Governor Rick Scott is celebrating another job success.
During a groundbreaking ceremony Thursday in Clearwater, Scott announced a $50 million dollar capital investment by General Electric that will create 250 new jobs in the area.
GE is expanding an existing Clearwater plant into what it’s calling a manufacturing Center of Excellence. It will encompass an already existing instrument transformer and add capacitors.
The expansion is set to open near the end of 2015.
“Florida businesses have already created more than 620,000 private-sector jobs since December 2010, and we will continue to create an opportunity economy where every Floridian can love the American Dream,” Scott wrote in a statement.
The plant is replacing one in upstate New York that will close when this one opens. The Scott administration touts business-friendly regulations for attracting more manufacturing jobs.
GE CEO Mark Begor praised the Governor as well as Pinellas County Commissioner Norm Roche and Clearwater Mayor George Cretekos for moving swiftly to green light the project.
“From this facility, we’ll serve customers as close as Duke Energy right here in Florida, and as far away as Southeast Asia and South America,” Begor said in a statement.
The plant will manufacture instrument transformers for utilities and other industrial companies.
