• Publix Corporate Headquarters – Lakeland is home to Publix, a Fortune-100 Company that is Florida’s largest employer with than 142,000 employees in 5 states and 1012 stores.
• Lockheed Martin operates its primary financial services center, employing 450 associates. It houses the company’s payroll operations, transaction services, general accounting and international accounting services.
• Marriott International Vacation Club employs more than 420 people at its financial services/back office/reservation center in Lakeland.
• GEICO has a 1,850 employee regional center at the Lakeland Airside Center. These associates work in a 300,000 square foot facility.
• Summit Consulting employs 800 in Lakeland in its facilities dedicated to serving the workers compensation needs of businesses throughout the United States.
• Bunch & Associates is a third party administrator of workers compensation claims with more than 350 employees.
• GC Services operates a 1,000 employee call center near Interstate 4 in Lakeland.

Distribution and Supply Chain Management/Logistics is a major component of Lakeland and Polk County’s economy.

Manufacturing is vital to Lakeland and Polk County. Major Lakeland manufacturers include:

Six flavor and essence companies are located in Polk County, five of which are located in Lakeland, many of these companies use citrus by-products for food flavoring, alcohol, perfumes, cosmetics, pharmaceuticals, rubber, and textiles. Among the flavor and essence manufacturers that call Lakeland home are Firmenich, Givaudan Flavors Corp., Kerry International, Taste Advantage and Treatt USA. Polk is the largest citrus producer in the state of Florida and home to the Florida Department of Citrus.

Lakeland is home to the Florida 4th largest hospital. There are more than 200 medical, health care and biotechnology companies with more than 20,000 employees that are located in Polk County, including two regional cancer treatment and research centers with the Lakeland Regional Cancer Center and the Center for Cancer Care & Research, a joint clinic of Watson Clinic and Clark & Daughtrey and an affiliate of the H. Lee Moffitt Cancer Center & Research Institute.

Other medical and life science companies include: Ascent Healthcare Solutions (reprocessing medical devices), Advanced Concept Innovations (contract medical packaging), Doyen Medipharm (manufacturer of medical wrapping equipment), as well as Cardinal Health and McKesson that distribute pharmaceutical products.

In 2009, WellDyneRx opened its 66,000 sf pharmacy benefits management and has plans to create more than 700 jobs in their new southeastern regional headquarters.

Avionics, Defense & Marine Electronics
From homeland security to avionics to marine electronics, Tampa Bay region has many centers of excellence which support these industry clusters.  The University of South Florida's Center for Ocean Technology, which has been a leader in MEMS research and development and has been using the technology to collect biological and chemical data to monitor water quality, provided underwater technology for port security at the 2004 Republican National Convention.  USF's Center for Robot-Assisted Search and Rescue used its miniature robots to assist rescue teams at Ground Zero following the 9/11 terrorist attacks.  Tampa Bay is home to United States Central Command which directs military operations in Afghanistan, Iraq and the middle East. 

Business and Information Services
Tampa Bay has been called "Wall Street South" for the size and scope of its financial services industry. Worldwide organizations which have a major presence in the Tampa Bay region included JPMorgan Chase, Citigroup, Depository Trust and Clearing Corp., Raymond James, MetLife, State Farm, and Progressive Insurance to name a few. 

Biomedical/Life Sciences Technologies/Health Care
Tampa Bay is a center of excellence for hospitals, research and medical-related firms - and the gateway to the Florida High Tech Corridor, a 23-county area that is home to more than 3,000 high-tech companies. Biomedical and life science centers of excellence in the region include the University of South Florida, H. Lee Moffitt Cancer Center and Research Institute, and Pepin Heart Hospital, among others.

Port/Maritime
With three seaports, Tampa Bay is a major entry point for domestic and international shipping. According to Enterprise Florida, Tampa Bay's seaports support 130,000 jobs and contribute more than $15 billion per year to the local economy. The Port of Tampa comprises nearly half of all sea borne commerce in the state and is the state's largest seaport, the 12th largest cargo port in the nation, and a major cruise port.

Manufacturing (Microelectronics, Medical Devices)
Tampa Bay ranks in the top 20 nationwide for medical device manufacturing clusters. The industry employs more than 10,000 people with an average wage in excess of $49,000 and produces over $2 billion worth of goods and services for an economic impact of more than 51,000 jobs and $5 billion. 

Source – www.tampabay.org