Central Florida Cluster Study
In 2008, the Central Florida Development Council contracted with SRI International to perform a regional industry cluster study and analysis for Polk County and our surrounding communities. Our innovative cluster study was selected by Harvard University in 2010 as one of its national Bright Ideas Awards, which recognize creative government initiatives throughout the country.
The study highlighted six targeted industries in Polk County, including Research, Engineering & Other High-Tech; Agribusiness & Agri-technology; Life Sciences & Medical Services; Business Services; Logistics & Supply Chain Management; and Financial Services. Scroll through the slideshow below to learn a bit more about some of our companies that fit within and span across these clusters. Or, skip down to the bottom of the page for downloadable versions of the study.

































Aldi located in the State of Florida in 2008 with the location of their Headquarters in Haines City. Currently, Aldi has 53 stores and approximately 625 employees throughout the state.
Aldi’s Haines City facility provides dry, cold and freezer storage of approximately 500,000 square feet and serves as the only distribution site for Aldi stores within Florida.
The Bartow Municipal airport is one of several airports in Polk County, Florida. It offers three runways, rail access, more than 100 hangars for the storage of aircraft and even operates its own flight school.
Fellows Trucking provides truck load and LTL services for refrigerated products to the East Coast and the Midwest.
Ferguson located its plumbing supplies and appliance distribution facility in Frostproof, Florida.
Ford Motor Company operates a distribution facility in Lakeland, Florida.
Saddle Creek Corporation’s headquarters and Florida distribution facility are located in Lakeland, Florida.
Southern Wine & Spirits is the leading nationally recognized wine and spirits distributor in the United States and operates its largest distribution facility in the state of Florida in Lakeland. Their control room allows a smooth operation across their facility.
Curry Controls Company creates controls for automation, monitoring and systems integration for various industries, like this Seal Water Distribution Panel fabricated in their Panel Shop.
Curry Control Company designers use AutoCAD tools to layout the positioning and circuitry of each electrical panel, ensuring it is in compliance with UL safety standards, especially when the control panel must accommodate high voltage devices in some parts of the enclosure and low voltage devices in others.
Curry Controls Company has expertise in applying radio telemetry, one of the most effective means to link remote terminals to other system infrastructure, in virtually all industrial or municipal monitoring and control applications.
Curry Controls Company was chosen by a leading Florida theme park to install a programmable controller panel for their chiller systems.
All of Curry Controls Company’s panel fabrications are staged and tested in their panel shop.
Curry Controls Company supplied and installed 35 valve station satellite communications systems to isolate, control and monitor the flow of pipeline gas in a 585 mile long natural gas line. The pipeline was supplying the largest electric power utility in Chile – GasAtacama.
Curry Controls Company Telemetry Systems are used at the Peace River Reservoir to monitor seismic-related activity. Any related system upsets are radioed from remote stations surrounding the reservoir to a central monitoring screen and alarmed so remedial action can be taken.
JDC Phosphate, Inc. uses a rotary kiln to thermally liberate phosphorus from phosphate rock rather than dissolving it in sulfuric acid, as is done with the conventional Wet Acid Process that is dominant in the industry today.
Phosphorus being liberated from low grade phosphate rock at JDC Phosphate, Inc.
JDC Phosphate Inc.’s pilot plant
Lockheed Martin operates is back-office operations in Polk County, Florida.
Publlix Supermarkets, a major grocery chain, operates is corporate headquarters and distribution facility in Polk County, Florida.
State Farm calls Winter Haven, Florida home to one of its regional headquarters.
Triton Tank Technologies is becoming a leading provider of mobile water distribution equipment for global construction, rental, landscaping, agriculture, grounds maintenance, government, utility, industrial and mining markets.
Triton Tank Technologies manufactures the tanks that fit on Caterpillar construction equipment for dust control.
Lakeland Regional Medical Center’s Rehabilitation and Sports Medicine Clinic is uniquely equipped and skilled in helping children and families faced with genetic and developmental disorders, traumatic injuries, sports injuries and orthopedic conditions – all in an environment that is fun and rewarding.
As Florida’s busiest single site ER and Polk County’s only Level II Trauma Center, Lakeland Regional Medical Center is equipped with state-of-the-art, life-saving equipment; a 10-bed pediatric emergency center with tools specific to a child’s needs; and board certified physicians and nurses who specialize in critical care. We also have a dedicated chest pain management staff to expedite cardiac cases
Arvind B. Soni, MD, board certified radiation oncologist of Lakeland Regional Cancer Center, utilizes an array of modern technologies in the aggressive treatment of cancer, including the Varian Trilogy system. This state-of-the-art system can deliver all forms of external beam radiation, administering ultraprecise doses of radiation to tumors once considered unreachable.
The Trigger Tome medical device, invented by SonicSurg Innovations, is designed to offer patients suffering with “trigger finger,” fewer doctor visits, less pain and quicker recovery, all at a reduced cost to the patient and the healthcare system.
The Trigger Tome medical device, invented by SonicSurg Innovations, offers the hand surgeon a faster, more precise, and less invasive alternative to current accepted surgical protocols when treating “Trigger Finger”, a common ailment that affects hundreds of thousands of people each year.
Reflecting an enduring commitment to the wellness of Polk County, Watson Clinic medical group offers over 200 board-certified physicians from more than 40 medical and surgical specialties located in 16 convenient locations throughout Central Florida.
The Watson Clinic Women’s Center, accredited by the National Accreditation Program for Breast Centers (NAPBC), houses a comprehensive mammography department, featuring the latest digital technologies read by highly qualified fellowship-trained mammographers, as well as a dedicated professional staff who offer expert breast healthcare services.
Watson Clinic’s Bella Vista Building houses a diverse slate of medical services, including otolaryngology, dermatology, dermatopathology, plastic and reconstructive surgery, speech and language pathology, and a hearing center for audiological examinations and hearing devices. Also housed in this location is the Bella Vista Spa, an elegant full-service day spa that offers an array of services to pamper the body, mind and spirit.
WellDyneRx is located in a 66,000 square foot building that houses a prescription mail order facility.
WellDyneRx located is a pharmacy fulfillment and call center facility located in Lakeland, Florida.
Downloads
Industry Cluster Analysis
Executive Summary
Economic Retrospective of Polk County


