Central Florida, which includes our office location of Lake Mary, FL, is getting noticed as one of the top growing research regions in the world, according to The Herald Tribune, due to the Florida High Tech Corridor and three nearby research universities.

The Florida High Tech Corridor stretches from Sarasota County to Gainesville and east to Daytona Beach, and includes the University of South Florida, the University of Florida and the University of Central Florida.

Randy Berridge, president of the Florida High Tech Corridor Council says, “Our region continues to climb the ranks to stand alongside the universities of the Research Triangle and Texas, which have a long-standing tradition of high-tech research and innovation.”

The facts were delivered at the recent Florida Economic Development Conference when this statistic was stated: The three universities produce more patents than any other well-known centers of innovation, including North Carolina’s Research Triangle and the University System in Texas.

“USF ranked 13th in the world among universities for U.S. utility patents granted in 2014, according to the National Academy of Inventors and the Intellectual Property Owners Association. UF is 20th worldwide, while UCF is 30th.”

The benefits to local businesses and communities of having this Corridor and top research universities are becoming quite clear. Companies are working with the university research teams in order to find solutions to common, every day problems. For example, “Venice, FL window-and-door maker PGT Inc. worked closely with a UF research team to find ways to prevent water intrusion during hurricanes.”

We understand that this opportunity for businesses means more will flock to the area. They are able to be right next door to research and have the chance to make long lasting and large impacts to their customers, whether local or worldwide. We’re very excited to be in the central location of research and technology growing and helping the local community and economy to expand!