Tampa Brass & Aluminum Corp. is pouring $58 million into new machinery and equipment at its Hillsborough County headquarters, a bet on Tampa that comes with 50 new local jobs and several fresh military contracts for the 69-year-old defense manufacturer. The company makes components for the U.S. Air Force and U.S. Navy, including parts for missiles, submarines, and other military systems, handling the work from raw materials to finished products.
The expansion, first reported by Tampa Free Press, keeps the company rooted at its manufacturing facility at 8511 Florida Mining Blvd. in the Town 'N' Country area, a site it operates after being founded in Tampa in 1957, according to the Business Observer. Company leadership had evaluated a move to Amarillo, Texas, but ultimately chose to keep and grow the operation in Tampa, citing the local talent pool and area quality of life, per the Tampa Free Press report.
“Tampa provided the skilled workforce, manufacturing base, and community needed to build the company's next chapter,” said Aubrey Greene, president of Tampa Brass & Aluminum, according to the same report. Greene added that the investment commits to Hillsborough County and to the service members who depend on the company's products, the outlet reported.
Submarine and Missile Work Fuels the Growth
The new positions carry an average annual salary of $83,200 and include openings for non-destructive testing technicians, quality control inspectors, welding inspectors, nuclear engineering technicians, and supervisors, per the Tampa Free Press account. The demand for those specialized roles traces back to April 2025, when Tampa Brass & Aluminum secured non-destructive testing approvals for visual and radiographic testing from Huntington Ingalls Industries, certifying the firm to supply parts for the Navy's Columbia-class and Virginia-class nuclear submarine programs, according to Tampa Brass & Aluminum.
That submarine work builds on a longer arc of federal investment. The company received $23.7 million in funding in May 2025 to scale up automated manufacturing capabilities and hire technical staff for Navy shipbuilding supply chains, the company has said. It also previously completed a U.S. Department of Defense Mentor-Protégé agreement with Raytheon Missile Systems, earning the DoD Nunn-Perry Award for collaborating on missile component manufacturing and resolving parts obsolescence for the Navy, according to LIFT.
Federal procurement records reviewed by HigherGov show the company has received more than $20.8 million in direct federal contracts, primarily awarded by the Defense Logistics Agency's Land and Maritime division. The company is registered under NAICS code 331524 for aluminum foundries, and its plans to create more jobs and support the region's defense industry supply chains, per the Tampa Free Press.
County and Utility Support Helped Seal the Deal
The Tampa Bay Economic Development Council coordinated regional resources and delivered market analysis to assist the project, according to the Tampa Free Press report. That assistance included help navigating utility sales tax exemptions, electrical infrastructure upgrades, Quick Response Training grants, and plans for a dedicated apprenticeship training center.
Florida's Quick Response Training grant program, administered by CareerSource Florida, has $7.5 million allocated for fiscal year 2026-2027 to reimburse expanding businesses for customized, high-skill training tied to net-new full-time positions, according to CareerSource Florida. Those grants require companies to create permanent full-time jobs requiring specialized training not otherwise available through local public schools.
“The expansion demonstrates the strength and diversity of Hillsborough County's manufacturing sector,” said Archie Collins, president and CEO of Tampa Electric and fiscal year 2026 chair of the Tampa Bay Economic Development Council, per the Tampa Free Press. Ken Hagan, chairman of the Hillsborough County Board of County Commissioners, welcomed the expansion, saying it creates more rewarding career opportunities for county residents, the outlet reported.
Part of a Broader Regional Defense Boom
The Tampa Brass & Aluminum expansion lands in a region where the defense and security industry generates approximately $20 billion in total economic impact across advanced manufacturing, aviation, and cybersecurity, according to the Tampa Bay Economic Development Council. MacDill Air Force Base alone generates a direct annual economic impact of $3.9 billion on the region, rising to $5 billion when accounting for military retiree spending within 50 miles, per the Tampa Bay Defense Alliance.
Other Tampa Bay defense investments have followed a similar pattern this year. Hoodline previously reported that Collins Aerospace poured $26.5 million into Largo, adding 100 high-skill jobs at a defense radar manufacturing facility nearby. In August 2026, Tampa Bay Wave received a $1.38 million federal grant, supplemented by local Hillsborough County and municipal matching funds for a $1.7 million total project, to establish a defense technology accelerator in Tampa, according to Tampa Bay Business Wave.
Exact timelines for equipment installation at Tampa Brass & Aluminum, the final dollar amount awarded through state training grants, and specifics of the proposed apprenticeship training center remain unresolved details for now. For a company that has spent nearly seven decades machining parts for the nation's submarines and missiles, the latest expansion signals it intends to keep doing that work from the same corner of Hillsborough County.
