INVESTOR NEWSLETTER - DECEMBER 2011
Dear Investors and Partners
It has been my pleasure to serve as the JAXUSA Partnership Chair this year. We have had a great year, not only because of the new jobs and companies announced, but also with the success of new marketing initiatives. We have announced 14 new projects and added more than 2,300 jobs to the region. We have seven imminent projects, projects where we anticipate an announcement soon. We far exceeded our new capital investment goal of $100 million and with 55 current prospects; we have many new projects underway.
I would like to share some of the company highlights from the past year:
- PLS Logistics Services, a provider of third-party logistics management services, opened an office in Jacksonville and is adding 100 new jobs and $1.1 million in capital investment.
- Ringtail Technologies, a designer and manufacturer of hardware and software capable of carrying high quality digital cable signal wirelessly, announced it will add 75 new jobs and $3 million in capital investment.
-
Kaman Aerospace Corporation, a manufacturer of aviation and helicopter parts, including the helicopter fuselages made here in Jacksonville, created 200 high-wage jobs and $28 million in capital investment.
- Keystone Port Terminal opened a new private port terminal that will grow to 200 new jobs and will bring a capital investment of $150 million.
- Medtronic selected Jacksonville, over Fort Worth, Texas, to build a new $14 million research and development and manufacturing facility that will bring 175 new high-wage jobs.
- EverBank expanded its financial services operations earlier this year adding 200 new jobs and $1.6 million in capital investment. Just as important, the company announced its move into downtown, which will bring 1,000 employees downtown.
- Recently, R2 Logistics, a company specializing in full truckload transportation, expedited freight, intermodal transportation, and supply chain management, moved its headquarters to Jacksonville. The company is also ranked 29th on Forbes America’s Most Promising Companies list. Read More
- Latitude Software, which produces proprietary software for the financial services industry, will add 30 new jobs to its current location that currently employs 41, pending local and state incentives approval. The company is planning to invest $1 million in capital investment.
- Bruss, a subsidiary of Tyson Foods and processesor of meat to the foodservice industry, is adding 162 new jobs and $7 million in capital investment, pending state incentive approval.
- NorthgateArinso, a global Human Resources services provider, relocated its corporate headquarters from Atlanta and added 30 new jobs.
In addition to positive job and company announcements, we have also been involved in a number of successful initiatives and events and the city, region and state have received some very positive rankings.
- Cornerstone changed its name and re-branded itself as the JAXUSA Partnership. Our new name showcases our geographical location in the United States and makes our organization more recognizable to companies around the world.
- In partnership with the Northeast Florida Regional Council, JAXUSA launched the Innovate Northeast Florida initiative. This project will identify the region’s top target industry sub-cluster opportunities and will develop marketing and implementation plans to grow these sectors. The project will be complete in April 2012.
-
We participated in Saft’s grand opening of its U.S. headquarters and $200 million state-of-the-art lithium ion battery manufacturing facility, a project JAXUSA has been heavily involved in since 2009.
- JAXUSA Partnership launched a national advertising campaign called "Guess Which City." The print and online ads, placed in publications such as WSJ.com, CNBC.com, Florida Trend and Chief Executive, targeted CEOs, site consultants and other key decision makers. As a result, analytics from our site show that we almost doubled the number of unique visitors to our website.
- Bloomberg Business Week ranked Jacksonville 4th in its ranking of Cities with the Biggest Growth in Tech Jobs.
- Forbes ranked Jacksonville 6th on its list of Best Cities for Tech Jobs.
- Innovation Cities ranked Jacksonville in the top 25 as an international innovation leader out of 331 cities in the U.S., Canada and South America.
Regional Projects
Nassau County and the Omni Amelia Island
Plantation held the ground breaking ceremony for the revitalization project of the hotel, estimated at $85 million. The ceremony attracted business and community leaders from around the region, including Gov. Rick Scott who was a special guest speaker. The project is scheduled to be complete in March 2013.
Clay County and Alternate Energy Technologies(AET)celebrated the grand opening of the company's new 66,000 square foot facility. AET, a solar collector panel manufacturing company, is bringing 64 new high wage jobs and more than $4 million in capital investment.
The company's relocation to Green Cove Springs was a three year collaborative effort of the Clay County Chamber of Commerce Economic Development Division, Clay County Development Authority and City of Green Cove Springs.
Acosta President and CEO Selected as New JAXUSA Partnership Chair
I am excited to announce that Robert Hill, president and CEO of Acosta Inc., will be assuming the role of JAXUSA Partnership Chair in 2012. Robert is a longtime sales and marketing professional who has led Acosta to record financial results with double-digit revenue growth. He also serves on a number of industry-related boards and in an active member of the Jacksonville community.
Thank you all for making my year as JAXUSA Partnership Chair exciting and memorable. On behalf of JAXUSA, I wish all of you a safe and happy holiday season.
Find Us on Social Media
Like us on:

Follow us on:

Thank you for your continued commitment to JAXUSA Partnership, formerly Cornerstone.
Sincerely,
Scott P. Keith
JAXUSA Partnership Chair
Baker, Clay, Duval, Flagler, Nassau, Putnam and St. Johns Counties
3 Independent Drive • Jacksonville Fl 32202 • 904.366.6639
bizrelo@jacksonvillechamber.org • www.jaxusa.org
Where the Future Leads®