'Employer of choice'

For some employees at PGT Industries, one of the largest employers in the Sarasota-Bradenton region, finding child care can be difficult.

The impact-resistant window and door manufacturer headquartered in north Venice operates six days a week, 24 hours a day. For staff outside the traditional weekday, nine-to-five timeframe, daycare options are limited or nonexistent.

That's one reason why the company is embarking on a $1.8 million project to build its own daycare facility. “This has been a strategic initiative for us probably going back over 10 years, to provide benefits to our folks that go beyond just your typical medical benefits,” says Debbie LaPinska, PGT's vice president of human resources.