Oshkosh, a $10 billion company based in Wisconsin, is making two simultaneous moves. Its Medtec Ambulance unit will be relocated and consolidated with Pierce Manufacturing in Bradenton, adding 100 to 150 manufacturing and office employees. And its Oshkosh Specialty Vehicles unit will relocate to Clearwater and merge with Frontline Communications, adding about 50 manufacturing and office positions.
The news is an economic boost to Pinellas and Manatee counties, which currently have unemployment rates of 12.4 percent and 12.6 percent, respectively.
The planned relocations will qualify Oshkosh for up to $1.44 million in economic development incentives, with the state of Florida contributing $1.07 million; Manatee County, $333,732; and Pinellas County, $40,000.
In return, Oshkosh pledges to invest $5 million in capital improvements to expand Florida operations. Medtec will install a new assembly line that allows multiple vehicle types to be assembled in the Bradenton facility. Pierce Manufacturing will make Medtec products at its facility, and the company will continue to operate Medtec as a separate brand.
Oshkosh Specialty Vehicles, which makes high-tech mobile medical imaging vehicles and transportable trailers, is relocating work from manufacturing plants in Harvey and Calumet City, Ill. It will merge with the Clearwater operation of Frontline, a maker of command and communications vehicles and broadcast vehicles.
For the new Clearwater jobs, Oshkosh has pledged to pay an average annual salary of at least $57,897 — 150 percent of Pinellas County’s average annual wage of $38,598