Business Facilities - August 2008 - (Page 8)

CORPORATE MOVES Florida By Jack Rogers PIPER AIRCRAFT DECIDES TO STAY AND EXPAND IN VERO BEACH A highly competitive, two-year site selection process ended favorably for Florida when Piper Aircraft announced in May that it would keep its headquarters in Vero Beach and significantly expand its manufacturing facilities at the Florida location. A $32-million incentive package that was included in an agreement between the company, the state and Indian River County sealed the deal, according to officials. The retention of the aircraft manufacturing facility keeps more than 900 jobs in Vero Beach, to which an additional 453 will be added by 2012. “Piper Aircraft’s continued presence will mean thousands of jobs and hundreds of millions of dollars in wages, economic development and other contributions for Indian River County, surrounding communities and our state,” says Governor Charlie Crist. “Florida is continuing to attract cutting-edge, tech- nology-based companies, like Piper, that expand our state’s innovation economy,” he adds. Piper Aircraft conducted an extensive site search and looked closely at Oklahoma City, OK and Albuquerque, NM, before reaching its decision to remain in Vero Beach. According to reports, the $32-million incentive package for Piper is tied to a commitment from the company to retain a workforce of at least 1,417 through 2015. The incentive package will help Piper make capital investments in facilities, technology, equipment and tooling. During the negotiations with Piper, county commissioners initially planned to have the incentive package approved in a referendum, but they opted not to go forward with the ballot initiative. Most of the new jobs at Piper will be generated in the run-up to production of the company’s new ultralight PiperJet in Vero Beach. Piper currently has about 160 certified aircraft models, an estimated 90,000 of which are still flying. Overall, the company’s operations are expected to generate a $518-million impact on the local economy. Piper Aircraft president and CEO Jim Bass, who joined Gov. Crist at the announcement of the deal in May, characterized the agreement as more than a “vote of confidence” in the company’s longtime home of Vero Beach. “Our decision also is a commitment by Piper to Indian River County and the State of Florida,” he said. Partners in the expansion project include Enterprise Florida, Gov. Charlie Crist announced in May that Piper Aircraft will expand its facilities in Vero Beach, a long-term the City of Vero Beach and project that is expected to pump more than $500 million into the local economy. Indian River County. AUGUST 2008 8 PHOTO CREDIT: ENTERPRISE FLORIDA

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of Business Facilities - August 2008

Business Facilities - August 2008 Contents First Word Snapshots Corporate Moves: Florida Economic Development 2.0 Everything's Big in Texas Aerospace Sites: Poised for Takeoff The Nebraska Advantage Metro Spotlight: Cullman, Alabama Special Focus: Louisiana Industry Focus: Financial Centers Advertiser Index Inside LiveXChange

Business Facilities - August 2008

For optimal viewing of this digital publication, please enable JavaScript and then refresh the page. If you would like to try to load the digital publication without using Flash Player detection, please click here.