Tampa Bay manufacturer grows

CLEARWATER -- Modern Silicone Technologies, a manufacturer that uses liquid silicone moldings, bought the 13-acre Expo Center in Pinellas Park for $3.5 million.

The parcel, previously owned by Frito Lay, includes a 123,000-square-foot manufacturing facility. Modern Silicone says it will consolidate its manufacturing operations -- currently spread between Clearwater, Chicago, and West Virginia -- into this single building.

That consolidation will bring new jobs to the Tampa Bay area, although a release announcing the deal issued by broker Commercial Realty Partners did not specify how many.

Commercial Realty Partners' Scott Clendening represented Modern Silicone in the transaction.