Local officials OK aid for Sun expansion

Manatee and Sarasota counties have come together to provide matching funds for tax incentives to aid a Sun Hydraulics expansion that could create 170 jobs, officials have confirmed.

The two counties each provided $102,000 that would go toward a tax rebate program issued through the state for a $24.6 million expansion at Sun Hydraulics, a maker of components used in the construction and agriculture industries.

Sun Hydraulics has facilities located in both counties.

"What we did is we matched money from Manatee County, $102,000 from us and $102,000 from them, because Sun Hydraulics wants to expand," said Sarasota County Commissioner Nora Patterson. "Their expansion will be in the Manatee (location) but since both the Sarasota and Manatee portions are pretty close to the county line, people from both our counties would work in the facility."

Patterson said the project was to create 170 jobs. She said the joint matches would complement $562,000 in funding Sun Hydraulics has applied for through Enterprise Florida, a state agency.

The funding request is cloaked in secrecy.

Kirsten Regal, a Sun Hydraulics spokeswoman, said she could not comment on the matter.

Nancy Engel, executive director of the Manatee Economic Development Council, confirmed the matching fund contribution, but said she could not name the company because of confidentiality agreements. She did not deny it was Sun Hydraulics, however.

A document adopted by the Manatee County Commission on May 6 discusses the county's commitment to the Qualified Target Industry Tax Refund Program for a $24.6 million expansion for "Project Ray."

It specifies that the project is expected to result in 170 Manatee County jobs through the addition of a new $24.6 million facility.

The document states that Manatee County's future obligations, if the application is approved, would be $102,000.

Stuart Doyle, spokesman for Enterprise Florida, said fictitious names such as Project Ray are commonly used on applications for the Qualified Target Industry Tax Refund Program.

He said he could offer no further information about the application, nor confirm its existence.

"I can't comment on that," Doyle said. "We have a confidentiality agreement."

Sun Hydraulics (NASDAQ: SNHY), headquartered in Sarasota, has a 77,000-square-foot facility in Manatee County and a 66,000-square-foot facility in Sarasota.

According to Sun Hydraulic's annual report to the Securities and Exchange Commission, it also has vacant land in Manatee County suitable for 30,000 square feet of additional manufacturing capacity.

The company employs more than 600 employees locally.