South Florida’s manufacturing sector could be poised for growth as more companies seek to export goods to Central and South America via the region’s seaports.
“A lot of our members don’t export yet. We feel that future growth depends on the ability to export,” said June Wolfe, president of the South Florida Manufacturers Association in Pompano Beach.
Foreign trade, economic and workforce development, and improvements in the region’s infrastructure to accommodate an increase in traffic are among topics headlining the SFMA’s annual meeting Thursday from 2-8:45 p.m. at the Coral Springs Marriott Hotel.
South Florida already has the largest manufacturing base in the state, and with three ports the region is in a strong position to attract new manufacturers and spur the construction of warehouses, Wolfe said.
MAPEI, named Manufacturer of the Year in 2012 by the regional and state manufacturers associations, has seen a 24 percent surge in its export business, said Mark Sheffer Sr., the company’s director of operations. He credits improved economies in the America for the increase. Deerfield Beach-based MAPEI, which makes products for the building industry, ships to Central and South America from Broward’s Port Everglades.
Sheffer said Florida has “tremendous” potential to increase its manufacturing sector as long as it continues to improve infrastructure like roadways feeding into ports. If Port Everglades is ever dredged to allow bigger cargo ships, for example, that would help MAPEI expand its export business. Exports to Mexico, which now go out of Texas, could be shipped from Fort Lauderdale, he said.
But long-time plans to widen and deepen Port Everglades are in jeopardy. Congress didn’t include funding for the project in a spending bill for water projects headed for likely passage in the U.S. House next month. PortMiami is expected to get $92 million to deepen its harbor to 52 feet.
To support growth, MAPEI and other manufacturers are looking to the state for help educating and training employees. As companies move to higher technology manufacturing, new and existing workers need more skills training.
Of MAPEI’s 67 hourly employees at its Fort Lauderdale plant, nearly 30 percent have been certified as production technicians, said plant manager Robert Piatek. The online certification through Polk State College was paid for with a federally funded state grant that provided $3,000 per person.
The company’s focus on training reduces safety risk, improves efficiency, and results in improved production processes, Piatek said. Employees like the program because if they gain certification, they earn college credits and get a pay raise.
For more information about the SFMA’s meeting and to register, go to sfma.org.
