Posted: January 16, 2023
Written by Bay Economic Development Alliance
Panama City, Florida – (January 12, 2022) – The Bay Economic Development Alliance, an agent of the Bay County Commission (Bay EDA), announced today that Central Moloney Incorporated will be establishing a manufacturing operation in Bay County, Florida. Central Moloney Inc., headquartered in Pine Bluff, Arkansas, is a key supplier to a number of large investor-owned utilities, distributors and OEMs throughout the United States. The company designs and manufactures electrical distribution transformers and transformer component parts. The product line offering of electrical transformers includes both single-phase pole and pad mounted units, vaults for underground applications in urban areas, and three-phase pad mounted units primarily used in light commercial applications. Central Moloney is preparing to open this new manufacturing operation in Bay County, Florida that will produce single-phase pole mounted transformers.
For this expansion in Bay County, Central Moloney Inc. will be leasing an existing 140,000sf facility owned by The St. Joe Company. The state-of-the-art manufacturing facility is located in VentureCrossings Enterprise Centre. The company will make a capital investment of more than $20M and will create 200 new jobs in Bay County.
According to Chris Hart, President and CEO of Central Moloney, Inc., “We are excited about opening our new operation in Bay County, Florida and continuing to invest in manufacturing in the United States. To create a sustainable future for manufacturing in America we must invest in creating high skilled jobs and growing our skilled workforce for the future. We have found Bay County, Florida to be the ideal location to expand our company. By working closely with Bay EDA, Bay County Commission, Triumph Gulf Coast, University of West Florida, CareerSource Gulf Coast, Gulf Coast State College and many other entities we are confident that Bay County is the best location for our expansion” stated CMI president, Chris Hart.
Code named, “Project Lightning Strike”, this project was generated by a lead from Florida’s Great Northwest, the regional economic development entity serving the Florida panhandle.
“Northwest Florida’s unmatched advantages is what piqued the interest with the leadership at Central Moloney Inc.,” said Jennifer Conoley, President & CEO of Florida’s Great Northwest. “Because they chose to invest in one part of our region, we all will benefit. Through this announcement, a total of 362 jobs (direct, indirect and induced) are projected to be created equaling over $19.7 million in new salaries because of the ripple effect of this high impact industry. We are thrilled to see the growth in our manufacturing sector and to welcome CMI to Northwest Florida.
This project was made possible through the combined efforts of Bay EDA, Bay County Board of County Commissioners, Florida’s Great Northwest, Triumph Gulf Coast Fund, University of West Florida – "Industry Resilience and Diversification Fund” and CareerSource Gulf Coast.
Will Cramer, Chairman of the Bay Economic Development Alliance and Chief Financial Officer of Bill Cramer Chevrolet, stated, “It is a privilege to welcome Central Moloney Inc. to Bay County. We are proud to partner with CMI to bring advanced manufacturing jobs to our community and set an example of success for other companies looking to invest here. We are thrilled with the positive economic momentum our county is experiencing and we look forward to continuing our growth with CMI and other corporate partners.”
The Bay County Commission has been intimately involved with the progression of this project. Bay County Commissioner, Bill Dozier, stated, “Central Moloney Inc. will be an excellent company in Bay County. This project will be very impactful for our community by bringing high tech manufacturing jobs to one of our areas of focused growth within the County. The project will be located in a premier business park near our incredible new airport and will employ 200 people in a growing area of Bay County, Florida.”
As we welcome Central Moloney Inc. into Bay County, CareerSource Gulf Coast is actively recruiting talent to join this organization. Anyone interested in pursuing a career with CMI is encouraged to contact CareerSource at csjobs@careersourcegc.com. More information about all available positions can be found on their website at www.careersourcegc.com.
Central Moloney, Inc. is an ISO 9001 certified company, manufacturing distribution transformers and transformer components. Since 1949, CMI has been delivering quality products on time with professional service and reliability every step of the way. CMI offers a wide variety of single-phase and three-phase distribution transformers including, overheads, pad mounts and submersibles. For 70+ years, CMI has led the industry with innovative products to improve the quality and reliability of electrical power equipment. In the mid-1980’s CMI was the first to introduce thermoplastic primary and secondary bushings to the transformer industry. The success of these bushings led to a complete transformation of these products utilizing advanced thermoplastic technology. A range of manufacturing processes, including polymer casting, transfer molding, pressure gelation, and thermoplastic injection molding allow extreme versatility in meeting the customer’s needs.
The Bay County Economic Development Alliance (Bay EDA) is Bay County’s economic development entity. Publicly and privately funded, Bay EDA serves Bay County in the mission of supporting the existing businesses in Bay County and the recruitment of new businesses to Bay County. Bay EDA supports the existing pillars of the economy and is dedicated to growing and diversifying the Bay County economy.
