27 July 2011
Emerson, a global manufacturing and technology company, is setting up a Latin American regional headquarters in Sunrise in Broward County, with more than 50 employees.
The company is leasing an initial 18,000 square feet in Lake Shore Plaza II, Broward's first LEED-certified multi-tenant office building, with an option for another 9,500 square feet. The building at 1300 Concord Terrace is inside Sawgrass International Corporate Park near where I-75 and I-595 meet.
Emerson will relocate more than 50 people to Sunrise who now work at its world headquarters in St. Louis, Mo and in other parts of South Florida, the company said in a news statement.
“Consolidating our regional headquarters at a single site in South Florida creates cost efficiencies but just as importantly it provides Emerson with access to direct air travel, proximity to a large number of Latin America-related companies and branch offices, an opportunity to enhance collaboration among our businesses, and the availability of a multi-lingual workforce,” Leo Rodriguez, president of Emerson Latin America, said in the statement.
Emerson received government incentives to set up the office. It committed to bring 51 new jobs to Sunrise with an average salary of more than $83,000 a year and to retain 25 existing Florida jobs. It also pledged to invest $2.2 million in the new office that is expected to be ready by the end of the year.
In exchange, it will obtain $683,500 in help, including $357,000 from Qualified Target Industries Tax Refund Program, $250,000 from the Governor’s Quick Action Closing Fund and $76,500 from a Direct Cash Incentive from the city of Sunrise for hiring Sunrise residents, the statement said.
Emerson has about 18,000 employees and 30 manufacturing locations in Latin America. In fiscal 2010, it posted sales of $1 billion within Latin America of a total $21 billion in sales worldwide. Emerson’s manufacturing operations in Latin America produced more than $3 billion worth of goods for export to North America, Europe and Asia, the company said.
News of the office comes just weeks after restaurant chain Wendy’s International said it is moving its Latin American and South Florida headquarters from Miami-Dade County to Broward’s Sunrise. For WorldCity's story on that move, click here.
Broward County now has more than 150 corporate and international headquarter operations, according to tits economic development group, the Greater Fort Lauderdale Alliance.
For more information on the Greater Fort Lauderdale Alliance, visit www.gflalliance.org.
For more information on Emerson, visit www.emerson.com.