OptiGrate Moves to New Manufacturing Facility to Meet Growing Global Demand

ORLANDO, Fla. – OptiGrate Corp recently graduated from the UCF Business Incubation program and moved to a new location to accommodate an increased demand for the firm’s volume Bragg grating (VBG) products and allow for future expansion. The new offices are located in Oviedo, northeast of Orlando in the industrial park near the University of Central Florida. The new 10,000 square foot state-of-the-art facility increases OptiGrate’s corporate office space and manufacturing facilities by 70 percent and was specially designed and engineered for volume Bragg grating production. The facility -- the only vertically integrated VBG production plant in the world – includes photo-thermo-refractive glass production unit, VBG holographic production unit, and VBG laser application development lab. “We are very pleased that our team succeeded to complete the move to the new facility with minimal interruptions,” Dr. Alexei Glebov, CEO of OptiGrate, said. “The new facility is already fully operational and we renewed shipping our products manufactured at the new plant. The move is a significant achievement for OptiGrate and its team and gives us a great foundation for further growth,” he said. “With the increased capacity and streamlined production we’ll be able to deliver better products faster and more cost efficient, meeting an ever growing demand and expectations from our customers.” said Dr. Glebov. OptiGrate was founded by Prof. Dr. Leon Glebov, faculty in the UCF Center for Research in Electro-optics & Lasers (CREOL), and 3 members of his research group. Among them his wife Larissa Glebova, who has been in charge of glass manufacturing at OptiGrate, and Vadim Smirnov, who currently holds the position of chief technical officer at OptiGrate. The company has exclusive licenses and numerous joint research agreements with UCF.

Exit Realty to Host, Sponsor Training Seminar for Central Florida Realtors Nov. 14 with leading training motivator Walter Sanford as Keynote Speaker

Daytona Beach Shores, Fla. --- Exit Realty of Daytona Beach will sponsor and host a three-hour seminar for Central Florida Realtors featuring real estate marketing guru Walter Sanford from 9 a.m. to noon on Wednesday, Nov. 14. Aswin Suri, principal of Exit Realty of Daytona Beach, said Sanford ranks as one of the most respected and most widely requested real estate sales and marketing trainers in the U.S. “Walter Sanford earned his first million dollars before he turned 21 years of age,” Suri said. “In 1972, he posted annual real estate sales valued at more than $72 million. He has had his finger on the pulse of the real estate market for more than 40 years and he has valuable information to share,” Suri said. Exit Realty's training seminar will be held at The Shores Resort and Spa, 2637 S. Atlantic Ave. in Daytona Beach Shores. Suri said Sanford will teach two mini-courses: “What Top Agents are Really Doing and “Killer Business Systems 2013.” Admission to the seminar is free and open to all licensed Florida Realtors and real estate brokers, Suri said. Please R.S.V.P. by Nov. 9 to frontdesk@exitrealtyofdaytona.com

Lennar opens sales of 134 Homes at Briarwood Village at Live Oak Preserve in New Tampa

TAMPA, Fla. --- Lennar has started sales of 134 single-family homes in Briarwood Village the last phase of Live Oak Preserve located off Bruce B. Downs Blvd. in New Tampa. Mark Metheny, president of Lennar in the Tampa region, said the homes they’re building on 45-foot home sites at Briarwood Village at Live Oak Preserve range in size from 1,353 square feet of living space to 2,719 square feet in 12 distinctive floor plans. New three, four and five-bedroom Lennar homes at Briarwood Village offer two or two-and-a-half baths and two-car garages with carriage-style doors, Metheny added, and they all come with Lennar’s “Everything’s Included” pledge: a wide range of appliances, special features and add-ons at one “everything’s included” price. Prices range from the three bedroom St. Moritz at $185,990 to the five bedroom two-story Montego at $245,990 Homeowners at Briarwood Village can take advantage of all the amenities Live Oak Preserve offers from an aerobics studio to picnic areas and playgrounds, tennis and volleyball courts to swimming pool, splash park and hiking trail. Visit www.LennarTampa.com.

Stirling Sotheby’s International Realty Named Exclusive Broker for Unique $11.5 Million Peninsula Estate Site at Bay Hill

ORLANDO, Fla. -- Stirling Sotheby’s International Realty has been named exclusive sales and marketing agents for one of Central Florida’s most exclusive waterfront estate sites at the Bay Hill Country Club community in Southwest Orlando. Roger Soderstrom, founder and owner of Stirling Sotheby’s International Realty, said International Luxury Home Specialist Jane Scrima is representing the property that’s surrounded by water on three sides. The property is listed at $11,500,000. The exclusive 9.35-acre peninsula would be a one-of-a-kind home site for an exclusive mansion fronting on Lake Tibet, part of the Butler Chain of Lakes, and just a short walk from the exclusive Bay Hill Club House. “The is one of the most magnificent and unique waterfront properties in the southwest Orlando area and perhaps in all of Central Florida,” said Scrima. “We expect the buyer will likely be an international resident who wants to build an exclusive luxury estate here in Orlando,” she said.

