The U.S. Navy is a buyer of lighting products produced by Sarasota-based Sunovia Energy Technologies.
Companies in China and Europe are purchasing sizeable orders from Manatee County manufacturer Sun Hydraulics.
Eaton Corp. and Roper Industries both made major acquisitions this year to diversify their portfolios.
In the first half of 2010, the earnings of most publicly traded manufacturers in Manatee and Sarasota counties have significantly improved since 2009 — on par with a national trend. Manufacturing activity has increased for 14 straight months, according to the Institute for Supply Management. The industry trade group reported that the manufacturing index in September read 54.4. An index reading above 50 indicates growth.
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And the trend continues. In the first seven months of 2010, manufacturing grew by about 8.5 percent.
“Manufacturing recovery posted fairly strong growth in the first and second quarters of this year,” said Dave Huether, economist for the National Association of Manufacturers.
Here is a look at the area’s publicly traded companies and their highlights for the first half of 2010:
Sun Hydraulics
The Manatee County manufacturer reported $70.9 million in sales for the first half of 2010, a 51 percent increase over the first half of 2009.
The maker of cartridge valves and manifolds attribute the increase to gaining new customers in China, Europe and North America.
HAsia and South America accounted for the fastest-growing areas for exports from U.S. manufacturers.
“Those areas are recovering faster,” Huether said. “There’s been a fairly significant upturn in exports over the last year, which has been one of the factors that has enabled the manufacturing sector to grow faster than the economy.”
Rich Arter, investor relations spokesman with Sun Hydraulics, said the company hired a marketing and sales professional in 2009 in China to increase business development there.
“We did gain some new business there that does appear to be substantial,” Arter said. “It was a nice first half, clearly, and it was nice to be out of the doldrums of last year. The first half of 2009 was just horrible. It was really difficult business conditions but it came back quickly this year. We were pleased to regain some of our operating leverage and earnings so quickly.”
Roper Industries
This Lakewood Ranch-based firm, which makes products for energy, transportation and healthcare companies, acquired a California-based software company iTradeNetwork, Inc. in July.
The $525 million all-cash transaction will open a door into the food industry for Roper Industries. iTradeNetwork helps grocers and restaurant chains manage inventory.
Roper Industries’ first-half year profit totaled $581 million, up from $506 million the first half of 2009.
Intertape Polymer Group
First-half sales for the Bradenton manufacturer of plastic and paper packaging products increased 13 percent to $58.2 million, and profits climbed 9.8 percent to $3 million.
The company credits its increase partly to a growing customer base in Mexico. To maximize on the sales gain, Intertape Polymer set up a warehouse in Mexico. Also in the summer, the manufacturer rolled out a new brand of double-coated tape that is designed to reach a niche market for assembly purposes.
Intertape Polymer is fighting litigation, however, in which the U.S. Middle District Court of Florida ruled Intertape owes Inspired Technologies $13.2 million in damages for claims over breach of contract.
Intertape announced in September it is appealing the decision.
Eaton Corp.
The aerospace manufacturer, based in Cleveland with a plant in Manatee, completed the acquisition of CopperLogic Inc. on Oct. 4. The $35 million transaction will give Eaton additional manufacturing capabilities of electrical and electromechanical parts.
The acquisition comes after Eaton reported first-half sales increased 13 percent to $6.5 billion, and first-half profit for 2010 totaled $385 million compared to a net loss of $21 million in the first half of 2009.
Sunovia Energy
Based in Sarasota, this solar energy company recently sold its EvoLucia LED lights to the U.S. Navy at its Crete, Greece base, DePaul University and increased its sales force by adding 55 lighting agencies nationwide to sell and distribute its energy-efficient, outdoor lights.
In the first half of 2010, Sunovia’ sales were $1.5 billion, up from $886 million. It had a profit loss of $201.6 million.
“The first half of this year we lost money, but we were able to start getting our manufacturing sorted out and get our engineering systems in place,” said Sunovia’s newly appointed Chief Executive Officer Art Buckland. “We’re about to launch a new set of products and solutions in the marketplace to offer substantially better return on investment.”
Tropicana
Pepsico, the parent company of Tropicana, reported sales jumped 33 percent to $39.6 billion in the first half of 2010. Profit reached $4.9 billion, a 10 percent increase from the first half of 2009.
Pepsico Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Indra Nooyi said the company’s impressive first half was partly due to its stable brands including Tropicana, which has a juice processing plant in Bradenton.
Teltronics
The first half of 2010 was difficult for the Palmetto-based manufacturer of communications hardware as sales dipped to $12.4 million, down from $21.4 million in the first half of 2009.
In the company’s second-quarter report, Teltronics President Ewen Cameron said the decline was largely due to a reduction in orders from one of its largest customers.
Cameron said Teltronics will focus on research and development for the remainder of the year as it plans to release a new product in early 2011.
Pierce Manufacturing
Pierce Manufacturing’s parent company Oshkosh Corp. posted $7.7 billion in sales for the first nine months of 2010, up from $3.7 billion over the same period in 2009.
Pierce Manufacturing, a Bradenton-based manufacturer of fire trucks and equipment, gained new clients in The Villages, Houston and Lima, Peru this year.
Oshkosh Corp., based in Appleton, Wis., also posted a $676 million profit over the first nine months of 2010 compared to a $1.2 billion loss over the same period last year.
— The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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