ECONOMIC AND INDUSTRY PERSPECTIVES

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ECONOMIC AND INDUSTRY PERSPECTIVES ON PALM BEACH
COUNTY
Tony Villamil The Washington Economics Group,
Inc. INDUSTRY APPRECIATION Business Development
Board of Palm Beach September 21, 2006


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Economic Drivers of Palm Beach County Economy
Local and state business climate
U.S. economic activity
Global economic activity
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Stars Properly Aligned for Strong 2006

• Business climate one of the best in the nation
• Expanding clusters of innovation, especially life
  sciences
• U.S. economic driver five years of above average
  growth
• Global economy expanding strongly, especially key
  trade partners of Palm Beach

4
RESULTS Solid Industry Expansion as Reflected
in Regional and County Economic Numbers

• South Florida Leading Florida in payroll
  employment growth
• 57,400 jobs created over 12 months ended in
  August
• Twice as fast as national average growth
• Among leading growth industries in Palm Beach are
  professional and business services, leisure and
  hospitality, life sciences, educational services
  and knowledge-intensive manufacturing

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Palm Beach County vs. Florida Employment
Expansion 2006
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A Look at 2007Strengths and Challenges
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Examples of Growing Life Sciences Clustersof
Palm Beach

• Scripps Research Institute and Scripps Florida
  were awarded 10.4 million by the National
  Institutes of Health to establish The Scripps
  Research Institute Molecular Screening Center.
• Boca Raton's Nabi Biopharmaceuticals opens the
  first-ever vaccine manufacturing plant in the
  southeastern United States, a 12,000-square-foot
  facility.
• Florida Atlantic University scientists win 4
  million to research HIV, heart disease, and
  cancer from the National Institutes of Health

Source Business Development Board, Palm Beach
County (www.bdb.org) Courtesy of EFI-September
2006
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Examples of Growing Life Sciences Clustersof
Palm Beach (cont.)

• The cornerstone of the new Poinciana
  Biopharmaceutical Park will be the MediVector
  Biopharmaceutical Centers headquarters, a
  training and manufacturing facility, projected to
  create more than 1,500 jobs in the next five
  years
• UF start-up, NovaMin Technology, receives 4
  million in venture capital to further NovaMin,
  its discovery offers consumers whiter, less
  sensitive teeth while protecting them from tooth
  decay
• The Life Sciences industry employs more than
  50,000 people in Palm Beach County. The cluster
  is comprised of companies involved in the
  manufacturing of drugs, medical instruments,
  supplies and health care services

Source Business Development Board, Palm Beach
County (www.bdb.org) Courtesy of EFI-September
2006
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Concluding Observations

• Outstanding industry leadership assures continued
  economic success for Palm Beach
• From cyclical perspective, next 12-18 months will
  be more challenging, but Palm beach faces the
  business climate challenges from a position of
  strength
• An expanding FAU and new additions to the 50,000
  employee strong life sciences cluster adds a
  high-wage, knowledge-intensive dimension to Palm
  Beach