FloridaWest EDA and Pensacola Escambia Promotion and Development Commission announced that LIFT has selected Pensacola State College for the Florida satellite of its advanced manufacturing institute.
- The $21 million project is being made possible through economic development partnerships and collaboration with Pensacola State College, Space Florida, and Triumph Gulf Coast. As part of the agreement, LIFT will employ 36 people in the facility over the next five years with an average wage of $113,000 and generate an estimated $32 million in new federal and industry research.
Founded in 2014 in Detroit, LIFT is a nonprofit, public-private partnership whose mission is to “Drive American Advanced Manufacturing into the Future Through Technology and Talent Development.”
- The company operates as technology accelerator, working at the intersection of materials science, manufacturing processes, systems engineering and talent development to move technologies from concept to commercialization, while preparing the advanced manufacturing workforce of tomorrow.
Why this matters: The center being built on the PSC campus is expected to be an asset for growing manufacturing in Escambia County and throughout the region. Its next-generation materials research will support aerospace, defense, automotive, ship-building, and advanced manufacturing and help expand the existing manufacturing in our region.
LIFT also will be a catalyst to develop advanced manufacturing talent and technology skills in Northwest Florida.
Nigel Francis, LIFT CEO and Executive Director, said, “There is no doubt that innovation is ‘place-based,’ which means we not only plan to use our existing ecosystem to support Florida manufacturers and academia, but we plan to develop an engaged ecosystem of local manufacturers and help advance their technologies towards commercialization.”
“This is exactly what bringing a cutting-edge, advanced manufacturing innovation institute like LIFT will do,” said David M. Bear, Chair of Triumph Gulf Coast Board. “LIFT is developing technologies for the future and developing the next generation of advanced manufacturing talent, enhancing our economy in the Panhandle with outside research dollars being spent in our community.”
FloridaWest and the PEDC worked to solidify crucial partnerships with PSC and Space Florida to help recruit LIFT and made the official request of $6 million for grant funds. PSC will provide the site, and Space Florida will provide the conduit financing to construct the facility.
Pensacola State College President Dr. Ed Meadows said the college was introduced to LIFT through FloridaWest and is excited for their arrival on campus.
“Having worked with LIFT to deliver its Operation Next advanced manufacturing certification program to veterans and other students in the region, we know the value a manufacturing innovation institute can bring to the region and the state, and we are looking forward to their facility being right here on our campus in the future,” said Dr. Meadows.
