State incentives crucial for companies.
The Sentinel Editorial Board’s Jan. 10 message to state legislators, “Lawmakers must make 2016 count,” provided a strong list of priorities for the state, and I’d like to expand on one area in which my company has recent experience.
When it comes to economic development and incentives, the first question should always be “how many jobs will this create?” Helping homegrown businesses is certainly an important strategy, and encouraging companies like mine to move here can have a tremendous impact as well.
It’s not about importing competitors, but about creating high-value job opportunities with companies that compete on a global scale. On that score, state and local economic developers are having tremendous success not only by providing financial incentives, but also in highlighting the business climate that makes Florida so attractive.
When I set out to find a location for Photon-X in 2013, I was pleasantly surprised to find a good fit for our company, which specializes in 3-D sensor systems, in Central Florida — Osceola County to be exact.
We considered a number of communities that would offer a welcoming home for our employees, abundant and highly trained work-force talent to further our growth, and opportunities for applied research. Since moving our company here from Huntsville, Ala., we have been welcomed to a community that understands partnership, and we have grown as a result.
Not only have our partnerships expanded — which include advanced research at the University of Central Florida and the University of South Florida, collaboration with Osceola County Schools and advanced patient care working with Florida Hospital — but we’ve also expanded our ability to add jobs.
Photon-X contributes to high-value jobs available in Central Florida as we hire engineers, scientists and support personnel. Performance-based incentives at the state and local levels were based on our goal of creating 110 jobs, and we are well on our way within two short years to meeting that goal with 30 current employees and a projected 40 new hires this year.
Our company would not have made such strides without the support of Enterprise Florida and the Greater Osceola Partnership for Economic Prosperity. Moving to a region that has an understanding of what it takes to grow a business was crucial, and these organizations “get it.”
We’ve been happy to call Central Florida home and are inspired by those we have met and worked with to help make it prosper.
Moving to a region that has an understanding of what it takes to grow a business was crucial.