Florida Governor visits Port Manatee

Port officials and Gov. Scott celebrated the completion of Berth 14 last summer.    Gov. Rick Scott of Florida recently visited Port Manatee to highlight the completion of Berth 14 last summer, towards which the Florida Department of Transportation contributed $3.3 million. The new berth will enhance the ability of Air Products to begin exporting large heat exchangers, which can weigh up to 500 tons.
   Air Products, a diversified supplier of gases and chemicals, and heavy-duty equipment manufacturer based in Allentown, Pa., opened a 300,000-square foot factory adjacent to the multipurpose port on the Florida Gulf Coast in January 2014 to manufacturer heat exchangers for liquefied natural gas plants.
   Heat exchangers are used to liquefy natural gas so it can be shipped around the world.
   The 40-foot draft Berth 14 will allow the company to build exchangers without size limitations because there are no shipping constraints now at Port Manatee, Air Products General Manager Sandy McLauchlin said in a news release issued by the state.
   Scott said in the statement Air Products has added more than 160 new jobs in Florida in less than two years.
   Gov. Scott’s administration has made logistics and trade a pillar of its economic policy, backing it up with more than $850 million in seaport infrastructure improvements since he took office in 2011.