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When Reinhold Schmieding pulled into Naples in the summer of 1991, the assets of his company, Arthrex, were locked inside a van and U-Haul trailer he was driving.
This year Arthrex will have 1,000 employees in Naples and is forecasting $1 billion in revenues, its high-tech plants churning out sophisticated tools for surgeons around the world. It's one of the great entrepreneurial success stories on the Gulf Coast.
So it's no surprise that Gov. Rick Scott, a Naples resident himself, singled out Arthrex in his State of the State address March 8. Scott told legislators Arthrex is on the verge of announcing an expansion that will include 750 new jobs over the next five years.
But Collier County economic development boosters slighted Schmieding when they agreed to back the controversial and unsuccessful Jackson Laboratory expansion to Florida, which was to be funded with $260 million of taxpayer money. Schmieding opposed the deal, arguing that Collier was ignoring the needs of successful companies such as Arthrex.
As a result, Schmieding threatened to take Arthrex' expansion to another location. If he follows through, the most likely area would be Lee County, a short drive north from Naples.
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