Manufacturing in Volusia
generates $350 million in worker pay; number of manufacturers on the
rise
With
an average annual salary of $36,582, manufacturing in Volusia County
provides more than $350 million in annual wages and produces among
the highest average annual wage of nearly any other employment group
within our local economy.
And the number of manufacturing jobs in Volusia County is growing
with local company expansions and the relocation of manufacturing
companies from other parts of the country.
So, why
is Volusia County attracting new manufacturing companies and why is
our area an attractive place for a manufacturer to expand or move
here?
"It’s not because of the weather and it’s not because of tourism, as
many would suggest,” said Volusia County Economic Development
Director Rick Michael. “It’s because as a community we’re cost
effective and we provide a competitive environment as compared to
many areas of the United States, particularly those in the New
England and mid-Atlantic states."
Although
manufacturing throughout the United States has been declining for
the past 25 years, it has doubled or even tripled in Volusia County.
“Manufacturing companies have continued to prosper in the local
business environment and more companies each year make Volusia
County their home," said Michael.
Countywide,
there are more than 420 manufacturing companies that produce
products ranging from sun lotions to life saving medical products
and devices to those products used by our men and women in uniform
as they go into combat, or fight the war on terrorism.
Volusia
County continues to attract new manufacturing companies from
throughout the United States because of our area's cost effective
and competitive advantages that range from lower operating costs,
lower property taxes, competitive labor costs and lower electrical
utility rates.
According to Michael, these cost savings can be the business
incentive that many companies are seeking for lowering their overall
costs. For example, for many companies, the cost of electricity to
power a factory or large office facility can be a significant
expense to the business. A manufacturer in Boston using 1,000 kw per
month with a 400,000 kwh load factor can expect to pay $60,973 to
the Boston Edison Company as compared to $30,577 in the Greater
Daytona Beach Area to Florida Power & Light.
“In this
example, our community’s competitive utility cost can provide a
savings of more than $30,000 monthly or roughly half the cost for a
business in the Boston area,” said Michael. “For many manufacturers
this could equate to a savings in operational costs of several
hundred thousand dollars a year.”
Recently, the county’s economic development team was selling the
county’s competitive advantages to a manufacturer in Connecticut. At
issue was the company’s overall cost of specific worker requirements
for skilled machinists.
Doug
Vimmerstedt, a special projects coordinator for the county
Department of Economic Development, compared the labor cost for
skilled machinists between the two markets. According to the latest
data available from the U.S. Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor
Statistics, a machinist in the Daytona Beach area earns on average
$31,850 annually. The same machinist working in Hartford,
Connecticut, is averaging $39,220 or roughly $7,370 more annually.
“With an
effective savings of 19 percent overall, it’s not hard to help a
Connecticut manufacturer requiring 25 machinists create a savings of
more than $184,250 annually,” Vimmerstedt said. “For a Connecticut
company considering our community that can be a huge economic
incentive.”
In 2005
alone, manufacturers from California, Illinois, Michigan, New
Jersey, Connecticut, New York, Massachusetts, Ohio, Georgia, Utah
and various locations throughout Florida responded to the county’s
economic development marketing initiatives and many visited the area
to explore potential sites and opportunities for relocation and
expansion of their manufacturing operations in communities
throughout Volusia County.
Concerted efforts by the county Department of Economic Development
and the area’s cities and chambers have been successful in
facilitating the relocation of manufacturers including BBK
Performance Products from California, ARK Technologies from
Illinois, NSI Intellitec from Illinois, ForHealth Technologies from
Oklahoma, Environics USA from Virginia and Ideal Aluminum Products
from Sanford. These manufacturers have or will be adding nearly 400
new higher skilled and higher waged jobs for area workers, according
to Michael.
“And
these relocations have resulted in tens of millions of dollars in
new construction, equipment, machinery and worker payrolls,” Michael
said. “All of which has an immediate and lasting economic impact to
our local economy."
