Corporate Report

Corporate Report

Florida tourism down in first quarter of 2006

Florida saw a 100,000-person drop in visitors in the first quarter of 2006 from the same period a year earlier, according to a Visit Florida report. In the first three months of 2006, Florida saw 23.2 million visitors, compared to 23.3 million in the same quarter last year.

Higher room rates are cited as one of the reasons for the decline in visitors. While resort tax collections have been comparable or slightly better than last year, the higher room rates have created higher tax revenue and lower visitor turn out.

Florida residents taking a pleasure trip decreased 4%, while Canadian visitation increased 2%, the report says. The state says final estimates will be released when completed data is received for all estimates in the report.

Clockwork's purchase

of Indiana firm raises sales

Clockwork Home Services Inc., a Sarasota-based company that establishes and builds nationally branded franchises for the home services contractor market, bought Dial One, an Indianapolis-based provider of heating and cooling systems. The purchase price was not released.

Clockwork will integrate Dial One into its subsidiary franchise One Hour Heating & Air Conditioning, which means Dial One will operate in central Indiana under the new name Dial One Hour.

Dial One, with 180 employees, projects revenue of $28 million this year. With the acquisition, Clockwork's total system-wide franchise and company-owned sales are expected to exceed $380 million.

Wireless data company

enters pet care field

Sarasota-based Skylinx communications is changing from a wireless data company to a completely different model: pet care. The company is making the switch after completing a $3.25 million stock deal to buy California-based Vetco Hospitals. Vetco, run by Sarasota resident Bryan Shobe, will be the surviving entity.

A division of Skylinx (OTC BB:SKYC) provides vehicle tracking, and Shobe has been trying to use similar technology with Vetco to track lost pets. Vetco is also seeking to expand its pet vaccine business from California to the East Coast, Shobe says. The deal is a reverse merger that allows Vetco to become a public company.

Two Tampa companies

sued over biofuels scheme

West Virginia-based Delta Energy LLC and Delwood Equipment Enterprises sued Tampa Biofuels Inc. and Prado & Associates Consulting Engineers for more than $3 million.

The West Virginia companies seek $3 million in punitive damages and repayment of their $150,000 investment in Tampa Biofuels. The plaintiffs allege they had an agreement that profits from the investment into producing biodiesel fuel oil would be divided equally. They accuse Prado of Prado & Associates of generating false documents, including invoices and "bogus partnership agreements" to show Tampa Biofuels' vitality.

American Land Lease adds

age restricted community

American Land Lease Inc., a Clearwater-based real estate investment trust, paid approximately $5 million for The Grove, an age-restricted manufactured home community in Foley, Ala.

The Grove, a 425-home site, gated community, contains 91 occupied sites and 74 sites that are fully developed. An additional 260 home sites are not yet developed.

American Land Lease Inc. holds an interest in 31 manufactured home communities with 7,663 operational home sites, 1,062 developed expansion sites, 1,534 undeveloped expansion sites and 129 recreational vehicle sites.

EDC names ad agency for its

'Excellence in Industry' awards

The Economic Development Corp. of Sarasota County (EDC) selected the Baskerville/Swirles/Ward advertising agency in Sarasota to provide graphic design services for the annual "Excellence in Industry" awards luncheon to be held Sept. 25 at the Ritz-Carlton, Sarasota.

The awards include Industry of the Year, Manufacturer of the Year, Service Company of the Year and Technology Company of the Year. Nominations for the awards will be accepted through June 6. For information and nomination forms, visit www.edcsarasotacounty.com.

New COO moves

in at PODS

Clearwater-based PODS Inc. appointed a new chief operating officer, promoting Darrin Campbell from senior vice president of global operations. Campbell, former CEO of Anchor Glass Container Corp., joined PODS in 2005. As COO, he replaces Paul Umberg, who will remain with the company in another position.

Former Largo firefighter Peter Warhurst and several others founded PODS, then called Portable On-Demand Storage Co., in 1999. It has since grown to more than 1,000 locations across the country and has its own manufacturing facilities.

NEW OFFICES

• The corporate office of de Morgan Communities moved to 700 8th Ave. W., Unit A, Palmetto.

• Coast Financial Holdings Inc., parent company of Coast Bank of Florida, opened a new branch in Manatee County at 4601 Manatee Ave. W. It is the bank's 17th branch.