Tampa Tank-Florida Structural Steel, a Precision Build Solutions, LLC company, plans to expand its Tampa headquarters in Gibsonton. The company plans to invest $3 million in new equipment and add 60 new jobs by the end of 2022.
“Business has been returning this year, and we’re pleased to be back to pre-COVID levels with plans to expand even further next year,” said Jason Bahamonde, vice president of fabrication and general manager. “We have a long and proud history in Tampa, and we look forward to partnering with local organizations to create a robust workforce pipeline and grow our team.”
Tampa Tank was established in 1953 in Tampa and acquired Florida Structural Steel in 1984. The company is a diversified custom job shop of heavy steel fabrication weldments. For more than 60 years, Tampa Tank has served customers around the world as a one-stop shop for welded steel products of nearly any size and specification.
Tampa Tank has added 40 new jobs this year to bring its workforce back to pre-pandemic levels. By the end of 2022, it plans to recruit 60 more welders, fitters, machinists and equipment operators with an average wage of $21 per hour. The Tampa Bay EDC is connecting Tampa Tank with local workforce training programs to help establish a candidate pipeline, particularly skilled welders. Tampa Tank joins a growing list of companies that have announced expansions in Hillsborough County, including Integrity Express Logistics, Amazon and Cirkul.
Over the past 10 years, manufacturing employment in the Tampa metro area has grown to be the second largest in the state with more than 8,000 jobs added. During the same time period, Tampa saw an increase of 13 percent, or nearly 350 new manufacturing businesses established. In 2020, the manufacturing industry produced $11 billion in GDP for the Tampa area, with the average annual percent change in the past 10 years up 4.5 percent, compared to the nation’s 2.3 percent.
“Manufacturing has a long history in Tampa and Hillsborough County and provides a broad range of career opportunities for our highly skilled and specialized workforce,” said Jim Weiss, chair of the Tampa Bay Economic Development Council and regional president of Fifth Third Bank. “We’re proud to work with a well-established local company like Tampa Tank as they continue to expand in Hillsborough County.”