C Products Defense to hire 100

A Connecticut-based defense contractor will move its manufacturing and distribution division to Manatee County, a move expected to eventually include 100 new employees, local economic development officials say.

The company, C Products Defense Inc., uses robotic welding to manufacture ammunition for law enforcement agencies, the U.S. military and rifle manufacturers, according to a Manatee Economic Development Council release. Manatee County officials, projecting the additional hires, approved $100,000 in performance-based incentives for the firm, which plans to move into a 19,600-square-foot facility in south Manatee County.

To receive county funding, CPD must hire 100 employees over the next five years at a wage 15% above the county average (roughly $38,500). In the short term, CPD says it will hire 15 local employees this year, plus another 35 in 2012, according to the Manatee EDC.

A sister company of C Products Defense, LCJ Wholesale, will also expand in Manatee County, officials say.