Business Archive

Private investors have completed a strategic capital transaction with Navarre-based Kobetron, Inc., a manufacturer of standard and specialized test equipment for the regulated gaming industry. According to a press release, the investors, James Maida and Paul Magno, have acquired substantially all the assets of the company and will continue to operate under the name Kobetron, LLC.

Although the project is being kept under wraps, 300 to 500 jobs may be on the way to the Santa Rosa Industrial Park.

Santa Rosa County has joined a state-led economic development marketing effort aimed to lure companies to Florida. Commissioners approved allocating $25,000 from the county’s electric franchise fee to participate in the Team Florida Partnership Program for one year at the board’s Feb. 20 meeting.

Two large parcels owned by Navarre 33, Inc. and located on the north side of U.S. 98, just east of Publix in Navarre, have gone in to foreclosure.

In celebration of Mardi Gras, the new Navarre Fishing Pier management team served beer and wine and hosted live entertainment on the deck Feb. 22. The group plans to reopen the pier bar March 14 after facing weather-related and other unexpected delays, including demolition of the previous bar by the former pier operator.

A local resident and chamber of commerce enthusiast – Kristen Loera – will begin leading the Gulf Breeze Area Chamber of Commerce tomorrow. The chamber’s board of directors announced Loera’s selection Feb. 20. Loera replaces Josie Cotti, who announced her resignation from the chamber in January.

You don’t have to drive very far before you see “now hiring” on business reader boards around the Navarre area. Owners and managers know it won’t be long before spring breakers head south to the beaches and into their restaurants and stores.

About a year ago Santa Rosa County Commissioner Jim Melvin and University of West Florida President Judy Bense decided to team up. The duo set out to do what they could to improve the area, thinking of innovative ways to work together. Now they are being credited with spurring a partnership aimed to provide resources to boost business in Santa Rosa.

Although the new operators of the Navarre Beach Fishing Pier had hoped to open a restaurant on the premises by mid-February, those plans have been delayed.

A report released by a Florida nonprofit research organization showed the state added 192,000 jobs during 2013, 42 percent more than  the previous year. The report was welcome news to those in Santa Rosa County.