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Lab celebrates local operations

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By MICHAEL SASSO

msasso@tampatrib.com

Published: October 27, 2009

TAMPA - Luring Draper Laboratory cost $20 million, but local government leaders are hoping the millions spent to bring the research company to Tampa will pay huge dividends.

Monday afternoon, politicians and business leaders turned out to celebrate Draper Laboratory's recent opening. The company started operating inside the University of South Florida Research Park in June.

The lab has 15 employees, but it could grow to as many as 100 within seven years, said Draper President James Shields.

Among other projects, Draper is studying how malaria reproduces in the liver. Another project includes a belt that uses gyroscopes to promote balance, said Draper spokeswoman Amy Schwenker. It's also hoping to work with the H. Lee Moffitt Cancer Center & Research Institute to study tumors, Shields said.

Draper didn't come cheaply, though. The state kicked in about $10 million through its Innovation Incentive Fund, USF added $4 million and Hillsborough County put in $6 million. That comes to about $200,000 in public investment for each of its 100 eventual jobs.

Local leaders hope Draper's presence will bring in millions of research dollars into Tampa and attract other labs.

The research company has opened a manufacturing facility in St. Petersburg that has about 20 employees but should grow to at least 65 people, Shields said. The St. Petersburg facility develops miniaturized electronic devices for troops, among other products, he said.

As in the Tampa project, Draper's St. Petersburg facility received public funding, including $5 million from the state and $2 million each from Pinellas County and St. Petersburg. Progress Energy and Draper also combined to add $1 million, Schwenker said.

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