Unique startup aims to cool off airplanes

BRADENTON — A startup manufacturing firm that makes high-tech machines designed to keep airplanes cool while on the ground plans to test its products at the Sarasota Bradenton International Airport.

The firm, Verde GSE, also plans to hire 14 people over the next five years, according to release from the Bradenton Area Economic Development Corp. The company is based out of a 2,000-square-foot facility in the Manasota Industrial Park in southern Manatee County, near the airport, which goes by the call letters SRQ.

The Bradenton Area EDC and Manatee County worked with Verde GSE in the startup process. Assistance included help with site selection, rapid response permitting from Manatee County officials and coordination with Florida Power & Light to make sure the facility has adequate power to support equipment testing. Manatee County officials also approved $14,000 in performance-based incentives for Verde based on the 14 jobs that must pay 15% greater than the 2012 Manatee County average annual wage.

“As a resident of Manatee County, the Tampa Bay region was the top choice for locating my new business,” Verde President Richard Hansen says in the release. “Assistance from the Bradenton Area EDC and Manatee County government helped to expedite the startup process. Being able to test our new equipment locally at SRQ is a huge asset as we bring technology improvements to the industry.”

Verde, a spinoff of Palmetto-based Trilectron-ITW, designs, engineers and manufactures cooling units up to 60 tons. The company's aircraft cooling systems, the release states, are based on refrigeration technologies from the automotive, food equipment and aerospace industries. The Verde in the firm's name is Spanish for green, which company officials say represent its environmentally sound principles. The GSE stands for ground support equipment.