Buying a manufacturing business in Treasure Coast
Treasure Coast has 48 established manufacturing businesses by our count: companies in business at least 15 years that still file with the state every year and aren't part of a larger group. Of those, 71% have been in business 20 years or more. Most will never be listed for sale, and many of their owners have never been asked.
What it takes to own one
Manufacturing businesses in Treasure Coast come in every size. Here's what owning one could look like at three levels, from a solid company to one of the leaders, with a small business loan covering most of the price.
- Earns about
- $414,000 a year
- Price about
- $1.4 million
- Your cash
- $191,000
- Could pay you
- up to $168,000 a year
- Earns about
- $762,000 a year
- Price about
- $2.5 million
- Your cash
- $352,000
- Could pay you
- up to $309,000 a year
- Earns about
- $1.6 million a year
- Price about
- $5.3 million
- Your cash
- $748,000
- Could pay you
- up to $656,000 a year
Earnings are owner earnings: profit plus what the owner pays themselves, before loan payments and taxes. They and the prices are our estimates from public records, not the owners' figures, and we value companies like these at about 3.3 times a year's owner earnings. Your cash covers the down payment and closing costs, and what the business could pay you is what's left after the loan payments and the cushion lenders require. The more cash you bring, the further up you can go.
Age, size and location
Revenue is our estimate from public records, grouped into wide ranges.
| In business | Companies |
|---|---|
| Under 20 years | 14 |
| 20 to 29 years | 20 |
| 30 to 39 years | 6 |
| 40 years or more | 8 |
| Estimated yearly revenue | Companies |
|---|---|
| Under $1M | 5 |
| $1M to $2M | 4 |
| $2M to $4M | 6 |
| $4M to $8M | 5 |
| Over $8M | 4 |
| County | Companies |
|---|---|
| Martin | 20 |
| St. Lucie | 18 |
| Indian River | 5 |
| Other counties | 5 |
| Town | Companies |
|---|---|
| Stuart | 11 |
| Fort Pierce | 8 |
| Palm City | 6 |
What the best manufacturing businesses have in common
- Products the company owns, with registered trademarks and documented designs that competitors can't easily copy.
- Several sales channels, so one retailer or marketplace can't sink the business by changing its terms.
- Steady reorders from long-standing accounts, and a few products that sell year after year without redesign.
- A known cost for each product, with prices that cover it after shipping and returns.
- Equipment and tooling that the company owns and maintains, including molds and dies kept at suppliers.
- Backup suppliers for key materials and parts.
- Production that runs without the owner on the floor.
- A customer email list and reviews that keep selling without constant advertising.
What to check before you buy
- Sales by product, channel and customer for three years. Trends matter: a product line that peaked two years ago may still be carrying today's numbers.
- Gross margin by product: what's left after materials, labor, shipping and returns.
- Trademarks, patents, domain names and marketplace accounts registered to the company. Marketplace accounts can be hard to transfer, so check each platform's rules.
- Product liability insurance and any claims, recalls or safety complaints.
- The equipment list and its condition, and tooling kept at suppliers, with proof the company owns it.
- Retailer agreements: chargebacks, return rights and payment terms.
- An inventory count, with slow-moving stock valued realistically.
- Test reports and certificates for products that need them.
Questions to ask the owner
- Which products make most of the profit?
- Who are your largest customers, and how long have they been buying from you?
- Does the company own the trademarks and designs?
- What's your backup if a key supplier can't deliver?
- Have you had any recalls, injuries or complaints about your products?
- How much do you spend on advertising for online sales?
- Who could run production if you stepped away?
To learn what these companies do, which licenses they need and how ownership works, read our full guide to buying a manufacturing business in Florida.
Owning a company in Treasure Coast
The local economy
This region covers Martin, St. Lucie and Indian River counties on the Atlantic coast and Okeechobee and Highlands counties inland: Stuart, Palm City, Port St. Lucie, Fort Pierce, Vero Beach, Sebastian, Okeechobee, Sebring and Avon Park. Port St. Lucie is the largest city and has grown quickly as a suburb within reach of Palm Beach County to the south.
The coast draws retirees and winter residents, and health care, construction, real estate, boating and sport fishing are big parts of the economy. The coast lies in the Indian River citrus district, named for the lagoon. Inland, Okeechobee and Highlands are cattle, dairy and citrus country around Lake Okeechobee and along the ridge near Sebring, with many retirees of their own. Home service companies, the building trades, marine businesses and medical practices find steady customers here.
What's different about owning a company here
The coast is seasonal, with winter residents filling restaurants, golf courses and service schedules, and summer is quieter. Hurricane Nicole came ashore near Vero Beach in November 2022, and the region has a long history of storms, so check insurance, flood zones and how a business came through recent ones.
Water quality in the St. Lucie River and the Indian River Lagoon is a recurring problem, and in a bad year it can hurt fishing, boating and tourism businesses. Inland, distances are longer and the labor pool thinner. A company in Sebring or Okeechobee may be one of very few of its kind nearby, which can mean loyal customers and little competition, but also few people to hire. Most new homes on the coast are going up in and around Port St. Lucie.