From Bay to Bay: Engineered Fluids Relocates from San Francisco Area to St. Petersburg

Gary Testa, president & CEO of Engineered Fluids, loved the beauty and outdoor life north of San Francisco in Marin County, but after two years of rapid growth, he sought a better business and tax climate for the liquid immersion cooling systems company. After the company’s move to St. Petersburg, Florida, he said, “We found St. Petersburg to be the perfect San Francisco replacement—high tech, low taxes, big bay, great boating, better fishing, good weather (well, at least no fog!), and of course great people!

Biodegradable Immersion Cooling Saves Money and Space

Engineered Fluids’ goal is to change the way the world cools all electronic devices while helping the planet at the same time. The company develops high performance cooling solutions for electronics utilizing its cutting-edge Single-phase Liquid Immersion Coolants. By completely immersing electronics (like servers, GPUs, semiconductors, crypto-currency miners, batteries, chargers, and electric motors) in non-conductive biodegradable coolants, companies can significantly lower their operating costs, improve performance, and increase the reliability of their electrical devices. Engineered Fluids’ single-phase dielectric coolants are designed specifically to cool electronics in the semiconductor, data center, energy storage, power transformer, medical device, electric vehicle, aeronautics, marine, defense, and transportation industries. The innovative greentech product and process also dramatically reduces space needs, as devices can be located closer together without the need for special HVAC or fans.

“It is incredible to see these off-the-shelf servers operating fully immersed in their nontoxic liquid. Immersing electronics directly in liquids is so non-intuitive until you recognize the dramatic savings in space in cooling costs it provides” said J.P. DuBuque, President & CEO of the St. Petersburg Area Economic Development Corporation. “It’s a green innovation with the potential to revolutionize the electrical devices and systems powering today’s tech while dramatically reducing energy consumption, water use, and space. We’re so pleased to welcome Engineered Fluids to St. Petersburg.”

Choosing St. Pete

Testa was familiar with the area because a family member attended Eckerd College. He contacted the St. Petersburg Economic Development Corporation to explore his company’s relocation. The St. Pete EDC gave him information about setting up the company in the Sunshine City, including details on state tax incentives for manufacturing. The EDC also arranged a tour with Scott Talcott of Pinellas County Economic Development, a leading expert on manufacturing in Pinellas, and Melissa Rutland of Rutland Commercial Florida Property Group, who found space for Engineered Fluids in the Tyrone area. In addition, the EDC connected the company to Eric Lavinia in the City of St. Petersburg economic development department for information about the City, Danielle Ruiz at Duke Energy for energy insights, and representatives of PTech, USF, SPC, and CareerSource for workforce development.

Engineered Fluids relocated its headquarters, systems engineering, and research and development lab to an industrial park on Anvil Street North, near the Pinellas Trail just north of Tyrone Square Mall, where they will also do some light manufacturing of tanks and cooling systems. Their proprietary dielectric cooling fluids will continue to be manufactured at Engineered Fluids’ chemical manufacturing facility in Tyler, Texas. The company currently has 14 people in St. Petersburg, with plans to hire 20-25 more people here in the next few years.

Testa, who’s a nine-time company founder, as well as an avid sailor, angler, and kite surfer, says, “We couldn’t be happier about our move to St. Petersburg. We really wanted a place where innovation can thrive and we can attract talented employees. We’ve found exactly that in St. Pete, in addition to the obvious  tax benefits of Florida and a welcoming and very supportive business community in a city with a great quality of life on Tampa Bay.”

Innovative companies thrive in St. Petersburg, Florida’s vibrant and authentically warm business community.  To learn how your business can flourish by relocating to or expanding in St. Pete, contact us.