Edgar Torres and his family traveled to Orlando from Puerto Rico every year, as his son loved to visit Disney World.
Orlando was so familiar to the family, they relocated here when Hurricane Maria forced Torres to move his family off the island in 2018.
That relocation, combined with the global effects of the Covid-19 pandemic three years later, made it an easy decision for Torres to make his move to Orlando permanent and establish the city as the global headquarters for his company, Escalate Life Sciences LLC.
That move to Central Florida means the company will create 40 jobs in the region as Escalate ramps up a division focused on procurement, cost management and project management, Torres told Orlando Inno.
Escalate is a 100-plus-person company with clients that have included Johnson & Johnson, Moderna and Pfizer. The firm, which Torres started in Puerto Rico in 2010, offers staffing, qualification, training and other consulting services for the life sciences industry, including pharmaceutical companies and biotechnology firms.
Torres long aimed to expand Escalate to the U.S., but Hurricane Maria in 2017 accelerated those plans. Orlando was a good fit because of its familiarity to him and his family, but also because of the concentration of universities in Central Florida and Orlando’s inland location that provides a buffer from future hurricanes.
After moving here, Torres attended conferences and met with local economic development groups. That led to a connection with Carol Ann Logue, director of programs and operations for the University of Central Florida Incubation Program and Innovation Districts. In May, Escalate moved into the UCF incubator in Lake Nona.
The growth in the biotechnology sector means more demand for Escalate and the creation of new jobs in Orlando, primarily project management roles but also including staffing positions, Torres said. In addition, Escalate will have work opportunities for UCF and other college students, and the firm currently is advertising positions to students, Torres added. Open positions are listed on the company's website.
The company maintains an office in Puerto Rico, and it likely will grow its Orlando presence in the future, Torres said. "I think we always will be tied to incubator in terms of staffing and strategy partnerships. Definitely, as we grow we also will look into a larger office or footprint in Orlando."
With the help of the UCF incubator, the already-successful Escalate has the potential to be a heavy hitter, Logue said. “We were very impressed with what Edgar already has accomplished in the life sciences arena and believe his company is exactly what we look for in our Innovation Districts — companies that can scale into global powerhouses.”
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