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Bautek USA presentation: company says it has invested about $10 million in Okeechobee and seeks more space for planned plant expansions
Summary
Bautek USA (trading as Bauenhau per the presenter) described multi‑phase investment and expansion plans at a county commission meeting, including current operations, product lines, and proposed equipment and plant purchases that the company says would add jobs and capacity in Okeechobee.
Bautek USA — which President Sergio Prowl said trades commercially as “Bauenhau” — told the Okeechobee County Board of County Commissioners that the company has invested about $10 million in local operations since opening a plant here and is pursuing additional equipment, plant capacity and land to expand production.
Why it matters: The company said expansion would increase local manufacturing capacity, add jobs and supply construction, geotechnical and coastal‑protection products to Florida projects. County staff and commissioners responded positively and said they will explore temporary space solutions to accommodate short‑term needs.
What the company said: Sergio Prowl, introduced as owner and CEO, described four core business lines: precast and concrete product manufacturing, plant installation, geotechnical solutions and ready‑mix concrete. He told the board the Okeechobee site is one of many plants the company operates throughout the Americas and that it began operations locally in 2021.
Prowl said the company’s current local investment totals approximately $10,000,000 and that staffing ranges between 20 and 40 employees depending on shifts. He outlined planned investments and capacity increases, including: movable batching plants and small mobile ready‑mix trucks (prototype on site) designed to serve small‑scale customers; a planned dry‑cast pipe plant and associated technology (Prowl described a $750,000–$1,000,000 investment estimate and said the work could create as many as 50 jobs); upgrades to an automated block/paver plant (Prowl described additional mold costs and a fully automatic plant for which existing orders “cover almost the whole production”); and smaller investments (prototypes and tooling) described in the presentation. In one passage Prowl corrected an earlier figure on a proposed investment to say the correct number was $700,000 rather than $7,000,000.
Prowl said the company produces artificial‑reef blocks, retaining wall systems, pavers, manholes and other precast elements and that some prototypes made in Okeechobee have been deployed in coastal projects. He said the company also pursues joint ventures with partners in Germany and elsewhere, and that the firm imports specialized machinery and technology for high‑quality automated production.
Commissioner and staff response: Commissioners thanked the presenter and said county staff — including the airport director and the office of economic development — have worked to support the firm. Commissioner comments included offers to explore additional county‑owned lots and temporary space to ease truck circulation during loading.
What’s next: The company told the board it needs additional lots (Prowl identified lots labeled 33–38 in the slide deck) for expanded block/paver production, parking and additive‑chemicals processing. County staff said they would continue to work with the company and try to identify temporary solutions while longer‑term site options are pursued.
Source and limits: Details above are drawn from the presenter’s slide images and comments on video shown to the board. Several dollar figures and capacity estimates were stated on the record by the presenter; where the transcript shows corrections or multiple numbers the article uses the presenter’s corrected figures or presents ranges when the speaker gave a range.
