Would you like to Sponsor the Manufacturers Summit?

We are now soliciting sponsors for the 5th Annual Manufacturers Summit on November 5-6, 2008 in Jacksonville, and the Manufacturers of the Year Awards Dinner.  If you would like to be a sponsor, click here for more information.

MAF Establishes New Committees

At their May 30, 2008 Board Meeting, MAF established a Tax Policy Committee and a Green Committee.  Florida manufacturers who would like to get involved with these committees should contact Nancy Stephens.

Nominations Being Accepted – Manufacturer of the Year Awards

The Manufacturers Association of Florida will be awarding the 2008 Manufacturer
of the Year Awards at the upcoming 5th Annual Manufacturers’ Summit at the Omni
Jacksonville Hotel in Jacksonville, FL on November 5-6, 2008.  Nominations are
now being accepted.  You may self nominate, be nominated by a colleague, an
association, or the MAF Board of Directors.  Click here to download the
Announcement, Organizational Profile Questionnaire and Judging Criteria. If you
would like to sponsor the President’s Awards Dinner, contact becky@nstephens.com.
The deadline for submitting your nomination is August 15, 2008.

The 2007 winners were: .decimal, L-3 Communications, and Harris Corporation.
 

Amendment #5 Puts Sales Tax Exemptions at Risk

The Florida Tax and Budget Reform Commission has sent CP 0002, a proposal that will reduce property taxes by the required local effort for school taxes, and replace that revenue with revenue gained from removing sales tax exemptions, increasing the sales tax rate, or a variety of other ways. Since the state will be looking to replace $10 billion, that places tremendous pressure on the Legislature to repeal remaining sales tax exemptions.  If all of the targeted sales tax exemptions, including fourteen tax exemptions enjoyed by manufacturers were repealed, Florida's competitive advantage would be lost. 

The proposal will be Amendment #5 on the November ballot, unless struck down by the courts before then.  If approved by the voters, sales tax changes would occur in 2010.  You may find more information on the proposal at http://www.protectfloridasfuture.com/

If you would like to contribute to a public education campaign to try to defeat the proposal at the ballot box, please email nancy@nstephens.com.

Final Legislative Report

The MAF Capital Review  Final Legislative Report for the 2008 Florida Session has been posted to the website under Resources.  Among the bills described are Firearms in the Workplace, Property Taxation and Value Adjustment Boards, Energy, and more. 

Make Your Plans for Manufacturers Week in November

November 3-7, 2008 has been designated by the Florida Legislature as Florida Manufacturers Week. Plan now to attend the 5th Annual Manufacturers Summit, November 5-6, 2008 in Jacksonville, FL, as a part of the celebration of Florida Manufacturers Week. We encourage you to also plan activities in your hometown to raise the awareness of manufacturing in Florida.

Firearms Bill is Law

HB 503 Firearms in Motor Vehicles is law in Florida.  It will go into effect July 1, 2008. The Florida Chamber has filed a lawsuit to have the law struck down by the courts.  If you wish to contribute to the legal fund, contact MAF Executive Director Nancy Stephens nancy@nstephens.com for information on how to do so.

Manufacturing Statistics

There are 16,911 manufacturers in Florida; 71% of them employ fewer than 10 employees.

• Florida manufacturers are concentrated along the central and southeast parts of the state.  The counties with the highest concentrations of manufacturing employees include: Broward, Hillsborough, Miami-Dade, Orange , Palm Beach and Pinellas.
  

• Florida manufacturers employ more than 391,200 Floridians.
  

• In 2007, the Florida annual average wage for manufacturing was $46,540.
  

• Florida contributes $35.9 billion to Florida's gross domestic product and represents 93% of all Florida origin exports.
  

• Florida exports to 222 countries.