Blue Bell Creameries building center in Delray Beach

By Palm Beach Business.com

DELRAY BEACH — Blue Bell Creameries, the Texas-based maker of Blue Bell Ice Cream, is building a 13,000 square-foot distribution center in suburban Delray Beach.

The Blue Bell announcement was one of five made by the Business Development Board of Palm Beach County Thursday afternoon. Two other companies are moving to Palm Beach County, while two others are expanding their presence local presence, creating a total of 127 new jobs, the BDB said.

“The Business Development Board continues to see solid activity from companies looking to relocate or expand to Palm Beach County,” BDB President Kelly Smallridge said in a statement.  “These companies are citing numerous reasons for selecting this area: availability of a diverse workforce, quality of life, affordable real estate and easy access to transportation.”

Blue Bell, founded in 1907 and headquartered in Brenham, Texas, is constructing the distribution center on Atlantic Avenue west of the city limits. The center, which will employ 28 people when completed, will serve as a distribution point for ice cream and other frozen foods.

Although Blue Bell is only available in 19 states — about 26 percent of the nation’s supermarkets — it ranks as one of the top three best-selling ice creams in the country. 

The BDB assisted Blue Bell Creameries with information on county permitting as well as training grant programs.

Other firms moving to Palm Beach County or expanding their presence here include:

— Native Outfitters, which has moved its manufacturing and headquarters operation to West Palm Beach from Hobe Sound bringing with it 24 jobs. Native Outfitters designs, manufactures and distributes outdoor lifestyle apparel through its own Native Outfitters brand.  Native Outfitters also opened its first retail outlet at 119 Datura Street in downtown West Palm Beach. 

The Business Development Board assisted the company with real estate information for both its manufacturing/headquarters facility and retail outlet, and provided information on business incentives. information.  Native Outfitters has been awarded a Lambert Grant from the West Palm Beach Downtown Development Authority.

— Mass Mutual DBS Financial Group, a general agency of the Massachusetts Mutual Life Insurance Co., and Richard S. Bernstein & Associates Inc., which have formed a new district office in West Palm Beach. The office plans to add at least 25 to its staff over the next 5 years.

MassMutual/DBS, which opened in 1965, has about 31,000 clients in South Florida and 8,000 policyholders in Palm Beach County, with $3 billion of life insurance coverage in force. In 2009, the firm had a total of $10 billion of life insurance coverage in force to protect local families and businesses.

— 3Cinteractive, a mobile platform company, is more than doubling its office space and adding at least 25 more jobs to its staff of 75.  3Ci will move into 25,000 square feet on the fourth floor of the LEED-certified Boca Colonnade II at 750 Park of Commerce Blvd., in Boca Raton. The firm is expected to make the move in June.

3Cinteractive customers include Best Buy, TracFone, Walgreens, ESPN and the Walt Disney Co.  3Ci recently ranked 28th on the 2010 Inc. 500 list of Fastest Growing Private Companies in the U.S. 

The BDB assisted 3Ci with introductions to Workforce Alliance, where the company received help with recruiting and training. The BDB also assisted the company with its search for a new office location.

— Clarity Diagnostics Inc. has moved to a larger facility at 33 SE 8th Street, Boca Raton.  Clarity Diagnostics manufactures and distributes laboratory diagnostic testing devices such as drug test cups and panels, pregnancy test kits, urine test strips and controls, cancer markers, diabetes testing, and cardiac testing devices.  

The move to the 7,500 square-foot facility allows Clarity Diagnostics to add 25 new jobs to its staff of 10. The Business Development Board assisted the company with connections to Workforce Alliance, which is assisting in recruiting and training employees, GrowFL, and the Small Business Development Center.

“Our company has seen steady growth in Palm Beach County.  For example, in 2005, we had only five employees, since then our business has remained strong,“ Clarity President Richard Simpson said. “We have recently increased our national sales staff and we believe the growth in the healthcare markets will continue.”