Greater Fort Lauderdale is not a cryptocurrency capital. or a “Wall Street South,” both monikers hoisted regularly by neighboring Miami-Dade and Palm Beach counties as they jockey to attract relocation candidates from the Northeast, Midwest and Far West.
But Broward County, population 2 million, is a landing spot for smaller companies that want a low-key environment to relocate, start a business or grow some more, said Bob Swindell, CEO and president of the Greater Fort Lauderdale Alliance, the economic development agency for Broward. Over the last 12 months, the area has drawn 28,000 new jobs.
A key to the attraction: The growth in the talent pool.
“Companies want to come to places that attract talent,” Swindell said in an interview ahead of the agency’s midyear lunch event on Friday. “That’s a pretty impressive number for a community our size.”
“Our targeted industries are diversifying the economy as we had hoped,” he said, adding to income levels and occupations that require advanced skills. The industries in the alliance’s crosshairs are aviation and aerospace, financial services, life sciences, technology and headquarters firms.
An estimated 600 people at the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino in Hollywood on Friday heard the results of a countywide executive survey conducted by Kaufman Rossin, the CPA and advisory services firm.
Among the findings:
- 73% of the business leaders said their business was healthier today than a year ago.
- 66% expect next year will be better than this year.
- Employee recruitment is the number one challenge they are facing, with retention and wage levels close behind.
- The top investments the leaders plan to make for the coming year are in salaries, marketing and technology.
Financial firms sought
Swindell said that the alliance is trying to attract more financial service firms, although Palm Beach and Miami counties have been stronger magnets for larger firms from Wall Street and other financial centers.
But Swindell said he likes the Fort Lauderdale area’s chances as more people are showing a preference for the area’s easier pace and connections via the Brightline higher speed rail line. He noted that 46 new high-rises are going up or are on the drawing boards in Fort Lauderdale with 17,000 housing units.
“It makes it attractive for companies that have employees who want to work in downtown,” he said.
Amy Beth Bennett/South Florida Sun Sentinel
Fort Lauderdale’s high-rise boom, which is evolving on both sides of the New River, is an attraction for companies considering the area for a relocation, business development executives say. (Amy Beth Bennett/South Florids Sun Sentinel file)
Some of the area’s new company arrivals over the last year:
- Battle Board, creator of durable, portable map tracking systems for the military as well as by firefighters and police officers in the field. The company, which is now headquartered in Oakland Park, relocated from Washington, D.C. and employs 10 people.
- Doroni Aerospace, LLC, developer of Vertical Takeoff and Landing (VTOL)/flying car technology, located in Pompano Beach, is adding 15 new jobs ands a capital investment of $250,000. “Air-powered commuting is going to become more and more available for people who live here,” Swindell predicted.
- EL-AV Compressors, a leading Israeli air compressor manufacturer formed in 1985, is opening a new Sunrise location, its first distribution point in the U.S. The company’s presence is symbolic of expanded business relations with Israeli companies that focus on defense and cyber security. The growing economic activity is justification for regular El Al flights from Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport to Tel Aviv.
- NuVerse Advisors, LLC, a Securities and Exchange Commission registered investment advisory firm founded in 2001, is now in Hallandale Beach after relocating its global headquarters from Manhattan last December. The firm created 20 new jobs and made a capital investment of $300,000.
- Vimergy, a nutraceutical company specializing in providing non-GMO, gluten-free, soy-free, vegan, and paleo-friendly nutritional supplements, is creating 50 high-wage jobs and making a capital investment of nearly $450,000 at its new headquarters in Coral Springs.
Other companies growing in the area announced at the event included:
- Enhance Health: A new Bain Capital-backed professional services company leveraging technology and a concierge experience to streamline the health insurance process. The company is ramping up to employ more than 800 people at its locations in Sunrise and Coral Springs. The company now has 400 people working between the two facilities..
- Terumo Aortic: A medical device company that manufactures life-saving aortic implants, which is expanding its Sunrise facility to accommodate 50 new employees.
The alliance also presented its annual World Class Faculty Award to Dr. Arvind Agarwal, Distinguished University Professor and Chair of the Department of Mechanical and Materials Engineering at Florida International University.