The EDC proudly welcomes Scorpion Performance to  the Ocala/Marion County business community. All manufacturing machines and tooling have been moved from Scorpion’s previous Fort Lauderdale location and are now up and running at 5817 NW 44th Avenue in Ocala.

The new Scorpion complex consists of three buildings totaling over 95,000 square feet of floor space on 23 acres of land. Two future buildings are planned for the site. The renovation has pumped more than $2.8 million into the local economy through local contractors used on the project. The new buildings will be used to manufacture medical devices and high performance racing engine products.

According to Scott Reynolds, Scorpion’s VP of Marketing, “Our new Ocala facility is now fully operational, and we are working toward tripling our previous output capacity. This means that we can fulfill customer orders with the same top quality precision products even faster than before.”

Scorpion CEO Robert Stopanio expresses his appreciation for the move. “This geographic location so close to I-75 and I-95 with easy access to I-10 makes so much sense for us,” says Stopanio. “The logistics to make the move were eased with the assistance of Pete Tesch and the team at the EDC. They have been great liaisons in the process. We are thrilled to be in Ocala!”

“Scorpion Performance is a solid company with a great history and a promising future,” says EDC President/CEO Pete Tesch. “We are grateful they chose our community and look forward to watching them grow.”

Both the City of Ocala and the Marion County Commission provided utility and permitting assistance to the facility’s improvements.

The EDC participated in a due diligence mission to Intergrow in Albion, New York this week. Intergrow is a hydroponic facility that produces tomatoes in climate-controlled greenhouses.

Representatives from the City of Ocala, Marion County and EDC joined owners of American Fresh Farms, LLC (AFF) on the fact-finding mission. AFF is proposing the construction of four 1.65-million square-foot greenhouses at the Ocala Business Park (OBP) at Ocala International Airport. Each greenhouse will bring more than 90 jobs and $28 million in capital investment.

The EDC will convene the Financial Review Committee (FRC) next week which will conduct a review of the company’s financial viability. In addition, the City of Ocala will conduct a public workshop scheduled for Thursday, April 28, at City Hall at 11:30 a.m. to determine the recommendation that the City Council will review in May.

Florida Agency for Workforce Innovation released the State’s unemployment figures today showing a drop from 13.2% in February to 12.5% in March for Marion County. This is the second drop in two months since the high of 14.2% in January.

The figures also place Marion County fourth, tied with St. Lucie County, for the highest unemployment rates in Florida.  Flagler is first with 14.5%, followed by Hernando at 13.3% and  Hendry at 13.1%.

Marion County’s current labor force stands at 133,238 with 116,634 employed and 16,604 unemployed.

Please join us for the Alternative Energy Conference on Tuesday, May 24, 2011 from 8:00 a.m. - 12:00 p.m. at the Ewers Century Center. Featured guest speaker, Dr. James Fenton, Director of the Florida Solar Energy Center will deliver the keynote address entitled “The Cost of Doing Nothing.”

Exhibits open at 7:30 a.m. and a Career Exploration session immediately follows the Conference.

This is a free educational event to learn more about the impact of integrating green technology into your business and home, and is presented through joint sponsorship with Progress Energy, College of Central Florida Institute, Florida Solar Energy Center, the EDC and Workforce Connection.

Please share this e-mail with others you think would be interested in attending.

For all the program details, visit the Alternative Energy Conference page. No registration is required.