If you’ve ever driven through Oldsmar, you probably noticed the wide variety of businesses located in and around the Tampa Road corridor.
But while bars and restaurants, hotels and retail shops dot the landscape, what might not be obvious to the average observer is the abundance of manufacturers that call Olds-mar home.
In fact, for a city of roughly 10 square miles, it’s jam-packed with about 100 manufacturers of all sizes, including the world-renowned Lockheed Martin Corporation and Quality Thin Films, a company that worked on the Hubble telescope.
With all this production and innovation in Oldsmar, it’s fitting the city will celebrate manufacturers this evening when the Upper Tampa Bay Manufacturers Association hosts its third annual Manufacturers Awards Dinner from 6:00 – 9:00 p.m. at the Nielsen Company headquarters.
According to Jerry Custin, the director of business, manufacturing and education for the Upper Tampa Bay Chamber of Commerce and cofounder of the UTBMA, manufacturing has played a big role in Oldsmar throughout its history.
“The strength of manufacturing in Oldsmar is interesting, as R.E. Olds envisioned the city as a hub of manufacturing, agriculture and recreation,” Custin told Oldsmar Connect, adding the city’s founder started a tractor business that was Oldsmar’s first manufacturer.
“I often wonder if he foresaw the close to 100 manufacturers we have shipping products all over the globe and the development of city, with so many great parks and an Olympic BMX training facility. I’m sure he’d be proud!”
Indeed, the sheer breadth of manufactures in the Oldsmar area is enough to impress anyone.
In addition to the major manufacturers mentioned above, Oldsmar is also home to large medical supply companies, small machine shops, plastics producers and metalworks, to name a few.
That kind of diversity, combined with the city’s central location, have helped make Oldsmar a hub of manufacturing activity. In fact, the large amount of manufacturers in the area was a driving force behind the decision by St. Petersburg College to open a workforce training center in town recently.
“We have many diverse industries and sizes here, and manufacturing is a strong regional economic driver, even outpacing tourism in Pinellas County,” Custin said. “That’s why this dinner is important, as it brings the manufacturers and business leaders together…to discuss key challenges and opportunities in the manufacturing sector.”
“We need all hands on deck to work cooperatively to sustain and advance our manufacturing base, and we see this event as a bridge builder to that goal.”
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