TouchPoint Medical Inc., a global supplier of technology-based health care delivery systems, will bring 116 new high-paying jobs to Pasco County.
Company officials plan to relocate their headquarters to prime vacant land in Land O’ Lakes. They will build an approximately 125,000-square-foot facility, including a parking lot, on the northwest corner of Suncoast Parkway and State Road 54. The site is part of the South Branch Ranch property.
(Courtesy of the Pasco Economic Development Council)
Construction is expected to begin by the end of 2018, with an opening date in late 2019. The company’s capital investment is about $23 million.
The average annual wage paid by TouchPoint Medical will be about $57,000. In addition to new hires, the company expects to retain about 160 existing jobs, largely from positions currently held at several locations, including the Atlanta area and Connecticut.
In addition to serving as global headquarters, TouchPoint Medical also will be the site for its American operations.
“When you mention the words ‘global headquarters,’ it fires us all up,” said Pasco County Commissioner Jack Mariano.
The impetus to relocate began with the company’s acquisition of Promedica Inc., located in Oldsmar, in 2016. Promedica designs and manufactures custom medical carts and assemblies.
However, the facilities in Oldsmar didn’t meet TouchPoint Medical’s expanding needs, said Brian McNeill, president of the parent company, TouchPoint Inc.
“It’s not an ideal location,” O’ Neill said. “It wasn’t designed for what it currently is used for.”
TouchPoint searched for suitable new locations and settled on Pasco County.
“We are really making a statement here,” said O’ Neill. “The medical business is a huge platform for us.”
TouchPoint, the parent company, is privately owned and focuses on long-term investments, and acquisition of high-growth businesses in manufacturing and technology.
TouchPoint Medical offers hardware and software solutions for health care providers in 100 countries around the world. Products include medical workstations, mobile carrier systems and wall mount systems.
The company also is a major supplier of automated medication dispensing equipment.
The Pasco County Commission on June 19 approved about $1.7 million in incentives for TouchPoint Medical.
Over time, county officials project the direct or indirect creation of nearly 300 jobs, with total salaries of about $252 million. An estimated $125 million will be contributed to the Gross County Product.
Included in the incentive package:
- About $464,000 to be paid over eight years in return for providing new jobs
- Up to $150,000 in payments or credits for permitting fees
- An estimated $980,000 in property tax rebates over 10 years
- $100,000 in reimbursable employee training costs
Some of the funds come from the Penny for Pasco program.
TouchPoint Medical will partner with AmSkills as part of training and recruitment.
AmSkills is a Tampa Bay initiative that helps high school students, adults and veterans learn manufacturing job skills.
“It’s feeding the (job) pipeline,” said Pasco County Commissioner Kathryn Starkey.
Pasco’s workforce played a role in luring TouchPoint Medical to the area, said Bill Cronin, chief executive officer of the PEDC.
The first question company executives usually ask is does the area have a skilled, diverse workforce, Cronin added.
“They see this workforce is getting trained,” he said. “It seems we’re doing something right when the workforce is so attractive.”
June 27, 2018
