in research and development or manufacturing of biotechnologies, medical devices, and pharmaceuticals.
Palm Beach County’s manufacturing companies are unique and diverse spanning across all 39 cities and towns from Boca Raton all the way up to Jupiter. Hidden gems include RGF Environmental, which makes more than 500 environmental products in Riviera Beach. TKM Bengard Farms in Belle Glade has become the largest producer of lettuce east of the Mississippi, making more than 100 million pounds of lettuce each season. Another unique Belle Glade company is Tellus Products, turning sugarcane fiber into eco-friendly plates and bowls at a 120,000 sq. ft. facility. Devoucoux has a 10,000 sq. ft. equestrian products manufacturing facility in Wellington, the center of the “Equestrian Capital of the World”. Benchmark Games, a manufacturer of coin-operated, redemption, novelty, prize merchandisers and other amusement devices such as arcade games, is headquarterd in Hypluxo.
Over the pat five years, the Business Development Board has assisted more than 50 manufacturing companies that have relocated to or expanded in Palm Beach County. Recently, Sunshine Biofuels, a biofuel manufacturing company that has developed alternative fuels to substitute diesel, expanded its current production capacity from five million gallons to twenty million gallons per year, making it the first and now largest Renewable Diesel manufacturer in the State of Florida. Strides Pharma, one of the world’s largest manufacturers of soft gelatin capsules (SGC), has moved into a 90,000 sq. ft. facility with plans to employ 150 people. Fluorotek USA Inc., a leading manufacturer of elite sports equipment for professional sports teams, universities and colleges, as well as the US Military, created 100 jobs in Riviera Beach. Capzer Pharmaceuticals, a world-class cGMP testing and development laboratory, will create 10 new jobs to its existing workforce of scientists with plans to expand pharmaceutical manufacturing capabilities. Algafeed, an algal production company located in Jupiter, grows high density, nutritional, natural microalgae to be used as live feed for shrimp, shellfish, and fin fish farms.
To further promote the growth of the manufacturing industry, the BDB and the South Florida Manufacturing Association launched a partnership earlier this year to align efforts in growing the industry. The BDB will continue to grow the sector in Palm Beach County, promote the thriving entrepreneurial sector and support dynamic small and mid-size businesses, along with Fortune 500 companies as the nation celebrates “Manufacturing Month” for years to come.
