Florida IS a Manufacturing State
A bold but true statement – although very likely news to many. I am happy to share that Florida is now ranked as the tenth largest manufacturing state in the United States, providing high-wage jobs to 422,800 residents across some of the most dynamic and innovative industry sectors.
Some of these industry sectors are seemingly incongruous with Florida’s image as a family-fun destination: semiconductors manufacturing, microelectronics production and packaging, transportation, machinery and equipment manufacturing. It might be difficult to fathom, but Florida’s manufacturing industry contributes more than $76 billion to the state GDP. With Florida now surpassing many countries in terms of GDP – it is now the 14th largest economy in the world – manufacturing is a growing contributor to our healthy economy.
Computer and electronic product manufacturing includes semiconductors and microelectronics, as well as communications equipment, navigation, measurement and control instrumentation. Within this sector, Florida ranks fifth, employing 12,900 jobs across the state, exceeding production of $3.7 billion. Some notable names include Micross, i3 Microsystems, Northrop Grumman, and Jabil Electronics.
Defense manufacturing is the third leading economic driver for Florida (behind tourism & hospitality, and construction) which produces an annual value of $95 billion. The 21 major military installations and missions create 914,000 direct and indirect jobs, with the expansive use of technology in defense stimulating manufacturing activities in aviation and aerospace, photonics, lasers, UAV and drone technology, as well as cyber modeling and simulation. Florida is blessed to host the ‘big 6’ prime defense contractors who operate here and are being supported by our top-notch infrastructure: Martin, Raytheon, Boeing, General Dynamics, Northrop Grumman, and BAE Systems.
Aviation and aerospace manufacturing has demonstrated strong growth for over a decade. Florida is home to NASA Kennedy Space Center, Cecil Spaceport, and Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, thus Florida is truly the world’s gateway to space. Florida ranks in the top 5 for aerospace industry employment with more than 120,000 employees in 2022. More than 17,144 aerospace-related companies call Florida home, contributing $19 billion in revenues to Florida’s economy.
FloridaMakes is a statewide, industry-led, public private partnership designed to strengthen the manufacturing industry in today’s technology-driven economy. As part of the Department of Commerce National Institute for Standards and Technology offering, the state benefits from having three Manufacturing USA Institutes funded by the Department of Defense which are located in Florida.
America Makes is the nation’s leading and collaborative partner in additive manufacturing (AM) and 3D printing (3DP) technology research, discovery, creation, and innovation. America Makes focuses its activities on developing additive manufacturing technology, accelerating human capital development, and maintaining a collaborative ecosystem.
LIFT (Lightweight Innovations for Tomorrow) is a public-private partnership which brings together government, industry, and academia to accelerate advanced manufacturing by connecting advanced materials, manufacturing processes, systems engineering, and talent development across the U.S. manufacturing base.
Advanced Robotics Manufacturing (ARM) Institute accelerates the development and adoption of innovative robotics technologies that are the foundation of every advanced manufacturing activity today and in the future. Their goal is to lower the barriers to adoption and expansion of robotics, autonomy, and AI for manufacturing. They leverage a unique, robust, and diverse ecosystem of over 400 member organizations across industry, academia, and government to (1) make robotics, autonomy, and artificial intelligence more accessible to U.S. manufacturers, large and small, and (2) train and empower the manufacturing workforce. Over the past several years, the ARM Institute has brought about $13 million in both technology and workforce projects to the region. Twenty percent of the ARM Institute’s consortium membership is in Florida, a figure that continues to grow.
As advances have been made in the field of automation and robotics with adoption seeping down to the firm level, our manufacturing leaders understand the increased importance of incorporating these Industry 4.0 business practices as a matter of course.
“With the lack of labor and skilled trades the need for automation in American manufacturing has never been more pressing. Any manufacturer who has not already automated or is not seriously looking into automating processes will fall behind and quickly become non-competitive,” warns Sean Dotson, PE, the founder of RND Automation, the southeast’s largest custom automation and robotics manufacturer.
Most of the facts and data shared in this post are excerpts from the inaugural Florida Manufacturing Report by FloridaCommerce with the support of FloridaMakes. I hope I have successfully conveyed that Florida is, indeed, a manufacturing state and that many of our manufacturing companies are well adapted to the fast-evolving requirements of a competitive global economy including the use of cutting-edge technology, automation, and robotics in all facets of a complex and fascinating manufacturing production and supply chain.
The next time you visit Florida, look up and you might spot a rocket launch, or you might be passing by one of our beautifully landscaped technology parks. Hopefully, you will be reminded that you are not only visiting one of the happiest places in the world, but also one that is an emerging manufacturing center of excellence.
