Florida: News

Cloud security firm Prolexic Technologies has raised $13.9 million in a growth financing. Founded in 2003, Prolexic was the first company to establish global scrubbing centers to stop DDoS (distributed denial-of-service) attacks in the Cloud. (Read more)

Both the University of Miami and the University of Florida took Top 10 spots (ranked 8th and 9th, respectively) on a recent list of America's Top 100 Social Media Colleges. (Read more)

Carlisle Interconnect Technologies, headquartered in Saint Augustine, Florida with multiple factories located around the world is pleased to announce a multi-million dollar expansion that will lead to approximately 90 new jobs over the next two to three years. (Read more)

Serve, whose core operations are based in downtown St. Petersburg, had its genesis in Revolution Money, a St. Petersburg startup that American Express acquired for $300 million. (Read more)

Chromalloy, an international aerospace company based in Orangeburg, N.Y., announced today Palm Beach Gardens will be the new home for its corporate headquarters and Technology Center of Excellence. (Read more)

Titusville-based Knight's Armament was awarded an $82 million contract to make as many as 10,800 sniper night sights for the U.S. Army. (Read more)

The Immokalee Regional Airport is adding new aviation tenants with the construction of a new test facility for turbo gas generators overhauled from former aircraft engines. Turbo Services chose the Immokalee location due to its reasonable cost of living and proximity to highways and the company headquarters. (Read more)

Saft is moving its North American headquarters to Jacksonville where the company is building a $200 million high-tech battery plant. (Read more)

The Central Chapter of BioFlorida and bioOrlando are hosting a statewide life sciences/biomedical cluster update event on Thursday, March 24 at the Sonesta Hotel in Orlando, followed by a networking event and BioFlorida Open House. (Read more)

The University of Florida is hosting a Celebration of Innovation Showcase to feature start-up companies in the areas of life sciences, medical devices, and information technology that are commercializing the latest in cutting-edge technologies generated as a result UF research. (Read more)

A recent analysis showed that Orlando is the least expensive city in the U.S. for operating a corporate headquarters, followed by Oklahoma City, Jacksonville, Birmingham and San Antonio. (Read more)

A new laser device created at the University of Central Florida could make high-speed computing faster and more reliable, opening the door to a new age of the Internet. (Read more)

The state-funded Florida Economic Gardening Institute is the first organization in the United States to receive Program Certification in the National Center for Economic Gardening's top-ranking Level Three, representing the highest engagement of economic gardening principles that is attainable. (Read more)

Clearwater's Bulova Technologies Ordnance Systems LLC has received a 5-year Master Blanket Purchasing Agreement award from the United States Army Contracting Command, Picatinny Arsenal. The award of this new BPA for weapons, combined with the previously announced award for ammunition, makes Bulova Technologies Group, Inc. a leading U.S. supplier of both non standard ammunition and weapons to U.S. and NATO forces. (Read more)

Nautilus Solar Energy, LLC announced its entry into the Florida solar market with the acquisition and development of two distributed generation projects, as well as the development of a third greenfield utility scale project. (Read more)

Two Enterprise Florida projects earn national award for community impact

Contact: Stuart Doyle

(407) 956-5689 

sdoyle@eflorida.com

With offices throughout the U.S. and eight other nations, software company SumTotal Systems Inc. chose to move its headquarters to Gainesville and relocate other operations as it geared up for growth. The local office has grown from 40 to 130 people and plans to hire about 40 more over the next few months. (Read more)

Boca Raton's OpenPeak, a company selling touchscreen devices and a cloud-based device management platform that streamlines deployment and management for service providers and enterprises, has raised an additional $15.54 million. (Read more)

The University of North Florida's new Gaming and Mobile Applications concentration uses video games to teach real world computing and information technology skills. More than just play, entertainment software is being used as a gateway to impart programming knowledge and energize the millennial generation to pursue computing degrees and high-tech careers beyond gaming. (Read more)

The Division of Continuing Education at the University of North Florida has been awarded two contracts by Workforce Florida, Inc. to launch two Employ Florida Banner Centers-the Employ Florida Banner Center for Creative Industries and the Employ Florida Banner Center for Financial and Professional Services. (Read more)

After completing a $1.5 million renovation to its call center, Old Cell Phone Co. is in the process of hiring 200 more people. The company had about 450 employees at the start this year, meeting the first step in its goal to have at least 863 employees by 2013. (Read more)

Men's Health has identified Orlando as the 7th most socially networked city in America. (Read more)

