County business leaders still trolling for trophy fish

LAND O'LAKES -- For the Economic Development Council, which labors to lure big corporate fish to Pasco County, 2002 was a year that yielded mostly minnows.

While a number of small companies expanded and moved to Pasco, many of them serving the booming home-building market, the larger businesses eluded the county in 2002. EDC officials say that in a slow economy, many corporations were slow to act.

"Overall, I think that everyone saw it as a challenging year," said Mary Jane Stanley, the EDC's executive director. "It was just waiting for companies to get over the uneasiness of the economy, and people were more cautious."

With the national economy lagging, companies were "more deliberate about decisions, took longer to make up their minds about putting out extra money for expansion and relocation, even though the cost of money has never been cheaper," she added.

Nevertheless, the EDC helped create 683 new jobs in its 2001-02 fiscal year from business expansions and relocations, and $37-million in new capital investment.

Those companies that made new investments in Pasco included Turbine Diagnostic Services Inc., a Brooksville-based company which makes repairs at power plants; B.e.t.-er Mix Inc. of Hudson, which planned a new concrete plant in Zephyrhills; and Aeronautical Systems Engineering Inc., a company that makes flight simulators, which moved here from Tampa.

The proverbial big fish could swim into Pasco soon. SCC Soft Computer, a software maker based in Palm Harbor, confirmed possible plans to move to Holiday. SCC has a staff of 450, says it hires up to 70 new employees each year and pays a median salary of $45,000, way above the average Pasco income, which is $24,153.

Stanley concedes that landing other larger businesses in Pasco could be a challenge in the near future, particularly with the high commercial vacancy rates in the surrounding counties. They haven't quit the fishing, but they're also trying to focus on helping the companies that are here expand and grow.

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