LET THE HIRING BEGIN: Several Manatee, Sarasota companies expanding

MANATEE — At New England Machinery, business is good.

The Manatee manufacturer provides packaging for products such as food, beverages and pharmaceuticals and has “tremendous potential to grow,” says Marge Bonura, director of sales and marketing.

“The packaging industry is one of the few in this economy that has continued to grow,” Bonura said. “As long as the world population grows, people are going to continue to need anything that’s packaged. Our industry will continue to grow.”

As a result, New England Machinery wants to add about 10 employees to its staff of 40.

The plant, at 2820 62nd Ave. E., will add sales staff, engineers, purchasing agents and service technicians with salaries ranging from $30,000 to $100,000.

New England Machinery is among several local companies that have come forward with recent hiring plans in this economic climate. On employflorida.com, the state’s official job searching board, 270 positions have been listed in Manatee County during the past month.

Three companies in Manatee and Sarasota counties have announced plans to create jobs over a five-year period. The businesses revealed their expansion plans this month on the heels of latest state employment data that shows 20,300 jobs were added statewide in May, the third straight monthly gain in jobs since early 2007, according to the Agency for Workforce Innovation.

“A growing number of positive indicators, including an increase in job opportunities and a decline in the unemployment rate, provide continued evidence that the state’s economy is recovering,” said Cynthia Lorenzo, director of the Agency for Workforce Innovation, in a news release.

Trinity Graphic USA, which prints product labels, is one of two Manatee County companies that plans to create 23 jobs in the next five years.

American Finishing Inc. will add 25 jobs during the next five years to its metal fabricating and powder coating business.

Don Franklin, president of American Finishing, also is planning a $1.5 million investment in the company to purchase two vacant buildings with a combined 50,000 square feet to increase the company’s production capacity.

“We still have a strong business despite the recession,” Franklin said. “The economy is such that people are repairing and repainting rather than buying new. We’ve seen business grow probably 20 percent.”

Trinity Graphic USA projects business will grow by about 33 percent after investing $1.6 million in a new digital printer and a digital die-cutting machine.

As a result, Chief Executive Officer Robert Smithson said the company plans to add 23 positions during the next five years including digital print operators, designers and quality control personnel.

“This equipment allowed me to generate a lot of new business because there’s no one in the area with such equipment,” Smithson said.

And because both American Finishing and Trinity Graphic are investing capital in their companies, Manatee County on June 22 approved economic development incentive grants for each firm to support their job creation plans.