The Kauffman Foundation has ranked Florida among the nation's Top 10 States for Entrepreneurial Activity and reports that Florida's rate of entrepreneurial activity has increased by more than that of most other states over the last decade. (Read more)

Harris Corporation, an international communications and information technology company, has expanded its already strong presence in Florida with the opening of a 25,000-square-foot facility to provide development and integration support to the growing Healthcare Solutions business. (Read more)

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

March 2011 Highlights:

·     Bing Energy Opens World HQ in Florida

·     Pharmaceutical Manufacturer CROMA Pharmaceuticals Moves to Florida

·     Florida is Home to 2 of America's Happiest Cities to Work In

·     Free White Paper -  Robotics:  From Surgery to Scouting

Read Full Newsletter

Brazil's Boldini S.A. has agreed to build five ships in Panama City's port and is bringing at least 300 new jobs there to Eastern Shipbuilding Group. (Read more)

The American Academy of Optometry, which represents more than 4,000 optometrists and vision scientists, is moving its headquarters from the Washington, D.C. area to Orlando next spring. (Read more)

Wheeled Coach Industries, Inc., the world's largest manufacturer of ambulances and emergency-rescue vehicles, headquartered in Winter Park, has purchased a competing company from South Carolina. The acquisition will result in the merger of operations at the company's Orange County facility, a move expected to result in 105 new manufacturing jobs and over $2 million new capital investmentin Central Florida. (Read more)

WestPoint Home, one of the leading manufacturers of home textiles in the United States,is expanding in Northwest Florida. The decision to consolidate manufacturing, receiving and shipping in a single location has increased the company's Washington County employment from 285 to 425 in less than two years, with additional employment anticipated, further reinforcing Northwest Florida's reputation as a leading Southeastern United States manufacturing and distribution center. (Read more)

Staff appointments announced in Int’l Trade division

Contact:  Stuart W. Doyle

(407) 956-5689

sdoyle@eflorida.com

Universal North America was awarded a training grant to assist in expanding its workforce by supporting training for new employees at the company's U.S. headquarters in Sarasota County. Universal, a multiregional insurance carrier, plans to add up to 70 jobs in the next two years. (Read more)

FPL's Martin Next Generation Solar Energy Center is a one-of-a-kind hybrid facility that connects a field of more than 190,000 solar thermal mirrors with an existing combined-cycle natural gas power plant. Innovative technology enables the mirrors to track the sun over the course of a day to harness free fuel from the sun's rays to create electricity and directly offset the use of fossil fuels. (Read more)

Tampa's Bayshore Solutions and Orlando-based Engineering and Computer Simulations were named among the nation's best small businesses by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce. (Read more)

Signature Brands LLC, celebrates the grand opening of their new 127,000 square-foot popcorn plant that will produce 80-100 full-time jobs and 100-125 seasonal jobs in Ocala. (Read more)

As Gainesville's solar feed-in tariff program begins its third year this month, it is slated to grow in size by more than 70 percent in 2011 and, at the same time, will be opening up more to residential property owners. (Read more)

Gartner, Inc. is expanding in Fort Myers, Florida for a combined total of 400 net new jobs. Gartner currently employs 350 in Fort Myers and will be expanding into a new 120,000 sq. ft. build-to-suit facility. (Read more)

The University of Florida is hosting a Celebration of Innovation Showcase to feature start-up companies in the areas of life sciences, medical devices, and information technology that are commercializing the latest in cutting-edge technologies generated as a result UF research. (Read more)

Atlantic Technical Center has once again been notified by Toyota Motor Sales, USA, Inc. that the school's TTEN (Technician Training & Education Network) program is the best in the nation. (Read more)

Florida's Career and Professional Education Act was 1 of only 5 initiatives named as a "Model of 21st Century Career and Technical Education" in Harvard University's "Pathways to Prosperity: The Road to an American Solution". (Read more)

The Sunshine State is ranked number one in the nation, topping Maryland for the percentage of 2010 seniors taking Advanced Placement (AP) exams while in high school. No other state has as many recognized schools and Florida's total is more than double the number in most other states. (Read more)

A merger between Solamatrix of St. Petersburg and Madico of Masschusetts late last year is resulting in several new jobs being added in Pinellas County in 2011. (Read more)

Ceridian Corp., a human resources and benefits company, plans to hire 220 people at its St. Petersburg operations. (Read more)

The University of Central Florida's video game graduate school ranks No. 2 in North America, according to The Princeton Review and GamePro Media. (Read more)