Business center adds boat builder

The startup company plans to take advantage of a special federal designation for the park in its quest to win a Navy contract for its fiberglass vessels.

DADE CITY - A startup powerboat manufacturer hoping to win a U.S. Navy contract is moving into the Dade City Business Center.

Hann Powerboats expects to hire about 15 people in its first year.

The company will make fiberglass boats that are 18 to 50 feet long.

The boats will be marketed to fishermen, marine units and the military, company president Russ Hann said.

Hann said he picked the Dade City industrial park for a specific reason: It is in a federally designated area called a historically underutilized business zone, or HUBZone, which puts small businesses at the front of the line for certain U.S. government contracts.

Hann, who lives in Destin, is angling for a Navy contract.

Because of the threat posed by terrorists using small, fast-moving boats to bomb U.S. ships, he said, the Navy needs to train its weapons to hit high-speed targets.

At a previous job with a now-defunct company, Hann built a prototype boat for the Navy to tow targets at high speeds.

If the Navy contract does not come through, he said, he could still market the boat as a patrol or rescue vessel.

Hann, who also owns a Florida company that audits telephone bills for corporations and local governments, said he plans to invest about $250,000 in equipment and materials in the 1,200-square-foot space.

The boat company will be tenant No. 32 for the business center on U.S. 301, which is about half full after less than two years, said the center's owner, Jim Guedry.

The industrial park replaced the old Pasco Beverage plant.

The Pasco Economic Development Council, which assisted Hann in the move, announced the project at its Wednesday meeting.

The council also is sponsoring a luncheon today at the Dade City Business Park to discuss how other small companies could use the HUBZone designation to compete for federal contracts.

U.S. Rep. Ginny Brown-Waite and Mayor Hutch Brock will be speaking.

Times researcher Angie Drobnic Holan contributed to this report. Jodie Tillman can be reached at jtillman@sptimes.com or 727 869-6247.