Relocation From North Carolina Will Create 150 New Jobs
Governor Rick Scott announced BlueLine Associates (BLA), a professional services firm, will relocate its global headquarters from Cary, North Carolina to Tampa. The relocation will create 150 new jobs and invest more than $2 million in the local community. BlueLine Associates, which currently has offices in Tampa, will move their headquarters including its financial, legal, and human resources groups.
Governor Scott said, “It is great news that BlueLine Associates chose to move their international headquarters to Florida from North Carolina, which will create more than 150 new jobs for Tampa families. We were competing with North Carolina and Louisiana, but ultimately BlueLine Associates chose Florida for their new headquarters. I look forward to BlueLine Associates continued success in our state.”
BlueLine Associates provides consulting, managed services, and staffing solutions to small, mid and large companies in a variety of industries. In 2015 and 2016, BlueLine was recognized on the “Best Places to Work” lists of both Consulting Magazine and the Triangle Business Journal. New jobs are expected to pay an average annual wage of $71,909.
Rocky Silvestri, President of BlueLine, said, “This move gives us access to Florida’s strong talent pool and allows us to continue the strategic expansion of our business. Our company culture is at the core of our business success, our client’s satisfaction, and the happiness of our people. We are excited to bring those guiding principles to Tampa.”
BlueLine Associates joins a growing list of companies that have chosen Hillsborough County for their new corporate and regional headquarters, including North American Roofing Services, Inc., Velocity Resource Group, Fay Servicing, Ashley Furniture Industries’ Ashcomm, Johnson & Johnson, and Cohesion. Florida is already home to nearly 3,000 headquarters offices, and is the 4th largest economy in the U.S. and the 19th largest economy in the world.
The project was made possible through strong partnerships between Enterprise Florida, the Tampa Hillsborough Economic Development Corporation, Hillsborough County, the City of Tampa and the Florida Department of Economic Opportunity.
Chris Hart IV, President and CEO of Enterprise Florida, Inc., said, “Blueline Associates has chosen Florida because it is the best place to do business. The talent and the strong, business-friendly climate in Florida continue to attract growing businesses. Hard-working Floridians are getting jobs that could have gone to other states, but they ended up right here in Florida.”
Cissy Proctor, Executive Director of the Florida Department of Economic Opportunity, said, “BlueLine Associates’ relocation to the Tampa area is yet another example of a business recognizing the unique opportunities for growth in Florida. Our state boasts a strong and talented workforce, a business-friendly, low tax environment and fewer regulations that enable companies to grow and succeed.”
Stacy White, chairman of the Hillsborough County Board of County Commissioners, said, “Hillsborough County offers BlueLine Associates a deep bench of information technology consulting, staffing, and management consulting talent, as well as the amenities that will make it easy for them to recruit exceptional candidates to the area. We thank BlueLine for their investment in our community and look forward to supporting them as they thrive in Hillsborough County.”
Mayor Bob Buckhorn, City of Tampa, said, “Tampa’s star continues to rise as more companies like BlueLine Associates discover the advantages our city offers as a corporate headquarters home. As millennial talent flocks here and our downtown undergoes an historic and exciting transformation, Tampa is gaining a national reputation as the place to be for companies ranging from startups to Fortune 500 corporations. We wish BlueLine Associates a prosperous future here.”
Ken Atwater, PhD, chair of the Tampa Hillsborough Economic Development Corporation and president of Hillsborough Community College, said, “Other cities fought hard to have BlueLine Associates relocate to their communities. But those competing metros couldn’t touch Tampa’s pro-business climate, incredible quality of life, and the convenient air access Tampa International Airport affords to BlueLine’s customers across America and in Europe. We’re excited to welcome Rocky and his team and wish them great success in Tampa.”
Interested candidates are encouraged to visit the Careers page of BlueLine Associates’ web site, http://www.blueline-associates.com/services/staffing/job-seekers/,for more information on available positions.
About BlueLine Associates
BlueLine Associates is a process-driven Professional Services firm that transforms business challenges into growth, operational agility, and competitive advantage. Our foundation in process gives us the vision to develop holistic forward thinking strategies across our consulting, managed services, and staffing service lines. We leverage our experience, agility, and partnership model to seamlessly implement and execute solutions to elevate customer experience, increase profits, and propel organizations toward new opportunities.
Enterprise Florida, Inc. (EFI) is a partnership between Florida’s businesses and government leaders and is the principal economic development organization for Florida. EFI facilitates job growth through recruitment and retention, international trade and exporting, promotion of sporting events, and capital funding programs to assist small and minority businesses. EFI launched “Florida – The Future is Here” to promote the state as the nation’s premier business destination.
About the Tampa Hillsborough Economic Development Corporation
The Tampa Hillsborough Economic Development Corporation is the lead designated economic development agency for Hillsborough County and the cities of Tampa, Plant City and Temple Terrace. A partnership between the public sector and private corporate investors, the EDC works to develop and sustain a thriving local economy through the attraction, retention and expansion of high-wage jobs and capital investment within targeted industry sectors, including Corporate Headquarters, Financial and Shared Services, Life Sciences, Defense and Security, and Manufacturing.
The Tampa Hillsborough Economic Development Corporation exists because of the generous support of over 100 corporations, Hillsborough County, and the cities of Tampa, Plant City and Temple Terrace. For more information, visit www.tampaedc.com.
About Hillsborough County, Florida
Hillsborough County is the commercial and industrial heart of Tampa Bay. The fourth largest county in the state of Florida, Hillsborough is home to nearly 1.3 million residents, with thousands more arriving each year. Its strength is drawn from being one of the most advanced economies and having one of the most educated workforces in the state. Hillsborough County and its three municipalities –Tampa, Plant City, and Temple Terrace — offer a competitive business environment and an abundance of regional assets including Port Tampa Bay, Tampa International Airport, and MacDill Air Force Base. County government is focused on creating economic prosperity for residents and businesses throughout the area. To learn more, visit hillsboroughcounty.org.
