Movers and Shakers: Port Manatee Among Potential Sites for European Luxury Car Manufacturing Facility

2013 Tramontana R on display in Ft. Lauderdale

PALMETTO – Port Manatee and other industrial locations throughout Manatee, Sarasota and Broward counties are being considered as potential sites for the first U.S.-based manufacturing facility for A.D. Tramontana, a European manufacturer of luxury cars.

Headquartered in Figueres, Spain, near Barcelona, Tramontana manufactures highly customized cars with Formula 1 racer parts and a design reminiscent of a jet fighter. Currently, the cars are sold only in Europe and Asia, and each vehicle costs more than half-a-million dollars.

Tramontana’s Chief Executive Officer Albert Foncillas and Ivan Mutis, chief executive officer of GM&L Strategic Consulting for New Markets, have been meeting with Port Manatee Executive Director Carlos Buqueras to discuss the luxury car dealer’s entry into the U.S. market.

Their conversations stem from an international trade mission hosted by Buqueras and the Manatee County Port Authority in April, and held at Port Manatee. At that time, delegates from Mataró, Spain met with area business and economic development leaders to encourage the exploration of new business opportunities in Manatee County.

Since then, Buqueras and Mutis have developed a close working relationship to attract additional companies from the Barcelona region to Florida’s West Coast.

Mutis and Foncillas will be traveling to Manatee and Sarasota counties next month to continue their discussions.

“I’m very encouraged that A.D. Tramontana is considering building their first U.S. facility in Manatee County,” Buqueras said. “As the largest foreign investor in Florida, Spain remains a high priority for our region to attract new business.”
He added that Port Manatee’s Foreign Trade Zone No. 169 is among the advantages the luxury car manufacturer could take advantage of, as it offers importers, exporters and manufacturers the ability to defer, reduce or eliminate duties on goods, and minimizes U.S. Customs requirements.
           

A 2013 Tramontana is currently on display at Euromotorsport, an exotic car dealer in Fort Lauderdale located at 925 West Broward Boulevard. With GM&L’s assistance, Tramontana launched a partnership with the South Florida dealer as an initial step to penetrate the U.S. market and to help select the ideal location for manufacturing new “supercar” models.
   
      
Port Manatee is a multi-purpose deepwater seaport on Tampa Bay serving bulk, breakbulk, container, heavy-lift/project and general cargo customers. The port adds more than $2.3 billion annually in local economic impact without the benefit of ad-valorem taxes and supports more than 24,000 jobs regionally. For more information, visit www.PortManatee.com.