Florida: News

A new technology company has been formed in Tallahassee by an engineer from the National High Magnetic Field Laboratory and will produce superconducting cable as part of an international fusion energy project. Known as CICEFT, the business is starting out with a $5 million federal contract to produce components for what could essentially be a unlimited source of clean, carbon-free electricity. (Read more)

Ocala businesswoman Meredith Roberts is celebrating success after participating in Enterprise Florida's trade mission to Central America. Roberts already has a signed contract with a Costa Rican distributor for her "AtLast1" organic insect spray. (Read more)

Florida's 1st STEM Education Conference will be held July 25 - 27 at the Buena Vista Palace Hotel & Spa in Lake Buena Vista. The conference will focus on developing a statewide strategy for STEM that addresses the STEM workforce outcomes needed as identified by the business community. The conference will also present "best practice" awards in four STEM categories. Seating is limited, so learn more, register or submit an award nomination today at www.STEMFlorida.net.

Waymon Armstrong, the owner of a small business that uses computer simulations to help government and private sector clients prepare for and respond to natural disasters, medical emergencies and combat, was today named National Small Business Person of the Year by the U.S. Small Business Administration. (Read more)

PRC, LLC, one of the country's leading providers of outsourced customer management, has created110 new positions at its Tampa center. The new jobs are attributed to the expansion of an existing program for a Fortune 100 technology company, and primarily focus on consultations with business leaders about their web-based and search engine advertising campaigns. (Read more)

The Small Business & Entrepreneurship Council ranks Florida's state tax system among the nation's Top 10 on its "Business Tax Index 2010: Best to Worst State Tax Systems for Entrepreneurship and Small Business." The index ranks the 50 states and District of Columbia according to the costs of their tax systems for entrepreneurship and small business. (Read more)

Alachua-based startup, NovaMin Technology Inc., has been purchased by U.K. pharmaceutical giant GlaxoSmithKline in a deal worth $135 million - the largest acquisition of its kind for a local technology company. (Read more)

A new, major public-private partnership between Microsoft and the State of Florida was launched to provide free technology training to individuals across the state. Through the Microsoft Elevate America initiative, Microsoft has partnered with Workforce Florida Inc. to donate 40,000 vouchers for no-cost, online technology training and certification. (Read more)

Saturday truly was a historic day for Bay county as the community welcomed Northwest Florida Beaches International Airport. This is the first new airport built since the 9-11 terrorist attacks. (Read more)

AvMax Group Inc. is opening a heavy maintenance and modification facility for the regional jet and turboprop aviation industry at Jacksonville International Airport (JAX). The facility will initially employ as many as 100 to 120 licensed aircraft mechanics. (Read more)

Small Florida life sciences companies can soon apply for a new tax credit or a grant under the Affordable Care Act that covers up to 50 percent of the cost of qualifying biomedical research. The U.S. Department of Treasury recently released the guidelines for the application process on its website. (Read more)

rVue Holdings, Inc., a leader of digital advertising via its proprietary rVue Ad Exchange for Digital Out-of-Home (DOOH) media, has secured over $1 million in financing. Simultaneously, rVue Holdings was quoted on the OTCBB exchange trading under the symbol "RVUE." (Read more)

Officials from the University of Florida Health Science Center and Shands Healthcare unveiled an ambitious five-year plan Thursday that would add 300 faculty positions and cost $580 million, with the goal of placing the Health Science Center among the top 10 percent of national academic health care facilities. (Read more)

Florida tied with Georgia for 6th place on the Kauffman Index of Entrepreneurial Activity, a leading indicator of new-business creation in the United States. (Read more)

IBM and the University of Central Florida's Institute for Advanced Systems Engineering are working together to prepare students for jobs in systems engineering, a profession that is critical to the creation of the smart cities, healthcare systems and advanced products and systems of the future. (Read more)

One of Haines City's largest employers, the paper manufacturer Cellynne, is about to get even larger thanks to a recent expansion, and the expansion doesn't stop here- business has been so good that Cellynne is now building a more environmentally friendly product that is expected to create even more jobs in the future. (Read more)

Business Xpansion Journal and BizMiner have ranked Florida 3rd in the nation for both Medical Devices Startups and New Branches. Florida also ranks 7th for Medical Devices Employment. (Read more)

Florida Atlantic University won approval to create an independent medical education program. The new FAU medical education program will employ a unique Continuity Medicine Curriculum and a state-of-the-art medical simulation center. (Read more)

The Business Development Board of Martin County is pleased to announce the expansion of GiftRAP Healthcare Software. The company is adding employees and expanding into a bigger facility. (Read more)

Orlando's XOS Digital, a company selling content management software and digital media services for college and pro sports organizations, has raised at least $37.1 million of a targeted $41.9 million. (Read more)

Digital Risk LLC has officially selected Jacksonville as its new site for about 300 new positions. The Maitland-based company helps monitor and manage loan portfolios, and detect loan fraud. (Read more)

Florida cities earned top marks on AmericanStyle Magazine's recent list of Top Cities for Art. Among mid-sized cities, St. Petersburg ranked #1 in the nation, followed by Tampa (11th) and Miami (12th). Among small cities, Key West ranked 4th, Sarasota was 5th, Naples was 14th, and Bradenton ranked 22nd. (Read more)

The Titusville-Cocoa Airport Authority secured $2 million to assist in the expansion of the Bristow Academy, a major helicopter pilot training facility, and create 97 new central Florida aerospace sector jobs. (Read more)

The Innovation Monthly is your source for the latest news and insights on Florida's Innovation Economy.       

May 2010 Highlights:

• NASA and Florida Power & Light Launch Next Generation Solar Energy Center
• Moffitt Cancer Center and Scripps Florida Team Up
• U.S. Dept. of Energy Selects Planar Energy for R&D Collaboration
• Free Whitepaper:  The Future of Biomedical Innovation

Read Full Newsletter

The Port of Jacksonville was one of only five North American ports that experienced container trade growth in 2009. In 2009, Jacksonville ranked 14th in the nation, followed by Miami at 15th. (Read more)

Florida ranked among the Top 10 states on Chief Executive's annual survey of best and worst states for business. More than 600 CEOs rated states on a wide range of criteria from taxation and regulation to workforce quality and living environment. (Read more)

The Martin County Board of County Commissioners approved a new Job Creation Toolkit that will be funded, in what has been called an "innovative, out-of-the-box" approach, with new tax revenue from FPL's Martin Next Generation Solar Energy Center under construction in Indiantown. (Read more)

Florida is home to three of the nation's top 20 metros for the creation and development of small businesses. (Read more)

Battelle and the Biotechnology Industry Organization's new report shows that Florida has a strong presence in the bioscience workforce context, ranking sixth nationally in both postsecondary bioscience degrees generated and in bioscience-related occupational employment. (Read more)

Roses Southeast Papers LLC will undergo a $7.5 million expansion in May, nearly doubling the size of its Sanford plant and adding 50 new local jobs. (Read more)

Palm Health Partners will open The Institute for Aging Life Science & Research at Abacoa. The healthcare facility will create 220 jobs with average salaries of $46,000 and an overall capital investment of $62 million. Palm Health Partners will collaborate with Scripps Florida scientists for clinical research into the causes and prevention of Alzheimer's disease as well as other neurological and age-related conditions. (Read more)

For the sixth year, Pinellas County, Florida is leading the state in Incumbent Worker Training (IWT) grant awards, proving itself once again the Ideal Business Location. With the IWT program, over 30 Pinellas County companies have trained more than 2,100 employees this year. (Read more)