By Karen Lustgarten

“The City of Deerfield Beach is in resurgence” according to October’s State of the City report. It is home to some 388 companies within the Advanced Industries Sector, manufacturing one of them — a robust sector with more than 200 companies here. Meet two of them, very different members of the South Florida Manufacturing Association that located in Deerfield Beach for the same reasons.

SHL Pharma

Have you heard of auto-injectors? They look like oversized pens that people with chronic illnesses use to self-inject a dose of prescription medicine on a regular basis. For example, the EpiPen is for self-injecting the drug that counters life-threatening allergic reactions. Auto-injectors give patients a safe alternative to injections with a syringe or going to the doctor for regular shots.

Did you know that the largest manufacturer of auto-injectors in the world is a privately-owned company located in Deerfield Beach?

SHL Pharma, a division of the SHL Group, relocated from New Jersey to Deerfield Beach in 2010 with two employees. Today, 120 are employed at the sleek Deerfield Beach headquarters on Jim Moran Boulevard and 3,500 more work in Taiwan. Final assembly, labeling and packaging services of the drug-delivery devices are also done here for the pharmaceutical and biotechnology industries.

Eight of the top 10 pharmaceutical companies in the world are customers of SHL Pharma’s FDA-approved, prescription-based auto-injectors. Some 700,000 devices are manufactured each year just in Deerfield Beach. Here 39 custom-designed auto-injector formats are manufactured for different drugs developed and produced by pharmaceutical companies to control such diseases as multiple sclerosis, migraine headaches, diabetes, rheumatoid arthritis, acute allergies and others.

“We can barely keep up manufacturing with demand,” said Michael Hudak, director of Human Resources. About 55 percent of work at the Deerfield Beach headquarters is devoted to manufacturing the 39 auto-injectors on the market and 45 percent to design and development of 44 new types. “The next gen unit we are designing will be a smart injector,” he said. It will record each injection so the doctor will have an accurate readout.

Why Deerfield Beach? Several reasons: “Our customers from Asia, Europe and across the U.S. love coming here. They love staying at hotels with good accommodations and beach access, a big draw. And they are attracted to the warm weather, especially in winter,” said Hudak. “The city’s location between I-95, the Turnpike, Sawgrass Expressway and Tri-Rail provides transportation advantages for our customers and employees. It’s easy to get to three major airports within an hour’s drive that have many direct oversees flights.”

He also cited the city’s proximity to four universities with mechanical engineering programs. SHL Pharma recruited six engineers from local universities in the past four years.

“We see Deerfield as a desirable place for our customers, employees, families and young millennials,” said Hudak.

Print Basics

Thirteen years ago, Craig Tanner was searching for the perfect spot to start a local printing company. Uppermost, he wanted a safe location because his type of business requires opening up early and closing late. So, he rejected the risky warehouse districts. He wanted a pleasant ambience for employees, one with a water view for enjoying lunch breaks. He sought a facility with enough space to grow and add large printing machinery that accommodates wide format posters and banners. He wanted proximity to major transportation hubs — I-95, the Turnpike, Sawgrass Expressway — to be accessible to clients and vendors. Mr. Tanner found that perfect spot on SW 30 Avenue in Deerfield Beach.

Since 2005, Print Basics has grown from two employees to 45 and from 1,400 to 15,000 sq. ft. It is ranked third largest commercial printer in South Florida by the South Florida Business Journal.

“Unlike most print shops, clients can feel safe walking into the showroom in a beautiful office environment,” said Tanner, while the printing machines hum in the back filling orders.

When the economy took a dive and his competitors closed and left Deerfield Beach, Tanner rode it out.

“If you are honest in business and perform well for your clients, they will stay with you,” he said.

Tanner says the company fills about 2,000 print jobs a month, everything from business cards and promotional items to 1500-page books. Among his clients are Whole Foods, Hard Rock Café, Broward Sherriff’s Office and Jet Blue.

Occasionally, a call comes in to fill emergency printing needs — 5,000 brochures in less than 24 hours — and it’s done, or calls following the shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School from clients requesting show-of-support banners. Print Basics designed, printed and hung them gratis and donated $20,000 worth of static cling decals that were sold to raise money for the family of Coach Feis, one of the victims.

After the Pulse nightclub shooting in Orlando, Jet Blue marketing called requesting a quick turnaround of promotional support items: $100,000 worth of T-shirts, bracelets and 50,000 message buttons, an order that normally takes 10 days to fill. They were printed and delivered within 24 hours.

“We make the impossible possible when our community and clients are in need,” said Tanner.

Karen Lustgarten is president of Multi-Media Works, a multiple award-winning media company specializing in video, PR, print and social media with offices in Broward and Palm Beach Counties. She founded a newspaper in Washington, DC, was a syndicated columnist and a bestselling author. www.multi-mediaworks.com

By “Cinema” Dave

http://cinemadave.livejournal.com

Perhaps it was out of domestic protest from the antics of the NFL, but the motion picture box office had its best weekend since the peak of the summer blockbuster season, with The Kingsman: The Golden Circle, IT and The LEGO Ninjago earning nearly $100 million in revenue. With the much hyped Battle of the Sexes opening this weekend, expect to see more people at a theater near you.

For those considering walking to a theater near you, the documentary Manolo: The Boy Who Made Shoes for Lizards opens this weekend. Granted people who wear Manolo shoes are not likely to walk long distances, but are likely to ride limousines to some gala events with red carpets.

Despite the trappings of fame, Manolo Blahnik is a man who sees himself as a simple cobbler. Born in Spain, Manolo was an odd kid who was enraptured by the fairy tales of Hans Christian Anderson and was fascinated by the human foot.

Learning the foundations of ergonomic design, Manolo began making shoes that were more colorful and artistic. Before finding a new home in Bath, England, Manolo became an international superstar on the red carpets in Manhattan and Milano, Italy. Despite luxury of living the upper class life, Manolo is most content working in a shoe factory designing his next product. Manolo: The Boy Who Made Shoes for Lizards is very entertaining.

Rebel in the Rye presents the dark side of success. It is the story of J.D. Salinger (Nicholas Hoult — in a fine, understated performance) and the creation of his much revered novel, Catcher in the Rye. Much of the film presents Salinger alone by his typewriter, talking to himself and acting out conversations with his protagonist, Holden Caulfield.

Despite the starkness of these scenes, Rebel in the Rye is a lively motion picture when Salinger interacts with other people. Oona O’Neill (Zoey Deutch) is a charming vision of Salinger’s unrealized dreams. As his creative writing teacher, Whit Burnett, Kevin Spacey provides memorable instruction to his atypical prodigy. The few scenes between Salinger and Burnett are electric.

In less than a month the Ft. Lauderdale International Film Festival opens and the much anticipated Blade Runner 2049 will be released soon. Don’t let Manolo: The Boy Who Made Shoes for Lizards and Rebel in the Rye get lost in the crowd.