Polk Manufacturing Sector Gaining Traction, Seeing Growth on MFG Day
Polk County’s history is steeped in agriculture and phosphate, but its future is rooted in the growing sector of high-tech manufacturing, an industry whose influence and strong presence is well known here.
National Manufacturing Day is Oct. 4- and October is celebrated as Manufacturing Month. During this time, the Manufacturing Institute showcases the “reality and future of modern manufacturing careers by encouraging thousands of companies and educational institutions around the nation to open their doors to students, parents, educators and community leaders.
As manufacturers seek to fill 4M high-skill, high-tech and high-paying jobs over the next decade, MFG Day empowers manufacturers to come together to address their collective challenges and build excitement about manufacturing careers so they can help their communities and future generations thrive.”
Manufacturing in Polk
Polk has attracted nearly 100 new manufacturing companies in the last five years. It’s seen everything from flavors and essences to avionics, pharmaceutical and component manufacturing. The companies that established operations here account for 18% of the growth in this highly sought after sector. With certainly more to come.
“The future for manufacturing provides endless opportunities in Polk County and across the state,” said Patricia Collins, Executive Director of Polk State’s Corporate College. “Florida’s manufacturing GDP (gross domestic product) has grown from $43.5B in 2014 to $73B in 2022, a 68% growth rate.”
In 2023, manufacturing produced $3.9B in GDP for Polk County. GDP is calculated by adding up the value of all final goods and services produced within a specific county, region or country over a specific period of time. It provides a measure of the area’s economic activity as well as its health.
The GDP for the region has grown 6.1% in the last 10 years compared to the national growth of 3.6%.
“Manufacturing has been an economic driver for our community, without a doubt,” said Sean Malott, President & CEO of the Central Florida Development Council. “The companies that have re-located or expanded here have been welcomed into a business-friendly community with unique access to roads, rail, seaports and airports. In return, they have invested heavily and produced high-skill, high-wage jobs along with their product.”
Polk’s Resources
The Central Florida Intermodal Logistics Center (ILC) in Winter Haven is a key distribution point in the center of the state. The large industrial site is located near major highways, including Interstate 4, State Road 60 and U.S. 27. In all, it has access to 11.1+M people within 100 miles. It is served by CSX rail. With 930 acres of developable land and a 1.2 million square feet, state-of-the-art industrial spec building, this site is an ideal distribution point within the state.
Coke Florida and Florida Can Manufacturing are amongst the companies who now occupy space at the ILC. The ILC hopes to attract other similar tenants to lease there.
Assure Infusions, has positioned themselves in Polk as well, with a new 60,000 square-foot facility in Bartow. As a high-tech manufacturer of sterile intravenous fluids, they are now able to provide these life-saving supplies to Polk County hospitals.
The county also offers high-power capacity sites, thanks in large part to Duke Energy. Duke supports economic development in the counties it serves by using its Site Readiness program to identify, assess, improve and increase the awareness of sites to determine the infrastructure, natural gas, water, sewer, electric — everything a company needs — in place so a company can begin to build almost immediately.
Duke also added 48 miles of new transmission lines in Polk County to provide energy reliability and redundancy on the electric grid. It also helps the county’s economic development councils attract new business to the area.
Raising the Bar
Polk’s manufacturing employment has grown an annual average of 2% over the last 10 years. This is higher than the U.S. average annual growth in manufacturing employment.
Those new jobs have come with higher wages. Polk’s average annual wage for manufacturing jobs has grown at an annual average of 3.9% over the last 10 years. This is 3% more than the U.S. average wage growth during the same time.
“The average annual wage for workers in the manufacturing industry cluster exceeded the average annual wage for all industries by more than 17%,” Collins said.
In addition, the manufacturing companies entering the market generally have high initial investments to build their manufacturing plants. These investments mean property tax and other tax income for cities and the county. Taxes such as these help fund services and improve quality of life for those in the area.
The Future
Future growth is projected within the food manufacturing sub-sector, closely followed by metals manufacturing, and chemical and construction products manufacturing.
About 42,150 advanced manufacturing jobs are projected across all job categories by 2031 in Polk County. This is according to the Florida Department of Economic Opportunity, Bureau of Workforce Statistics and Economic Research.
“The annual growth percentages listed on the Career Source Polk regional demand list match these numbers,” Collins said. “I have sat in many meetings where this issue is addressed. The talent pipeline is of great concern across all industries. There is a great need for workforce development in the advanced manufacturing cluster to keep Polk County on the cutting edge of this industry.”
Polk’s talent pipeline is fueled mostly by post-secondary programs linked to manufacturing at Polk State College, and Traviss and Ridge Technical Colleges. The certificate and degree programs include areas like aerospace, welding, business management and HVAC (heating, ventilation and air conditioning).
“Florida is currently the 10th largest state in the country for manufacturing employment. Polk State Corporate College currently offers the Computer Numeric Control (CNC) program with plans for expansion to address the projected needs,” Collins said.
The Corporate College’s Engineering Technology program also impacts the need, she said. “Polk State Corporate College is building momentum on providing training programs that address this significant need. We are in a strong position to address the training needs required of our expanding manufacturing sector, which is vital to Polk County’s economic growth and prosperity.”
Takeaways from MFG Day
Providing candidates for the manufacturing talent pipeline in Polk County continues to be a relevant and important topic. Especially given how this sector has grown in the past decade, and is projected to expand even more. Manufacturing Day brings light to the demand for jobs in this sector. It also shines appreciation on the businesses in this industry that help improve the economy day in and day out.
