They’re creating Tampa jobs. These 11 companies and more are.
Add to these the companies owned by Jeff Vinik who has been pursuing his $1-billion redevelopment effort for Tampa’s waterfront district, some time after he purchased the Tampa Bay Lightning in 2010.
These are the companies that are expanding and creating jobs for people in the Tampa Bay region:
1. INSPIRATA INC.
Cancer diagnosis research and development company Inspirata will create up to 70 new jobs and according to Linkedin hiring practices, will have an average annual salary of $86,000. These jobs will be in research and development, marketing and sales, and administrative and management support.
The company will lease 9,333 square feet of space at One North at One North Dale Mabry Highway for its global headquarters and will invest up to $25 million in research and development programs.
Inspirata was launched by entrepreneur Satish Sanan in partnership with Mark Lloyd, the scientist who leads Moffitt Cancer Center’s Analytic Microscopy Core Laboratory, and who has been working on digital pathology and computational image analytics.
Inspirata enumerated its main reasons in choosing Tampa as its location:
1. easy access to the Tampa International Airport, one of the best international airports in the country
2. access to high-quality graduates from the University of South Florida, and other universities and colleges in the Tampa Bay region
3. the core group of Inspirata has lived in the Tampa Bay area for many years
In addition to the above three reasons, the other factors are the business-friendly policies of Hillsborough County, the city of Tampa and the state of Florida, and the presence of other big life sciences companies in Hillsborough County like Bristol-Myers Squibb, Synergy Health, HealthPlan Services, Covidien, LifeLink, Smart Science Labs, and Biologics Development Services.
2. FITLIFE FOODS
Tampa-based packaged meal provider Fitlife will expand in Plant City by launching its culinary center and will hire more than 100 employees as it grows. Fitlife prepares and sells ready-to-eat healthy balanced meals and markets its products through its seven stores in the Tampa Bay area and through other retailers. It will lease 15,000 square feet of space in a building being constructed by Central Florida Development in County Line Development Center at U.S. 92 and County Line Road, south of Interstate 4.
3. GATEWAY ONE LENDING & FINANCE
Gateway One, which is a subsidiary of TCF National Bank and an indirect subsidiary of TCF Financial Corp., will open an auto lending service center in Hillsborough County and will invest $675,000 in the center. It will create up to 115 jobs in management, loan service, customer service, claims, collections, bankruptcy, asset recovery and compliance.
The main reasons for choosing Tampa as location is the availability of financial services industry talent and the abundance of financial and shared services businesses.
4. TAMPA INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT
The on-going $1-billion expansion project of the Tampa International Airport will create more than 9,000 construction jobs and will create 1,000 new permanent jobs by 2018. Expansion includes addition of space for the main terminal, a rental car facility, a 1.4-mile people mover, a large outdoor terrace and new concessions.
Tampa International Airport has been ranked as No. 2 in North America by the Airport Council International for customer satisfaction and No. 5 in the world among airports serving 15 to 25 million passengers annually.
5. U.S. SPECIAL OPERATIONS COMMAND (SOCOM)
SOCOM will create jobs for engineers and scientists at a 3,000-square-foot experimentation and collaboration location called SofWorX at the Tampa Armature Works Building, north of downtown Tampa. SOCOM has a budget of $1.6 billion to develop new technology, in partnership with universities, companies and other organizations in the Tampa Bay region.
6. SLV
SLV, a German lighting distributor, will expand its North American headquarters in Tampa by building a 75,000-square-foot facility near the airport and will hire 22 new employees.
7. TAMPA TANK
Tampa Tank, a fabricator of welded steel products for distribution around the globe, will invest more than $18 million and create 108 new jobs in the firm’s locations in Ybor City and Port Redwing. It will pay employees 150% of the average wage in Florida.
8. SUNERA LLC
Sunera, an information technology security company, will expand its downtown Tampa headquarters and will create 40 new jobs in data privacy, hacking systems, IT audit and internal audit. The average annual salary will be $65,000. It will invest $185,000 to expand its leased offices at the Fifth Third Center.
Sunera, a subsidiary of Cyber Risk Management LLC, manages more than 100 employees in Florida and more than 200 across North America.
9. RELIAQUEST LLC
ReliaQuest, a Tampa-based company that provides information technology security solutions, will create 55 new information technology jobs. The company decided to remain in Tampa because of the excellent support it has been getting from the city, county and state.
According to Tampa Hillsborough Economic Development Corp., the Tampa metro area is home to about 20 percent of Florida’s information technology positions.
10. XCELIENCE
Pharmaceutical company Xcelience will create 100 jobs, in addition to 100 existing jobs. The new jobs will be in pharmaceutical development, manufacturing, quality management and packaging. Xcelience will invest $9 million to expand its existing manufacturing facility and in a new headquarters and pharmaceutical development facility.
11. CODY TALBERT DISTRIBUTION
Cody Talbert, a wholesale supplier of parts and accessories to recreational vehicle dealers, service centers and campgrounds, will move its headquarters from Kissimmee to Plant City. It will hire up to 30 employees for technical support, technology development and distribution.
SOME MORE JOB CREATION SOON:
1. CITI
The county of Hillsborough has approved an incentive package for Citi that could create 1,163 jobs with Citi’s capital investment of $90 million. Citi has more than 5,000 employees at its current Tampa location.
2. JOHNSON & JOHNSON
Another incentive package was also approved by Hillsborough County for Johnson & Johnson which could create jobs that pay $75,000 in annual average wage.
3. CELESTAR CORP.
Tampa-based defense contractor Celestar plans to build a 60,000-square-foot office building in Tampa Heights that could become a hub for defense and technology companies. The location is near Richard Gonzmart’s new restaurant Ulele that has attracted attention around the country. Celestar’s enterprise could create a spark for another Tampa-MacDill Air Force Base business and community connection.
4. WELLCARE HEALTH PLANS and TERRACAP MANAGEMENT
Wellcare, a Tampa-based Fortune 500 managed-care company, has signed a lease for 76,120 square feet of space at the newly renovated Tampa International Business Center, which is near the Tampa International Airport, the Veterans Expressway and other interstates.
5. CENTRAL FLORIDA DEVELOPMENT (CFD)
Real estate development and property management company CFD will build a 28-acre development called County Line Commerce Center on County Line Road in Plant City that will include a speculative building with parking for cars and trucks, three other buildings, and two parcels for retail or restaurant use. The project is expected to generate up to $20 million in capital investment.
6. MORPHOGENESIS INC.
Tampa-based biotech cell and gene therapy company Morphogenesis and the University of Florida in Gainesville have teamed up to design a fully automated cell separation system that can capture rare cells and circulating tumor cells.
You can read more info on tampaedc.com, the website of the Tampa Hillsborough Economic Development Corp., the lead economic development agency of Hillsborough County and the local representative of Enterprise Florida.
Read other posts on Tampa jobs and companies:
Some Companies That Created Jobs in 2014
Top Employers Providing Tampa Bay Jobs
James Hardie and Other Firms That Created Jobs in 2013