On July 10th, Pensacola Mayor, Ashton Hayward, announced the addition of a major manufacturing facility to the City-owned Port of Pensacola, which will generate up to 200 new jobs.
The lease agreement was approved in March by the City Council, and executed in May between the City of Pensacola and Offshore Inland Marine and Oilfield Services (OIMO). Offshore Inland is a leader in riding crew and topside repair services, and is combining efforts with DeepFlex, the world’s only manufacturer of un-bonded, non-metallic pipe for deepwater applications. The companies will establish a new, un-bonded flexible pipe qualification testing and manufacturing facility, which is expected to be operational by late 2015, and which could produce as much as 62 miles of pipe per year.
Mayor Hayward conveyed, “Throughout its long and storied history, the Port of Pensacola has often reinvented and reimagined itself to meet the needs of the times. From pine and pitch, wooden masts and sailing spars in the 1700s, to bricks and lumber and cotton in the 1800s; from coal during the war years to the peanuts, poultry, paper, and wind turbine components of more modern times, our Port has always reflected our region’s contributions to the world economy.”
“Two and a half years ago,” he continued. “I set out a new vision for our Port, designed to position it to better compete in a changing global marketplace and to be an economic engine for our region. We are beginning to see results. The constant modernization of subsea oil and natural gas production, combined with our nation’s renewed dedication to reducing dependence on foreign oil, has provided new opportunities for our historic Port to play an important role in our City’s economic growth and diversification.”
The new facility will be built by heavily renovating an existing Port warehouse, in addition to constructing new buildings and infrastructure on up to 3.5 acres of undeveloped land on the Port. It will have the capacity to produce DeepFlex’s full product line, including composite reinforced pipe structures (FFRP) and hybrid reinforced pipe. The facility is being designed with the greatest amount of flexibility and changeability possible so that OIMO and DeepFlex will be able to grow with the needs of the ultra-deep subsea market.
All pipe produced at the new facility will leave the Port as cargo by rail, truck, barge, cargo ship, or direct load-out to subsea pipe-laying vessels at Offshore Inland’s existing services center on the Port’s west side. Consequently, the facility will generate both rent as well as income through the vessel and cargo fees associated with Port activity.
The Greater Pensacola Chamber, in association with the Mayor’s office, assisted the companies in navigating the site selection process and discovering regional, local, and state incentives. Other offices that cooperated with moving the project forward include the Office of Governor Rick Scott, Enterprise Florida, Florida Department of Economic Opportunity, Escambia County, and the Department of Transportation.
