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Area Development - Site Selection, Facility Planning and Workforce Development

Rocket Crafters Invests $72 Million To Bring Headquarters To Florida’s Space Coast

07/11/2012
Rocket Crafters, a company that develops advanced hybrid rockets, will invest $72 million to relocate to a 400,000-square-foot facility at Space Coast Regional Airport in Titusville, Florida, with plans to eventually create an estimated 1,300 jobs.

According to the Economic Development Commission of Florida's Space Coast, the company plans to develop and commercialize a new hybrid rocket propulsion technology. It will utilize ultra-lightweight material to manufacture dual-propulsion suborbital space planes. Rocket Crafters is focused on spaceflight training and commercializing technologies required for future suborbital space opportunities for both commercial and military applications.

"We are very pleased with the support, advice, and assistance provided by the state of Florida, the Economic Development Commission of Florida's Space Coast and the City of Titusville in meeting our requirements that will enable Rocket Crafters to locate our headquarters, research and development laboratories, and our manufacturing and assembly operations at Titusville's Space Coast Regional Airport," said Paul Larsen, Rocket Crafters CEO.. "We believe that the availability of skilled manpower and a community with a can-do heritage for going to space will be key in our creation of up to 1,300 full-time jobs, and to our business model for providing rocket propulsion and suborbital space craft to the emerging suborbital space transport market."

As an incentive, the company was awarded a Florida Qualified Target Industry Tax Refund and workforce incentives to offset the costs of location, production equipment, and infrastructure.

"Rocket Crafters' decision to relocate to Florida confirms that our state's business climate is well suited for corporate headquarters establishment," said Gray Swoope, president and CEO of Enterprise Florida Inc., the state's economic development organization.

The EDC and its project partners worked closely with the company to demonstrate the competitive advantages of locating in Brevard County and developed a competitive proposal outlining the tax advantages and skilled labor pool, Space Coast Economic Development officials said.

"Rocket Crafters brings a unique opportunity to expand and diversify the Space Coast's aerospace manufacturing base," said Lynda Weatherman, president and CEO of the Economic Development Commission of Florida's Space Coast. "The EDC successfully led the effort to attract this innovative company to Florida, competing with four other states. We look forward to Rocket Crafters' growth and success on the Space Coast."

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