Most new deposits at First Green Bank are checking accounts

MOUNT DORA, Fla. – First Green Bank in Mount Dora, which ranks second of Central Florida banks for new deposits in a recent survey, credits its generous checking accounts program for the rise in new customers and projects that its new accounts will grow by some 25 percent over the next 12 months. Kenneth LaRoe, chairman and chief executive officer of First Green Bank, said free checking for individual depositors has appealed to customers at the bank’s locations in Mount Dora, Clermont and Ormond Beach. The Kindle promotion was especially successful, LaRoe added. First Green Bank will open a branch on Orange Ave. in downtown Orlando by late November and plans two more in Winter Park and The Villages.

NAI Realvest Negotiates Two Leases Totaling Nearly 32,000 Square Feet at Kissimmee Shopping Center

ORLANDO, Fla. – NAI Realvest recently negotiated two new long-term lease agreements totaling nearly 32,000 square feet at Kissimmee Shopping Center on Old Vineland Road in Kissimmee. Paul P. Partyka, managing partner at NAI Realvest negotiated the transactions representing the landlord, Herndon, Va.-based KVOS, LLC. Airsoft City Indoor Arena leased 28,830 square feet at 2523 Old Vineland Rd. The Kissimmee Shopping Center is Airsoft’s third location following openings in the Orlando International Airport and Winter Park areas, Partyka said. At the same time Andover, Mass. based Converse, Inc. leased 4,138 square feet at 2549 Old Vineland Rd. in the Kissimmee Shopping Center and was represented by Brenda Wurtz, Brenda Wurtz Real Estate Group of Newtown, Conn. Other major tenants at Kissimmee Shopping Center include Nike, Beall’s and Dollar Tree.

Richard Coronado of Reliable Systems Solutions Receives ASQ-Reliability Engineer Certification

ORLANDO, Fla. --- Richard Coronado, reliability engineering manager at Reliable Systems Solutions, has completed the requirements to be named an ASQ-Certified Reliability Engineer (ASQ CRE) by the Certification Board of the American Society for Quality. Coronado received the professional recognition for achieving a proficiency in and a comprehension of reliability engineering principles and practices. ASQ provides this certification as a means to give formal recognition to engineering professionals who have demonstrated an understanding of and commitment to quality techniques and practices in their job and career. “It’s a great accomplishment and although not a formal registration or licensure, it represents a high level of peer recognition,” said Jim Rooney, ASQ chair. A Certified Reliability Engineer is a professional who understands the principles of performance evaluation and prediction to improve products/systems safety, reliability and maintainability. A minimum of eight years of work experience related to the body of knowledge is required to be eligible for the ASQ examination. Reliable Systems Solutions provides an effective systems engineering approach in analyzing the reliability, maintainability, safety, training and integrated logistics support for developing viable alternatives with the goal of improving the overall system availability, while reducing the system Life-Cycle Costs. Reliable Systems Solutions is located at the UCF Business Incubator at Central Florida Research Park in east Orange County.

Cuhaci & Peterson Architects Awarded Design Work for 25,000 Square Foot Office Warehouse in Orlando

ORLANDO, Fla. --- Cuhaci & Peterson Architects based in Orlando’s Baldwin Park has been awarded a contract to design a new 25,000 square foot office warehouse at Airport Industrial Park on Landstar Blvd. in Orlando. Lonnie Peterson, chairman at Cuhaci & Peterson Architects, said the project will house a new facility for Hoshizaki, the world’s largest food service ice machine manufacturer.

Ryland Homes starts presales of three and four bedroom homes priced from the low $200s at Palmer Lake in Sarasota, Model open

Sarasota, Fla. --- Ryland Homes, which ranks as one of the nation’s largest home builders, has started presales of new three and four-bedroom single-family homes at Palmer Lake, a community of 77 pristine home sites located on Palmer Lake Rd. just east of I-75 between Fruitville Rd. and Bee Ridge Rd. in Sarasota. Tony Crimi, vice president of sales and marketing for Ryland Homes in the Tampa Bay region, said Ryland plans to build new single-family homes at Palmer Lake from its new Sabal Series design collection. Ryland’s new Energy StarTM homes at Palmer Lake will range in size from 1,551 square feet of living space to 2,808 square feet, priced from $204,990 to $282,990, Crimi said. Crimi added that Ryland Homes recently opened a model home at Palmer Lake. Ryland Homes plans to build a community gazebo and picnic area at Palmer Lake. Ryland Homes builds single-family homes and town homes priced from the $100’s to more than $300,000 in six communities in the Sarasota-Bradenton area. For more information please go to www.ryland.com/tampa.