Probes Unlimited Inc. manufactures custom temperature sensing devices and has set up shop in Holmes County, Fla., in the old Bonifay Middle School. The company makes probes for food service equipment, such as restaurant ovens; scientific instrumentation, like vaccine coolers; and even SpaceX projects.
Company President and CEO Ernie DeLany said expanding to Holmes County has been seamless.
“It’s been excellent since we’ve been here,” DeLany said. “The people have been welcoming. The community has been welcoming and our growth here so far has been phenomenal and we are going to continue to grow.”
The company is also providing great opportunities for locals, like Robert Brown.
“I was born and raised here and I was just dying for an opportunity to be able to grow into something and not just get a regular job that you can’t grow in,” Brown said. “The pay here is awesome. The people here are awesome. Camaraderie is a family unit and that’s what I’m all about.”
Florida Secretary of Commerce Jamal Sowell said new manufacturing jobs do wonders for local economies.
Development and expansion take center stage at Bay County Chamber’s “First Friday”
“When companies are looking where to relocate, we tell them about the Panhandle,” Sowell said. “We tell them about the military installations near where you already have the workforce, you already have the infrastructure and we want to build upon that here in the Northwest Florida region.”
“We know that manufacturing helps at more than just a single level so if we target that, we know that we can get other businesses that will help the manufacturer and vice versa,” said Holmes County Development Commission Executive Director, Joe Rone.
Rone said he anticipates more manufacturing jobs coming to Holmes County soon, with the Bonifay Middle School gymnasium already under contract to another company.