Sun expects to add 361 jobs

BRADENTON — Sun Hydraulics Corp. has begun site work for its third factory in the Manatee-Sarasota area, which could lead to 361 new jobs over the next five years, the Manatee Economic Develop Corp. announced in a news release Tuesday.

The company, which makes screw-in hydraulic cartridge valves and manifolds, qualified for $396,420 in performance-based incentives from Manatee County, as well as an estimated $76,580 in transportation impact fee incentives. The latter reduces road impact fees on new construction.

According to the Manatee EDC, the incentives are based on the company adding 361 jobs during the next five years at an average annual salary that is 15% higher than the county average, which was $34,556 in 2010.

Sun Hydraulics' new 78,000-square-foot manufacturing facility will be located at 803 Tallevast Road, near its existing factory at 701 Tallevast Road. Utility work on the two properties plus the new building's construction is expected to cost $19 million.

“We have begun site work for a third factory in the local Manatee-Sarasota area and expect capital spending of approximately $6 million in 2012 related to the building,” Allen Carlson, Sun's CEO and president, says in a news release. “We look forward to the additional capacity being completed in mid-2013.”

One of the largest employers in the area, Sun Hydraulics currently employs about 700 people in Manatee and Sarasota counties and an additional 200 globally.

Sun Hydraulics' stock recently traded for $25.62 per share (NASDAQ: SNHY). In addition to its two Sarasota-area facilities, it has a factory in Lenexa, Kan., and operations in the United Kingdom, Germany, Korea, France and China and India.