For the Greater Fort Lauderdale Alliance, the economic development arm of Broward County, the 2025-2026 fiscal year was boom time filled with the arrivals of relocating companies and the expansion of others, the agency announced at its annual meeting late Wednesday.

Altogether, the activity generated more than $318.5 million in new capital investment from the companies that generated 1,116 new jobs in the fields of aviation maintenance, repair, and overhaul; medical and pharmaceutical manufacturing and research; global logistics; and technology, the organization said in a news release.

The Alliance also noted it secured a $125,000 grant from the state of Florida to support the Broward Maritime Defense Readiness and Diversification Initiative. The program is designed to “help the county’s incumbent maritime firms enter the defense market by building, supplying, and supporting unmanned and autonomous vessels for the U.S. Navy and other defense and homeland-security customers.”

“Business is booming in Greater Fort Lauderdale,” Alliance President and CEO Bob Swindell said ahead of the meeting at the Broward County Convention Center that drew 600 public and private-sector guests.

On Tuesday, Swindell, 65, announced he is retiringnext year after more than two decades at the agency’s helm. A national search for a replacement is pending.

“This fiscal year represents one of the strongest in Alliance history, featuring an incredibly robust lineup of leading-edge company expansions across key industries,” he said. “This continued growth and momentum is a testament to the strength of our market and the ongoing collaborations with Broward County, our members, partners and broader business community.”

The following excerpts from the Alliance statement described the projects that emerged during the year:

• Audax Labs Corp USA: The technology solutions and consulting company specializing in AI, data analytics, machine learning, cloud technologies and intelligent automation has invested $300,000 in a new 34,000-square-foot office and research and development facility in Sunrise, creating 25 new jobs.
• Buddy of Parents: The Singapore-based technology developer of an age-tech senior safety system to help older adults age safely and independently at home will open a 200-square-foot office at the Alan B. Levan | NSU Broward Center of Innovation in Davie.
• CTS Engines: The global leader in mature aviation engine maintenance is investing an additional $4.5 million to expand its newly opened state-of-the-art $15 million, 216,000- square-foot maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO) “Engine Hub” and global headquarters in Coral Springs, which launched last September. The expansion will add 100 high-skill jobs.
• GXO Logistics, Inc.: A New York Stock Exchange-traded company that is the world’s largest pure-play contract logistics provider is expanding with a new 35,000-square-foot regional office in Fort Lauderdale next year. The company is the first tenant for the state-of-the-art T3 office building in the city’s redeveloped FAT Village neighborhood. The regional office will create approximately 150 new jobs as GXO seeks to grow in the Americas and Asia Pacific.
• Lupin Pharmaceuticals: The global pharmaceutical leader is expanding in Coral Springs with a manufacturing plant that will anchor its U.S. production of critical respiratory therapies and generate more than 200 long-term skilled local jobs by 2030. With a projected cumulative investment of $250 million,

   

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