The Latest News

Vol. 1 No. 1

The New Broward County Targeted Industries Study – The 2009 Targeted Industries Study was delivered on September 15, 2009 by County consultant DCG Consulting, Inc. (New Jersey) as a near final draft document. The Study will be put through a series of reviews for comments by business, government and civic leaders in Broward County before it is finalized and presented to the Board of County Commissioners for acceptance. Two of those forums have taken place with the Governor’s Council of the Broward Alliance and the economic development practitioners in Broward’s municipalities and other organizations. The purpose of this study is to identify Broward County’s top targeted industries for business attraction and recruitment efforts, and to help focus growth strategies for key emerging industries.

Office of Economic and Small Business Development, Port Everglades, Aviation and the Convention & Visitors Bureau directors and key staff meet monthly to discuss global marketing strategies involving growth for the economic development engines of Broward County.  Such issues of importance will be updating the County’s Cuba strategy and receiving reports on the Airport/Seaport application for approval to fly and call on Cuban ports; updating the Memorandum of Understanding with the Brazilian State of Amazonas and Broward County; updating the targeted countries for inbound and outbound business missions to avoid duplication; and other key strategies for the growth of small-to-medium-sized businesses of Broward County.

Marine Industry Global Trade Training Pilot Program Grant-The OESBD applied for a $48,000 two-year grant, funded by Workforce Florida, Inc. and implemented by Broward County in conjunction with Enterprise Florida, Inc. and the University of North Florida. The Marine Industry Association of South Florida is a local partner working with OESBD. The purpose of the grant is to support the growth of the Marine Industry in Broward County and South Florida.  The grant specifically targets small and medium sized marine businesses to assist them in mastering the exporting process to increase and enhance sales potential and create jobs within Broward County and the South Florida Region.  The OESBD assists the participating companies by advising and preparing them to grow their operations in foreign markets while helping to improve global business success rates. A consultant, hired through the partnership of EFI and UNF, provides training in export, marketing, finance, compliance and logistics tailored to the County’s marine sector. During the first six months of services under the Marine Industry Pilot Grant, 53 marine company participants have benefited from the training. Of that number, 40 are Broward County companies. This grant serves companies from Broward and Miami-Dade counties.

S & B Industries, (City of Sunrise) created 150 executive, finance & accounting, human resources, marketing, and sales management positions with an average wage of $82,144. S&B Industry, Inc. (S&B) engages in development of mobile communications devices. Their activities include product spec development, engineering, safety and FCC regulation and compliance.

Kaplan University (City of Plantation) leased an additional 120,000 square foot building, making a capital investment of $4,740,000 in improvements and creating 300 new jobs.

Special Awards/Recognitions  

Fort Lauderdale-based Home Diagnostics, Inc., a leading developer, manufacturer and marketer of blood glucose monitoring systems, has received a 2009 Governor's Export Excellence Award. The award, part of the 2009 Governor's Business Diversification Awards program, recognizes Home Diagnostics for its international growth and increase in export sales, expansion of the company's TRUEtest platform for diabetes monitoring, and overall contributions to Florida's economic diversification and job creation. HDI and Broward County Office of Economic & Small Business Development participated in the Governor’s Brazil Mission in 2008.  (135 new jobs and a capital investment of $30 million.)

Deborah Wilkinson, Global Business Development Manager, was elected Vice-Chair and Chair-Elect of the Florida Economic Development Council, the State’s professional association for economic developers in May 2009. Ms. Wilkinson has been active as a Legislative Committee Chair, Membership Chair, and Chair of the South Florida District which includes Broward, Palm Beach, and Miami-Dade counties. An accomplished economic developer, Deborah will take the reins of leadership of FEDC in May 2010.

The Broward County Film Commission (Broward Alliance) reported that film and television projects brought $23,000,000 in revenue to the County through the ’08-’09 FY.  Major projects included USA Network’s Burn Notice, independent feature Crisscross,   36 reality television programs such as Kitchen Nightmares for Fox Network and Police Women of Broward County for TLC Network, and 23 national commercials including Honda Insight, Avis, Arm & Hammer, Coca Cola.

• The Board of County Commissioners passed the new County Business Enterprise (CBE) Ordinance on June 23, 2009.
• The new CBE program establishes a cumulative goal of 25% participation by CBE firms in all county contracts.
• The Disparity Study is well under way and is expected to be completed in the spring of 2010.
• The Small Business Development Division reviewed 300 requests from Broward County agencies last fiscal year for goal requirements.
• The number of small business firms certified with the County continued to grow.  At the close of the third quarter of FY 2009, there were approximately 4040 certifications in the County’s directory.
• The Small Business Development Division received approximately 1,134 certifications for CDBE, CBE, SBE and DBE last fiscal year.  This includes 175 SBEs for the Super Bowl XVII and Pro Bowl event of which Broward County is a Host County.
• IMPORTANT: With the passing of the new CBE Ordinance, firms currently certified as CDBEs shall be deemed certified CBEs until the date their certification as a CDBE would have expired.
• The Small Business Development Division evaluated over 500 contracts with CDBE, CBE, DBE or SBE requirements for responsiveness.
• Continuing the popular “How to do Business with Broward County” seminar series in conjunction with the Purchasing Division. These seminars are held on the third Thursday of every month at the African-American Research Library & Cultural Center.
• Hosted a series of “Meet the Agencies” workshops in coordination with other Broward County Agencies. The series was hosted monthly during FY 2009. Attending agencies have

The Office of Economic Development, in its twelve (12) year existence, has provided business relocation, expansion, and retention services to over 180 companies. As of August 2009, Broward County benefited from $842,544,184 in accumulated new capital investments.  These companies have created a total of 11,133 jobs. OED efforts resulted in job growth, job retention, and new capital investment with a $1.8 billion economic impact.

For more information, please contact Norman Taylor, Director of the Office of Economic & Small Business Development at 954-357-6155.