Gioia Sails, a Lakewood, N.J.-based manufacturer of canvas sailing products, is moving its Florida operations to Palm Coast.
Owner Don Gioia said the company was founded 46 years ago and is moving its Southern Division to Flagler County to be closer to one of its major customers, Sea Ray Boats, according to The Daytona Beach News-Journal.
“We were in St. Augustine and needed to come closer,” he told members of the county’s Economic Opportunity Advisory Council at its monthly meeting Wednesday morning, the newspaper reported. “We’re very happy we’re here.”
The company purchased a building in Palm Coast and began renovating the facility on April 24. Work is expected to be completed in a month.
The company will bring about 30 employees to the new facility and wants to hire 10 more. Gioia Sails South vice president Pat Moynihan said the company has plans to expand.
“Our five-year plan for the company is to expand our boating industry services and customer base throughout Florida as well as gain a stronger presence in customization and reupholstering throughout the country,” Moynihan told the paper.
The company is not receiving any state or local incentives, said Helga van Eckert, executive director of the Flagler County Department of Economic Opportunity. But the county will be working with Gioia Sails to help the company grow.
