Why Top Manufacturers Choose the Greater Daytona Beach Region
When Ireland-based Kingspan chose a city to serve as its insulated metal panels headquarters in North America, it went from shamrocks to sunshine – abundant Volusia County, Florida, sunshine, to be precise.
Kingspan, an environmentally conscious manufacturer of high-performance building materials and storage tanks, was launched in Ireland some 60 years ago. The company’s insulated metal panels division expanded to the U.S. in 2008, getting its foothold with the purchase of a business in DeLand, located in central Volusia County.
Five years later, Kingspan decided to make its DeLand location a headquarters – not just for the U.S., but for all of North America. Some 200 employees work at DeLand, with another 500 stationed at five more manufacturing locations across the continent, including Canada and Mexico.
“Volusia County is a terrific place to do business,” says Kingspan President Alswinn Kieboom. “We have always received tremendous support from the local community, and the area allows our employees to enjoy a high quality of life.”
Kieboom says Kingspan’s tremendous growth over the last eight years moved the company to expand its DeLand building to about 29,000 square feet.
“The newly renovated office provides our employees a modern and sustainable work environment. It showcases a broad range of Kingspan products and allows us to elevate the customer experience,” he says.
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‘We Have Everything’
That Kingspan chose to go big in Volusia County comes as no surprise to Bliss Jamison, president of the Southeast Volusia Manufacturing and Technology Coalition.
“We, as a region, have everything,” Jamison says.
Among the strengths the coalition highlights are the region’s career education and workforce training programs, and its colleges and universities, including Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University, Stetson University and Daytona State College.
“We have the space, workforce, and city and county governments that understand and are pro-industry and pro-manufacturing,” Jamison says, adding that Southeast Volusia County in particular also boasts a “small-town beach vibe.”
That vibe was a part of what moved Sarah and Stephen Dougherty, co-owners of Edgewater-based Dougherty Manufacturing and SŌLACE Boats, to change the plan they’d made for their shared life.
“We have an 80-acre farm and an empty building on a lake in South Carolina,” Sarah Dougherty says. “We were looking to move up there, but we just didn’t want to leave the saltwater. I get to live where people save for an entire year to come for one week.”
‘Love Doing Business Here’
Dougherty, who’s been in the marine business in Volusia County for 20 years, says the Edgewater and Volusia County governments get what manufacturing – especially the marine and aviation industries – means to the region’s thriving economy.
“Industry is a driver,” Dougherty says. “The city and county here have been so good to work with and very accommodating.
“There’s a great workforce here, a really low crime rate – and at the same time, we have all these things with a small-town feel.”
For example, Dougherty says, she and her husband used to let their children ride their bikes 4 miles to the beach where they would then take boats out on the Atlantic Ocean themselves.
“Now, two of our kids are old enough to work with us in the business,” she says, “and all three of our kids travel with us to boat shows.
“We absolutely love doing business here,” Dougherty says. “Our hope is that our kids will keep doing what we’re doing – right here.”
By balancing high-tech innovation with a relaxed coastal lifestyle, the region proves that a thriving manufacturing sector and a high quality of life can truly exist in harmony.
Learn much more about launching or relocating a business in Greater Daytona Beach at teamvolusiaedc.com.
Locally Made: The Daytona Region Manufacters It All
In Volusia County, a community of makers and manufacturers is shipping “Made in Florida” quality to every corner of the globe:
Boston Whaler (Edgewater): Whaler prides itself on making boats that are dependable, durable and structurally sound.
EdgeWater Boats (Edgewater): This company turns out center- and dual-console and saltwater fishing boats.
B. Braun Medical Inc. (Daytona Beach): The German health care titan opened its Daytona Beach pharmaceutical manufacturing facility in 2022.
Viking Aircraft Engines (Edgewater): Viking converts late-model, low-mileage aircraft engines using the most current technology available.
AURA AERO Inc. (Daytona Beach): The French company has opened its first U.S. facility, an 11,000-square-foot plant.
Kermit’s Key Lime Pie (DeLand): The DeLand location is Kermit’s operations hub, supporting all its shops and handling orders.
Hill’s Southern Foods (Ormond Beach): Its beef jerky is made from the best cuts of beef, seasoned with its signature blend of spices.
