Companies in Research Park at FAU Continue to Succeed
GrowFL named Yachtico Inc., a company within the Research Park at Florida Atlantic University, a “Florida Company to Watch.â€Â  is a platform that connects customers who want to rent or charter boats with fleet operators and boat owners. Since 2012, the Research Park at Florida Atlantic University has housed four companies that have been named “Florida Companies to Watch.â€
°Õ³ó±ðÌý is the only state university-affiliated research park in South Florida and is home to 20 high-tech, high-wage companies and five support organizations. In addition, the Research Park operates the premier Technology Business Incubator (TBI) in the region. Its companies collectively employ 1,484 people with average salaries of $57,739, including 149 FAU alumni and 107 FAU student interns. In 2016, the overall economic impact of the activities in the Research Park was $643.5 million.
“The fact that the Research Park has been able to successfully nominate so many companies that are deeply embedded with Florida Atlantic University demonstrates the value of basing an innovation company in a research park associated with a state university,†said , president and chief executive officer of the Research Park at Florida Atlantic University. “We are very proud of the hard work of Yachtico, and look forward to assisting them in achieving even greater heights in the future.â€
 is a statewide economic development organization certified by the National Center for Economic Gardening through the Edward Lowe Foundation, a national, nonprofit organization that supports entrepreneurship through research, recognition and educational programs. The foundation focuses on second-stage companies that have moved beyond the startup phase and seek significant, steady growth.Â
The 50 companies selected for the “Florida Companies to Watch†produced a substantial economic impact for the state in 2016, earning $391 million in total annual revenue while employing 1,948 full-time equivalent employees. The honorees expect continued growth through 2017 as well, projecting 53 percent revenue increase and 36 percent growth in employment compared to 2016 as a whole.
The Research Park at Florida Atlantic University is the primary partner of GrowFL in Broward and Palm Beach counties. The companies Decora, Daruma Tech, housed in the TBI, and Aerospace Technologies Group are going through the GrowFL economic gardening strategic research program funded by the Research Park. The goal is to ensure that companies with strong ties to the University continue to grow, add jobs, employ graduates and remain in the region.Â
The Research Park at Florida Atlantic University, with campuses in Deerfield Beach and FAU’s Boca Raton campus, 777 Glades Road, exists to provide a supportive environment in which companies engaged in the research and development of new and innovative products can thrive.
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