Life and politics from the Sunshine State's best city

Siemens, Chromalloy joint project to bring 350 new Hillsborough jobs

in The Bay and the 'Burg/Top Headlines by

Two global engineering companies, Siemens and Chromalloy Gas Turbine Corporation, have chosen Hillsborough County for the headquarters of a new joint manufacturing facility, called Advanced Airfoil Components.

With a capital investment of approximately $139 million, the project will create 350 new jobs, according to a statement from Gov. Rick Scott‘s office.  

Both companies evaluated “multiple states” before ultimately choosing Florida as the best destination for this new enterprise, state officials said.

“We have fought to make Florida more business-friendly by permanently eliminating the sales tax on manufacturing machinery and equipment so Florida manufacturers like Siemens and Chromalloy can invest more in our state,” Scott said Thursday.

Advanced Airfoil Components will manufacture and produce components that will maximize gas turbine performance. The joint project will hire workers for a range of skilled positions, including technical engineers, manufacturing technicians and production workers. This facility will lease 210,000 square feet at Tampa Regional Industrial Park and is scheduled to open in late 2018.

Currently, Siemens employs approximately 5,200 people in Florida.

“Siemens is very pleased to make additional investments in the I-4 corridor, where we already have more than 5,000 employees. We’re a global company that is proud to be ‘U.S. local,’ with over 60 manufacturing sites across the country,” Siemens USA CEO Judy Marks said. “This joint venture with Chromalloy streamlines our supply chain and ensures we have the most advanced technologies as we pursue performance gains for our gas turbines.”

“With two existing manufacturing facilities in the Tampa area, Chromalloy is excited to continue our investment in the community and to support technical and professional job growth in Florida,” said Chromalloy President Carlo Luzzatto. “This is a strong market for technical candidates, and we are looking forward to identifying highly skilled individuals to support this new, innovative energy business.”

Scott also mentioned in his statement the state’s i$85 million Florida Job Growth Grant Fund, which he said can “ensure our economy will continue to grow so families can succeed in Florida.”

The Grant Fund is a compromise vehicle arrived at by Scott and House Speaker Richard Corcoran earlier this year after an intense battle over the governor’s proposal to rearm the public-private Enterprise Florida job incentive program to the tune of $85 million.

Corcoran had derided the plan as “corporate welfare.”

Ultimately, the two Republicans agreed to create the Growth Grant Fund, which only can be used for infrastructure and job-training projects requested by governments and schools, and not to benefit a single company.

 

Mitch Perry has been a reporter with Extensive Enterprises since November of 2014. Previously, he served as five years as the political editor of the alternative newsweekly Creative Loafing. He also was the assistant news director with WMNF 88.5 FM in Tampa from 2000-2009, and currently hosts MidPoint, a weekly talk show, on WMNF on Thursday afternoons. He began his reporting career at KPFA radio in Berkeley. He's a San Francisco native who has now lived in Tampa for 15 years and can be reached at [email protected]

Latest from The Bay and the 'Burg

Go to Top