You guys sure have a nasty opinion of Florida.
There is a heat treater right here in Jax, that I know does a LOT of AR parts heat treating. Been there, saw them. Not all they do, they just either do a lot of them, or that was the week that they got their only delivery, I don't know.
There is a LARGE material distributor in Orlando that supplies either most or ALL of Florida with truckloads every day. (AlRO)The shop I worked in here, got a lot of our supplies from them, what didn't come from Tull right here in Jax. All were next day after ordering, so they must have the stuff in stock in Orlando.
Granted we don't have a concentration of machine shops, but heck we could almost put CT, Va, De, Ma etc within our borders. (that is just an example, I really didn't do the square mile comparison). We probably have as many schools with tech programs as any other one of those states.
Within a days drive for us, starts somewhere in Tn, Tx, Va, can anyone in CT say that? There are heat treaters galore well within that range, and as far as machine support, is there anywhere a Mazak rep can't be in a matter of hours, much less days? (or whatever brand machine they decide to purchase). There are airports in and around Kissimee that will support flights any time of day or night. Can you say that about CT?, and say a part will be on a flight to them within an hour and be at their doorstep an hour after the plane hits the ground? Heck, has anyone heard of Mickey Mouse? They have a major operation somewhere in Florida and all of that machinery requires competent workers. Seems to work for them.(just because it is also in Kissimee, might say something???)
Land for a business like this would probably be less than 100 acres, but what the heck, splurge and get 300 to put new business' nearby that supports your shop. There is a lot of land in and around Kissimee and the nearby counties open to develope. A lot of orange groves killed off or just gone...
Ceiner is just a few miles away, over in Titusville on the coast.
Kissimee traffic has gotten worse over the last few years, but if you know how to negoitate Orlando traffic, it is not a problem. Coming into Kissimee via the non traditional routes that most of the tourists takes, makes it an easy delivery. Here to Kissimee is like driving from Concord to Hartford, as far as milage,a simple 2.5 hour drive for most truck drivers, but can you do that in a truck from Concord to Hartford? Cars can do it faster, so no comparison...Heck, I don't think you could get around Boston in half that time except at night, lol.
I am sure Colt didn't make that decision on just labor costs, but maybe the costs of heating coupled with the number of snow days that employee's loose, though a few hurricane days might needed to be considered, lol.
Rant off...
David from jax