Confidential Fortune 500 company's manufacturing plant would bring 500 jobs

[thelakelander]

Jax is offering big cash to lure whoever this is...

By David Chapman and Karen Brune Mathis, Staff Writers

A Fortune 500 company is seeking to build a large advanced manufacturing plant in Jacksonville, creating 500 jobs and investing up to $91 million in capital investments in exchange for $15.4 million in taxpayer incentives.
The company's identity, though, would remain confidential until the first quarter of 2015. City officials have signed confidentiality agreements with the company for the deal simply known as "Project Speed."

It was one of two deals announced this morning by economic development leaders.

The other is for Jax Apex Technology Inc., which wants to expand its Jacksonville presence by building a headquarters here.

Full article: http://www.jaxdailyrecord.com/showstory.php?Story_id=543593

[tufsu1]

so conveniently the name would be released just before the first Mayoral and Council election

[fsquid]

Boeing?

they just built in Charleston.

[edjax]

Perhaps a technology company?  Project name has Speed in it, that perhaps be a clue. Really alot of Fortune 500 companies doe not even have a manufacturing aspect. 

[FSBA]

Any big auto manufacture looking to expand?

[spuwho]

It's probably going to be either a GE-Alstom or Siemens assembly facility for the All Aboard Florida contract.

AAF just got their financing last month to kick off the south section, so they have the dough to execute contracts now.

Wishful thinking perhaps, but if AAF has a state sourcing agreement in the contract, (which almost all these new railcar contracts do) Jacksonville would be the most logical locale due to proximity to suppliers and access to the FEC.

[urbanlibertarian]

Maybe it's a gun manufacturer being chased out of the northeast or California.

[spuwho]

Trying to stir someone up urbanlibertarian?

[thelakelander]

Good article by Karen Brune Mathis at the Jax Daily Record:

By Karen Brune Mathis, Managing Editor

AllianceFlorida at Cecil Commerce Center, the industrial park owned by the city, appears to be the prime location for the unidentified 500-job advanced manufacturing plant seeking $15.4 million in city and state incentives under the code name "Project Speed."

Members of the city Office of Economic Development would not say Wednesday whether AllianceFlorida was the site, adding that other locations could be of interest. The city said the project's corporate identity and other factors would be made public by the first quarter of next year.

However, Hillwood Investment Properties, the master developer of the city-owned land at Cecil, is building a speculative structure at 12970 Normandy Blvd. in the West Jacksonville industrial park. Cecil is a former naval air station.

The timing and parameters of Project Speed fit that location.

http://www.jaxdailyrecord.com/showstory.php?Story_id=543603

It's probably going to be either a GE-Alstom or Siemens assembly facility for the All Aboard Florida contract.

AAF just got their financing last month to kick off the south section, so they have the dough to execute contracts now.

Wishful thinking perhaps, but if AAF has a state sourcing agreement in the contract, (which almost all these new railcar contracts do) Jacksonville would be the most logical locale due to proximity to suppliers and access to the FEC.

Based on what's being built, it doesn't sound rail related.

[spuwho]

Agreed. If it is the spec space then that would negate any rail.

[mtraininjax]

Its going to be someone at Cecil Field to take advantage of the high gene pool from the westside in building functionaly obsolete rail equipment for the All Aboard Florida Contract. They could not be any worse than a General Motors plant.

[Ocklawaha]

Its going to be someone at Cecil Field to take advantage of the high gene pool from the westside in building functionaly obsolete rail equipment for the All Aboard Florida Contract. They could not be any worse than a General Motors plant.

Um? You in the westside mtrain? 

[edjax]

So is the GE subsidiary in the Daily Record story the new company?

[ProjectMaximus]

GE already has a fairly large presence here, so I will find it a bit twisted if they have been hyping this up as the new Fortune 500 company. But, then again, maybe they never said "new" and my memory is failing me.

[Dog Walker]

If it is GE, they are going to have to import a lot of the new employees from other places.  There aren't 50 skilled CNC programmers/operators in the entire city and if they are going to be building valves to special order they are going to need way more than that.

FCCJ had an apprenticeship/training programs a number of years ago staffed mostly by volunteers but Wallace decided to cancel it because...?  I think it was only costing about $500K per year and that was mostly rent for the CNC mills and lathes.