Company Need
VOXX International Corporation, a worldwide leader in the automotive and consumer electronics industry, first began looking for a location to expand its manufacturing facility in 2011. VOXX, formerly known as Audiovox Corporation, already housed existing production in Orange County.
Orlando’s Competition
As an international company, VOXX could have chosen any location for its manufacturing production facility and considered other alternatives including South Carolina.
Solution
The Orlando Economic Partnership (the Partnership) worked with VOXX over the course of three years, visiting its company headquarters in New York twice and assisting with in-depth research and discussions. The Partnership also played an important role in coordinating with numerous partners including Enterprise Florida, Orange County economic development and company executives. VOXX successfully received incentives and chose Orlando for its existing production facility, local-based talent pool for expansion, proximity to major transportation hubs and business friendly climate.
Results
Executives were so impressed that they decided not only to expand in the Lake Nona area by building a new manufacturing facility, but also announced they would move the company’s New-York based executive headquarters to the Orlando region. This decision provided VOXX the essential opportunity to find skilled talent and continue its growth in a location that made sense financially.
In January 2015, the company officially announced it would expand its automotive business in Orlando resulting in:
- 134 new jobs over 3 years in addition to 173 existing positions
- $17.25 million in capital investment
Partnerships and Collaboration
Partnering organizations included the State of Florida, Enterprise Florida, Orange County, Tavistock Group, CareerSource Florida, Valencia College and the Orlando Economic Partnership.
This is a very exciting development for our company and one we believe is important to the growth of our Automotive OE segment, especially now that we have combined all of our OE business into one entity – VOXX Hirschmann.
Pat Lavelle, president and CEO, VOXX International
