What firm will be the next Hertz?

Economic development officials are notoriously mum when it comes to details of pending projects, especially corporate relocations, and Enterprise Florida President and CEO Gray Swoope is no exception.

But Swoope, in a recent speech at the North Port Economic Development Corp. annual dinner, says secretive is far from inactive. Swoope played up his office's recent successes, what he calls the big medals: Employers that bring at least 200 jobs to the state — usually with some type of performance-based subsidy. Swoope says Enterprise Florida assisted on a dozen of those big deals in 2013 after having just two in 2012 and one other since 2006.

Swoope, speaking to a group of Sarasota and Charlotte county business leaders at the North Port event, specifically mentioned corporate relocations and expansions such as Hertz in Lee County and Amazon in Hillsborough County. And he projects another big medal year for the rest of 2014, when he expects to have at least a dozen more 200-plus job announcements.

“These are companies you want to have in the state,” says Swoope. “These are companies you want doing business here.”