- December 16, 2025
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Infrax buys Trimax
Infrax Systems Inc. of St. Petersburg completed its acquisition of Naples-based Trimax Wireless Inc. for $10 million in cash and preferred stock. The two Gulf Coast technology firms expect to generate a combined $6 million in revenue annually.
Paul Aiello, CEO of Infrax, called Trimax “the perfect complement” to his company.
Infrax, formerly known as Opticon Systems, is a global provider of operational support system software applications for the energy and telecommunications industries.
Long leaves chamber
John T. Long III has resigned as president and CEO of the St. Petersburg Area Chamber of Commerce. He is expected to serve through the remainder of this month.
Long, who has served with the chamber over the last four years, did not give specific details as to why he decided to leave beyond saying he will pursue other opportunities.
The St. Pete chamber has been active for the last 110 years and currently has 2,400 members. Mary Lallucci, a senior vice president with Right Management, will succeed Long as interim president and CEO during a search for a permanent replacement.
Honeywell gets GPS contract
The U.S. Department of Defense awarded Honeywell International Inc. a contract worth nearly $16.4 million to produce 203 GPS inertial navigation systems for the U.S. Army and Air Force.
Work will be performed at Honeywell's defense and space electronic systems division based in Clearwater. The new units will be sent to Wright-Patterson Air Force Base in Ohio, the DOD stated in a release.
The contract is a modification to $6.6 million awarded by the department in May for 81 units going to the Army.
Foreclosures drop in Lee
Lenders filed fewer foreclosures in June than they did the same month last year, according to the Southwest Florida Real Estate Investment Association.
Lenders filed 890 mortgage-related foreclosures in June, a 49% drop from the 1,756 they filed in June 2009, the association reports. The top three banks filing foreclosures in June were Wells Fargo, Bank of America and JP Morgan.
However, foreclosures of homesteaded homes represented 55% of the total, an increase that suggests residents are struggling to make payments. Until recently, most foreclosures affected investors who speculated on homes in the area during the boom. Lee County's unemployment in May was 12.5%.
Mack names new chief
U.S. Rep. Connie Mack, R-Fort Myers, named Hans Klingler as his new chief of staff after Francis Gibbs resigned to pursue opportunities in the private sector.
Klingler most recently served as senior staffer for U.S. Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison's bid for governor of Texas. Prior to joining the Hutchison campaign, Klingler served as director of communications and political operations for the Republican Party of Texas, one of the largest GOP operations in the nation.
Gibbs served as Mack's chief of staff since June 2009 and before that as Mack's legislative director.
Builders pull permits
Builders in Lee County pulled nearly twice the number of permits for construction of single-family homes in June than they did in the same month one year ago.
The Lee County Department of Community Development reported builders pulled 46 permits for single-family homes in June, nearly twice the 24 they pulled in June 2009.
Also in June, builders pulled four multi-family building permits, up from two in June 2009.
Commercial contractors pulled permits for new commercial buildings in June valued at $4.9 million, up substantially from the $129,250 in value in the same month last year.
LBK approves project
Longboat Key commissioners approved an expansion project for the Longboat Key Club & Resort, a long-awaited triumph for the landmark property.
The project approved by the commission in a 6-1 vote includes: An 11-story, five-star hotel; a stand-alone meeting center; a new wellness center and spa; and a renovation of the Islandside golf clubhouse and golf course. Villas and a seven-story condominium building, some of the more contentious elements of the proposal, were also approved.
The Key Club, which is owned by Loeb Partners Realty, a New York-based real estate investment firm, filed its initial expansion plans five years ago. Club officials have since spent at least $5 million in fees and planning expenses, while the proposal went through six revisions and more than 20 public hearings.
Organizers behind the main group that opposed the expansion project, the Islandside Property Owners Coalition, say they will likely sue to have the commission's vote overturned.
College plans expansion
University of South Florida Sarasota-Manatee officials are seeking developers for a campus expansion project.
The redevelopment, on three acres the school owns off of U.S. 41, could include a 125-bed dormitory, which would provide the first on-campus housing for the school. USF officials also say they would like to have the 6,000-square-foot school bookstore expanded.
Airport chooses firm
Sarasota-Bradenton International Airport officials selected a new advertising agency to build a campaign that will use social media to generate more customer traffic.
The airport, through a decision made by the Sarasota-Manatee Airport Authority, will work with St. Petersburg-based Paradise Advertising and Marketing. It had worked with Sarasota-based Be Creative USA for the past five years.
Airport officials say they were satisfied with Be Creative's work, which included a long-term public-awareness campaign. But they sought a firm that could bring a new focus to social media marketing, such as using Facebook and Twitter to reel in potential travelers.
