Greater Gainesville Economic and Business Leaders Conduct Business Recruitment Mission in New York and New Jersey

GAINESVILLE, Fla., Dec. 20, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- In December, the Gainesville Area Chamber of Commerce visited New York and New Jersey to promote Greater Gainesville as a prime business location for site selection consultants and corporate executives. Chamber President/CEO Susan Davenport led a team of regional business and economic leaders on the trip. Delegation members included Dr. Lee Niblock, Manager, Alachua County; Ryan Loftus, Senior Engineering Manager, Exactech; Liam McClay, Assistant to the President in Innovation and Government Affairs, Santa Fe College; and Andy Hopson, Executive Director, The Agency at the University of Florida (UF).

"Greater Gainesville is leading in many ways, including life-saving innovation in the areas of healthcare and life sciences, as well as areas that increase economic opportunities, such as technology and the reinvention of city government to focus on user experience," said Davenport.

During the visit, the team provided new updates such as UF's recent ranking as the nation's best public university for finding talent, the upcoming opening of the $65 million newly renovated Exactech Arena, and Merieux NutriSciences' workforce expansion and relocation in Gainesville. They also spoke to Greater Gainesville's industry sectors including life sciences, advanced manufacturing, and IT, and shared recent developments including:

• White House Named Greater Gainesville Among Recent TechHire Communities: Alachua and Bradford Counties – both located in Greater Gainesville – together are one of the nation's latest TechHire communities. Greater Gainesville joined 70 U.S. TechHire communities receive support to create jobs, facilitate business growth, and create career pathways for local residents. Among reasons for the region's selection is collaboration among the Chamber, Santa Fe College and other partners to train and place at least 300 individuals into programming and app development with companies such as MindTree, NextGen, SharpSpring, Verigo, Immersed Games, and more by 2020.
  
  
• Fast Company Magazine Highlighted City of Gainesville's Efforts to Optimize User Experience: The City's efforts to revinvent itself by designing operations, services and more around user experience was featured in depth by Fast Company, which In comparison to other cities, such as San Francisco, cited Gainesville as making a "big statement" by "going all-in with human-centered design as the foundation of its operations…"
  
  
• $138 Million Greater Gainesville Facility to Produce Vaccines and Treatments for Bioterrorism and Infectious Diseases for U.S. Department of Defense: Nanotherapeutics will manufacture medical countermeasures — such as vaccines, antitoxins and antibodies — against threats to troops, including viruses and biological weapons, in its new facility located in Greater Gainesville.
  
  
• 3-D Printing of Soft Matter Saves Lives at University of Florida and UF Health Shands: UF researchers are leveraging 3-D printing techniques that allow microscopic hydrogel particles to serve as a medium for 3-D printing soft matter into shapes with structural integrity. Most recently this was us used for what appears to be the first-ever 3-D printed conjoined twin heart—in the successful separation of a pair of conjoined twins. The replica allowed surgeons to examine the shared structures in the twins' heart and develop a separation plan.

Additionally, the delegation met with the German Center for Innovation and Research and the UK Department for International Trade to discuss foreign direct investment, international partnership and collaboration opportunities for local businesses.

"The Greater Gainesville region is united in its commitment to leverage our many innovations and advancements to ensure that leaders worldwide who are making expansion and relocation decisions are aware of the unique opportunities that exist here," said Davenport.

Located in North Central Florida, Greater Gainesville is home to the state's youngest and most educated population, the 4th most prolific university commercialization engine in the nation, the University of Florida, and the nation's No. 1 community college, Santa Fe College. The Gainesville Area Chamber of Commerce represents more than 1,300 members that employ more than 80,000 employees. The Chamber works to advance its mission to facilitate economic prosperity, business growth and community progress in the region. Via five lines of business - Business Development, Economic Development, Workforce Development, Public Policy, and Regional Growth - the Chamber is working to position Greater Gainesville as a global hub of talent, innovation and opportunity. For more information visit www.gainesvillechamber.com.

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SOURCE Gainesville Area Chamber of Commerce