Fast-growing Internet company MyUS.com says it will move from Manatee County into expanded offices in Sarasota County by September.
With the move goes the 60 current employees of the international package forwarding business and the prospect of future growth. MyUS.com says it expects to add 20 to 30 workers per year. In all, the company says it could add as many as 165 jobs during the next five years.
Sarasota County officials say they did not woo MyUS.com away from Manatee, potentially a sensitive subject. Earlier this year, Sarasota County gave $50,000 in incentive payments to Sunovia Energy Technologies Inc. after that company moved from Manatee County.
MyUS.com, now in 40,000 square feet, found larger suitable quarters in Hillsborough and Sarasota counties, but not in Manatee, said Robin Roach, the company’s operations manager.
“The reason for our move is to find a facility to accommodate our growth for several years,” Roach said.
That growth is expected to start immediately after the September move.
“Right away we’re going to be recruiting customer service people and network administrators,” Roach said.
While the company had considered a Hillsborough site as well, the preference was for Sarasota County because it provided an easier commute for employees.
That led the firm to the former Winn-Dixie warehouse on McIntosh Road, which was bought by a Clearwater company and is now known as the Meridian Distribution Center.
MyUS.com initially will lease 60,000 square feet there, but the center has room for it to grow to 100,000 square feet, Roach said.
Last year, MyUS.com made Inc. magazine’s list of the 5,000 fastest-growing private U.S. companies, coming in at No. 1,282. That was based on 2008 sales of $26 million, which the magazine said was more than triple the company’s 2005 sales.
MyUS.com is not releasing 2009 sales figures, but the company continues to grow, Roach said.
It now has 38,000 customers. Some are businesses, but most are individuals from other counties who like to shop online for U.S. goods. Most U.S. retailers will not ship overseas, so MyUS.com handles both the shipping and the credit card charges for the exchange.
According to Sarasota County documents, MyUS.com pays average wages of $48,736, plus benefits amounting to $7,641 a year. The county is offering an incentive of $1,000 per job for the initial move of 60 employees and another $1,000 per job up to the 165 that the firm might add during the next five years.