250 Jobs Coming to Manatee County
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE JULY 26, 2012
CONTACT: GOVERNOR’S PRESS OFFICE
(850) 717-9282 media@eog.myflorida.com
250 Jobs Coming to Manatee County
Pa.-based Air Products expanding manufacturing operations in Florida
TALLAHASSEE – Air Products, based in Allentown, Pa., plans to expand its liquefied natural gas (LNG) heat exchanger manufacturing capacity by constructing a second manufacturing facility – 300,000 square feet – at a new site in Manatee County.
To date, all the units that Air Products has manufactured for this business line have been exported from the company’s facility in Wilkes-Barre, Pa. This expansion will help Air Products stay ahead of the increasing demand for its world leading LNG technology and equipment. Coming with the new Florida site will be 250 new jobs.
“Air Products’ investment in Florida demonstrates our success in recruiting job-producing companies that strengthen our economy as well as our business climate,” said Governor Rick Scott. “This expansion is welcome news for Manatee County and our state as a whole.”
The new location is readily accessible to port services, which will facilitate global shipping of Air Products’ sizeable equipment and allow for the manufacture of even larger LNG heat exchangers demanded by the market.
“The number of potential LNG projects in the pipeline is at an all-time high due to the strong demand for cleaner fuels in growing economies worldwide. Additionally, several of the projects on the horizon will require the largest heat exchangers we have ever built and the new location does not face the same shipping constraints of our current location,” said Jim Solomon, director of LNG at Air Products. “We believe the site we have selected in Florida offers exactly what we need. The new facility will be built at a deepwater port location with the flexibility to produce our LNG offerings without any physical shipping restrictions.”
The new LNG manufacturing facility, which will employ approximately 250 employees in a four year ramp-up period, is to be complete and begin operations in late 2013.
Sandy McLauchlin, general manager of Air Products’ LNG engineering and manufacturing, expressed appreciation for the efforts of officials from Manatee County, Enterprise Florida and state government.
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