Medical Device Link.

BUSINESS PLANNING & TECHNOLOGY DEVELOPMENT

Pinellas County's strong medical device sector is important to the overall economy of the state of Florida. The existing industry presence and qualified workforce in the Tampa Bay area provide significant networking and supplier matchmaking opportunities, making the region an ideal location for new businesses and expanding medical device manufacturers to grow and prosper.

Tampa Bay's colleges and universities provide firms with qualified graduates in a variety of majors, including associates, bachelors, masters, and certificate programs in medical device technology, regulatory affairs, and orthotics and prosthetics. Pinellas Technical Education Centers provide students with hands-on training in working with state-of-the-art manufacturing equipment. Certificate programs for various trades include computer numerical control (CNC) machining, computer-aided design, and machine shop.

Pinellas County's efforts to expand its medical device manufacturing presence include outreach to business leaders at industry-sponsored trade shows such as the annual conference of the Biotechnology Industry Organization and the Medical Design & Manufacturing East and West trade shows. This outreach is supported by online and print advertisements and public relations efforts to highlight local industry success stories.

Florida's tax climate has significant advantages for device manufacturers. These include no sales or use taxes on goods manufactured or produced in Florida for export outside the state; sales and use tax exemptions for purchases of machinery and equipment used by new or expanding Florida businesses to manufacture, produce, or process tangible personal property for sale; and exemptions for labor components of research and development expenditures.