Brooksville Sees Three Business Expansions

BROOKSVILLE - A local motor manufacturing company recently broke ground on its seventh building.

It is one of three local industries that is either expanding or relocating to Brooksville.

Composite Motors Inc. (CMI) has six buildings at the Hernando County Airport Industrial Park and is about to add an 11,250-square-foot facility along Flight Path Drive to consolidate its corporate office.

The new building also will include space for research and development and a corporate hangar for its aircraft.

"Pretty soon we'll have to rename it the Composite Motors Park," joked Valarie Pianta, a spokeswoman for the Hernando County Office of Business Development.

In addition to motor manufacturing, CMI designs and builds a variety of machinery, including electronic drivers that power motors and an extensive line of automation equipment.

"We're moving along pretty good," said CMI spokesman Jesse Sims of the ongoing construction. "We should be finished with it by the end of the year."

The owner, Bob Jones, was born in Attleboro, Mass., and grew up in Brooksville. The Hernando High School graduate has office locations in both cities. He preferred to expand his company in Brooksville largely because of his attachment to the area, Sims said.

Scotts LawnService will move into a 15,000-square foot building at 1401 Downwind Way. In all, 15 employees will move to the location from its 3,200-square-foot facility in Hudson.

The Ohio-based company needed to move its local office to a bigger facility because it was about to expand its coverage area. Scotts now serves residents in Hernando, Pasco, Hillsborough and Citrus counties, said Pianta.

Lawn care companies have taken a hit in the last year because of soaring fuel costs, but Scotts' move is an indication it is making strides in spite of the economy.

"They seem to be doing quite well," Pianta said.

Green World Path, a manufacturer and distributor of organic fertilizers and pest-management products, is celebrating its move to a 17,000-square-foot facility off Donto Way.

The company, owned by Ray Nielsen, serves customers locally and nationally.

To celebrate its move, the company will host an open house at 10 a.m. today.