The Park and Facilities Catalog was recently mentioned in an article on the Palm Beach County's Economic Development Resource website about the company's successful invention of a commercial bike rack called the UpLift.

The site is operated by the Business Development Board of Palm Beach County a resource established in Palm Beach County to assist existing businesses and help new companies start up or relocate to the area.

Their mission statement says: "The Business Development Board is to stimulate economic energy, promote business diversity and enrich the vitality of Palm Beach County through the relocation, retention, and expansion of companies to our area."

The organization offers a wealth of services. Those include:

• Resources on buildings, land and office space that are available, all offered on a computerized, up-to-date inventory tracking system.
• Site tours
• Information on any grants, assistance, financial incentives or training programs
• Introductions to elected officials, business leaders and educational institutions, banks, law firms, employment agencies, accounting firms and other key contacts.
• Zoning and permitting information
• Demographics, labor market statistics, buyer and supplier information
• Research services and much more…

The not-for-profit company works with the Palm Beach County Commission, Enterprise Florida which is the state's economic development group and local cities, downtown development agencies, community redevelopment agencies and other organizations. For those who want to join, there is a membership program where business owners can network with other local owners during monthly meetings and can also access in-depth economic research and other services.

The Business Development Board has a successful track record. Since 1993, the organization has assisted with 340 company relocations and expansions which have resulted in more than 27,600 jobs. Some of the major employers they work with include ADT/Tyco, Lockheed Martin, Office Depot, Scripps Research Institute and Sikorsky to name just a few.

All of their efforts have generated a whopping $4 billion in economic activity. That's certainly impressive in any community.

Commercial bike rack invented to save space

The Park and Facilities Catalog received assistance from the Business Development Board and was highlighted in the news section of their site under "Entrepreneur Resources."

In that section, an article reported about the patent-pending "UpLift" bicycle rack invented by General Manager Chris Luyet.

UpLift high-density commercial bike rac

The UpLift is a new type of bicycle rack created to reduce the amount of space required for bicycle parking in areas such as universities or cities where there are a large number of bicyclists, but space is limited.

What's different about this commercial bike rack is that unlike wave bike racks or U-shaped bike racks, this bicycle parking rack consists of a stem with two wheel throughs and two locking bars.

A bicycle wheel is positioned in the wheel throughs to keep it upright. With traditional bike racks, many times the bicycles tip or fall down, thereby reducing space for more bikes to be parked in an organized manner.

The UpLift's solid locking arms also provide three key points of locking contact, which is recommended by the Association of Pedestrian and Bicycle Professionals.

Those three points are the bike dock, bike frame, and front tire. All three can easily be connected by a sturdy U-lock or heavy chain. Because there are reportedly 1 million bike thefts every year, this method of locking a bike is highly recommended by the APBP.

Because the wheel troughs of the UpLift are staggered in height, bicycles can be locked closely together without any handlebar to handlebar or frame to frame conflict.

The unique design of the UpLift provides some of the highest-density outdoor bicycle parking available today. In addition, the product is covered with a proprietary SealGuard finish that prevents scratching, rust and fading due to UV rays.

DoubleUp vertical bike rac

For interior bike storage, the company also invented its own type of vertical bike rack called The DoubleUp.

With these bicycle parking racks, the bicycles stand upright. This way they take up less space in interior bike rooms, apartments or parking garages.

Just like the UpLift, three points of locking contact are provided with locking arms.  A U-lock can be inserted through the bicycle rack, the frame of the bike and the front tire.

The specialized commercial bikes racks can be used as either wall mount bike racks or free-standing bike racks.

"The Park and Facilities Catalog is proud of its association with the Business Development Board of Palm Beach County and we look forward to working with them in the future," said Luyet. "This group really does offer an incredible array of services to help local businesses and I encourage others to contact them as well."

You can read the article about our new commercial bike rack here on the Business Development Board's website.