INDUSTRIES DRIVING REGIONAL IMPACT—
What’ s Changed?
by Rick de Yampert
A hybrid electric passenger plane, AI cancer diagnosis and the nation’ s largest rock music festival are among the developments shaping four core industries in North Central Florida.
As EVOLVE marks its 10 th anniversary, we look at how aviation / aerospace, tourism / hospitality, healthcare and manufacturing have evolved— and where they’ re headed.
Aviation and Aerospace
Aviation and aerospace are rocketing the area’ s economy, prompting former U. S. Senator, astronaut and NASA Administrator Bill Nelson to say the Jacksonville region“ has become the center for space technology.”
JAXUSA Partnership, the regional economic development organization serving Northeast Florida, notes that the area“ has a global leadership role in space and defense technology” due to the presence of Northrop Grumman, the largest private employer in St. Johns County, as well as Boeing, Redwire Space, Kaman Aerospace, Collins Aerospace and other companies.
The region’ s talent pool is enhanced by the presence of Naval Air Station Jacksonville and Naval Station Mayport, said Randy Bradley, vice president and site leader for the St. Augustine plant. Navy personnel who served in Jacksonville
“ consistently want to be here after their service is complete,” Bradley told JAXUSA.
Jacksonville is also home to Cecil Air and Spaceport, only the eighth licensed commercial spaceport in the U. S., and the first in Florida authorized for the horizontal takeoff and landing of space vehicles. The spaceport opened a new, $ 8.9 million, 126-foot air traffic control tower and mission control center in 2021.
Keith Norden, president and CEO of the Team Volusia Economic Development Corporation, noted that“ Over the past decade, the aviation and aerospace industry has evolved into a hybrid ecosystem where commercial companies like Boeing, SpaceX and Blue Origin work in partnership with the U. S. Space Force and NASA, leading to a notable increase in the number of launches each year.
“ As a result, here in Central Florida we have seen a massive influx of smaller companies in support of the industry, to evaluate their prototypes, launch new satellites, and assist with manufacturing the parts needed to help expand the horizon for aviation and aerospace.”
The area’ s“ talent pipeline,” Norden notes, includes Daytona’ s Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University,“ one of the most prestigious aerospace and aviation universities in the world.”
The Space Coast, centered around NASA operations in Brevard County,“ continues to grow,”
| 24 | EVOLVE MAGAZINE | Evolve2Succeed. com