Firm embarks on $2.5M project

BRADENTON — A dental products manufacturer plans to add 48 positions in Bradenton this year, according to the Manatee Economic Development Corp.

The firm, Dentsply Raintree Essix Glenroe, intends to consolidate operations from three facilities into one location, the former Hi-Stat Manufacturing plant in south Manatee County. Another existing location is local, while a third, according to an EDC press release, is in Baldwin, Ga. The consolidation, which likely won't be completed until August, is expected to preserve 150 local jobs, in addition to the 48 new ones.

The project is also essentially an expansion, at least in terms of local manufacturing capabilities. The company's Manatee County operations will encompass more than 20 injection-molding machines, high-speed cutting systems and resin extruders, Dentsply Raintree Essix Glenroe business unit manager Brad Clatt says in the release.

Clatt adds that the company will invest more than $2.5 million in facility improvements.

Performance-based incentives from Manatee County and Enterprise Florida, the state-run economic development arm, will aid the project. Manatee County Commissioners approved $48,000 in subsidies, while the state will commit $288,000, according to the EDC release. The company also qualified for expedited permitting from Manatee County to renovate the Hi-Stat facility, which is 125,000 square feet.