Bicycle rim manufacturer moves to Riverside

[thelakelander]

Premier manufacturer of bicycle rims moves from Australia to Jacksonville

At their height, they were shipping 100,000 rims a year. Eventually, though, it was time to come home.
“At least 80 percent of our product was being shipped to the U.S.,” Tom Black said. “And when we had a favorable exchange rate, that was OK. But after the worldwide financial crisis, it wasn’t profitable to import to the U.S.”
Besides, he said, everything is 25 percent more expensive in Australia: Wages, rent, electricity, materials.
John Black looked for the most business friendly states, and Florida was on that list. Tom Black’s wife wanted to be near the ocean and he just wanted to be warm.

“I want to spend the rest of my life never having to shovel snow again,” he said.
And that led them to a small industrial building in Riverside. It’s on Goodwin Street, a narrow lane with houses close on the other side, along with Leroy’s convenience store and Kenneth Byrd’s car-wash tent.

full article: http://jacksonville.com/business/2012-03-03/story/premier-manufacturer-bicycle-rims-moves-australia-jacksonville

[letterstosam@yahoo.com]

Nice!  It's always exciting to get new business into one of our communities.  It's even more exciting when the business fits the image the community is trying to portray. 

[Kaiser Soze]

Nice!  It's always exciting to get new business into one of our communities.  It's even more exciting when the business fits the image the community is trying to portray.

What image is that?  I hate bicyclists.  They are always getting in the way and scratching up my car.