New company Interface Welding to add to Edgewater's growing industrial scene
EDGEWATER — Interface Welding, a high-tech California-based welding company with an eye for business from the nearby space industry, is opening a new facility that will lead to 20 new jobs here.
It's the latest company to plant roots in Edgewater's Parktowne Industrial Center.
For 54 years, Interface Welding the company has been producing inertia/friction welding with particular emphasis on bi-metal fabrications. After noticing the growth among those high-tech manufacturers and an increased demand for their services, they made the decision to expand.
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“We were introduced to Volusia County at a trade show,” Interface Welding president Steve Craig said in a press release. “We have a 30,000 square foot building in California, which is more than we need. But we are committed to Florida and I’ve got some key people who want to come with me.”
Interface Welding will assemble a local workforce of about 20 people over the next three years in Edgewater, with a capital investment projected at $5 million. Its annual payroll will pay an average wage of $50,000, according to Team Volusia Economic Development Corporation.
The company will operate from a 1.7-acre facility at the Parktowne Industrial Center. According to the center’s website, it is “the largest industrial park in Volusia County with over 342 acres designed to provide industrial parcels to support manufacturing and distribution jobs,” and home to more than 20 other businesses. The area is generally located between West Park Street and 10th Street, west of Ridgewood Avenue.
Team Volusia worked with the company to find a location for their expansion in the county. President and CEO of Team Volusia Keith Norden said Craig was particularly pleased with Edgewater “both as a community and for the site options available.”
“Interface Welding choosing Volusia County as an expansion site is great news on many levels,” Norden said.
Important resource for high-tech enterprises
According to Team Volusia, the welding company is an important supplier to aerospace industry leaders as well as other industries that benefit from the services.
Interface Welding serves as a resource for aerospace applications, military and commercial aircraft, rocket nozzles and motors, ordnance items, nuclear reactors, hydraulics, valves, automotive racing, family cars, oil field drilling and production, cutting tools, turbines, gears, shafts, and many others.
Samantha Bergeron, Edgewater economic development director, said the company is a great fit with the city.
“Of course, welcoming a leading-edge manufacturer that is already a player in tech-driven technologies is a big plus for the community,” Bergeron said. “And the re-energized aviation and aerospace industries puts Interface Welding in close proximity to the Space Coast and other important assets.”
Craig said he is open to the opportunities that may arise from being close to the Space Coast, even if that didn’t play a critical part when choosing Volusia for the company’s expansion.
“Doing business in this area and doing business in California are two different things,” Craig said. “The fact that in Edgewater we are close to the Space Coast and that major players in the aerospace industry are more approachable here will open some doors for us.”
Most recently, 30 of Interface Welding’s technical application products “were aboard the last Mars rover and 80 parts are on Voyager Deep Probe, an accomplishment that brought a congratulatory correspondence from NASA,” according to Team Volusia.
This article originally appeared on The Daytona Beach News-Journal: Interface Welding coming to Edgewater’s Parktowne Industrial Center
