Wilmington, Charleston, Savannah and Jacksonville were all options at first, but not St. Augustine. Jacksonville was the better logistical infrastructure – shipping through the Port of Jacksonville – compared to Savannah, but the CEO wasn’t sure of Jacksonville’s large sprawl. St. Augustine offered the best of both worlds.

Defenshield expects to have 20 employees there in the next two years, with plans to hire engineers, draftsman and administrative staff. White said between Flagler, the University of North Florida and the University of Florida, there’s a large talent pool to recruit talent from.