Cape Coral firm plans 80 hires

BRADENTON — Cape Coral manufacturing entrepreneur Bob Long will expand on the Gulf Coast, with the purchase of the former Wellcraft marine facility in southern Manatee County.

Long's firm, JRL Enterprises, plans to grow a composite tool-making operation in the old Wellcraft facility, which has been vacant since 2008. The expansion, aided by $240,000 in performance-based state and county incentives, is expected to generate 80 jobs, according the Manatee Economic Development Corp.

The move is also a homecoming of sorts for Long, who was Wellcraft's president from 1976 through the 1980s, according to a Manatee EDC release. “We are busting at the seams at our current locations in Cape Coral and Pine Island,” Long says in the release. “We searched in Lee County for an appropriate facility and considered out-of-state opportunities, but we ultimately turned to Manatee County where I had worked for so long.”

Adds Long: “The former Wellcraft facility has the elements we need, such as size, ventilation and some necessary equipment. It's virtually ready to house our expanded operations right away, which is essential to our meeting production schedules for our customers.”

JRL Enterprises and its related entities, including Marine Concepts, have more than 130 employees, according to a release. Long's companies do high-tech sophisticated design engineering and manufacturing. Its work is in a variety of products, including flight simulators, boats and rocket parts. For more on JRL Enterprises and Long, click here.