August 13, 2018
VMA TO PRESENT LEAN MANUFACTURING WORKSHOP – This important Legos for Lean Manufacturing workshop on operational excellence guides participants from a traditional manufacturing environment to a lean, world-class enterprise. It takes place from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. Tuesday, Sept. 25, at LPGA International, 1000 Champions Drive, Daytona Beach. By implementing lean principles, a company can improve efficiencies, increase profitability, and provide customers with high-quality products at competitive prices. The advantage of using a simulation process, a tried and tested learning principle, can dramatically shorten the learning curve for many organizations and their employees. Space is limited. To register, contact Jayne Fifer at 386-212-4003 or Jayne.fifer@VMAonline.com. For more information, visit www.VMAonline.com.
POSITIVE TREND CONTINUES IN U.S. INDUSTRIAL FIGURES – According to recently released capital markets research by CBRE Inc., the U.S. industrial and logistics (I&L) sector continued to demonstrate strong fundamentals in Q2, with 58.8 million square feet absorbed versus 48.9 million square feet delivered. Net asking rents increased 1.7 percent in Q2 to $7.11 per square foot – the highest level since CBRE began tracking the metric in 1989. The major drivers of supply-chain demand – consumer spending, business inventories and industrial production – all showed measured growth in Q2. For more information, go to https://tinyurl.com/y8jfxzfw.
TEACHING, EDUCATION AND LEARNING ACADEMY – The academy at Atlantic High School allows students to explore a career that needs them now more than ever – teaching! Students take coursework related to teaching theory, practice and early childhood development. Contact Academy Director Carli Bryan at cdlucia@volusia.k12.fl.us or Linda Schultz at ldschult@volusia.k12.fl.us.
ENTERPRISE FLORIDA TRADE EVENT: MEXICO AEROSPACE SUMMIT – Take part in the summit from Aug. 16 to 17 in Querétaro, Mexico. Mexico's manufacturing industries are growing significantly in the aerospace field. The Mexico Aerospace Summit will match potential buyers and suppliers in pre-arranged, one-on-one private meetings. The program will allow participants to identify new potential business partners, request meetings based on their choices, and hear from industry experts about the opportunities in Mexico's aerospace industry value chain. Contact Ana Arroyo, Enterprise Florida Mexico Office, at enterprisefloridamexico@negocios-internacionales.net.
STUDENT LOAN DEBT – As recently reported, student loan debt in the U.S. now totals more than $1.5 trillion. According to The Institute for College Access and Success (TICAS), students in the Northeast have the heaviest burdens. For example, nearly 75 percent of college graduates in New Hampshire have outstanding student loans and owe an average of $36,367 – the highest rate in the country. The TICAS report breaks down the percentage of students carrying undergraduate student loan debt and the average amount each graduate owed in every state (with the exception of North Dakota, due to insufficient data). According to TICAS, Utah has the lowest average rate of student loan debt in the U.S. at $19,975. Visit https://ticas.org/posd/home to learn more.
AAA STUDY: 1 IN 5 FLORIDIANS PLAN TO MOVE THIS YEAR –According to data released last month by the AAA -The Auto Club Group, nearly one in five Floridians (19 percent) indicated they plan to move within the next year. This comes out of the AAA Consumer Pulse™ survey, which found the majority of residents (53 percent) to be planning their move for the spring (April through June) or summer (July through September) season. The survey was conducted online among residents living in Florida from April 4 to 27. For details, go to https://autoclubsouth.aaa.com/safety/media.aspx and click the link to the AAA Study press release for July 26.
PIONEER TRAIL SOLAR ENERGY CENTER – As reported in Solar Power World, Florida Power & Light (FPL) has announced the start of construction of its four newest solar power plants in the state. This includes the FPL Pioneer Trail Solar Energy Center in Volusia County, located south of State Road 44 between Interstate 4 and Tomoka Farms Road. The solar plant will have a capacity of 74.5 megawatts and is expected to be operational by early 2019. Today, FPL operates 14 major solar power plants and more than 200 smaller solar installations, totaling more than 935 megawatts of universal solar capacity currently powering customers.
MOBILITY WEEK – FDOT's Mobility Week, successfully launched in 2016, is an annual collection of outreach events intended to bring attention to safe multimodal transportation choices. During Mobility Week, cities, counties and transportation partner agencies host events to promote transportation choices, highlight transportation achievements, and roll out new initiatives and policies. Mobility Week is also an opportunity to explore various transportation choices available to us. The third annual Central Florida Mobility Week is being planned from Oct. 27 to Nov. 3. To learn more, visit http://fdot.gov/projects/mobilityweek/.
WHERE STATES GET THEIR MONEY –Taxes and federal funds together account for 80.9 percent of revenue for the 50 states. Taxes are the largest revenue source in 45 states, while federal funds are greatest in five. Pew Charitable Trust has provided an infographic that displays a breakdown of each state’s revenue by major categories. To view the infographic, visit https://tinyurl.com/ybj6dvnc.
NEWS ITEMS WANTED! – Please send your business news items to Joanne Magley, Volusia County Information Director, at jmagley@volusia.org. If you wish to be removed from this weekly broadcast, please let us know.