ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — A St. Petersburg startup has not been affected by tariffs because the manufacturing facility uses robots powered by artificial intelligence to 3D print products with materials sourced from the United States, according to Haddy CEO and Co-Founder Jay Rogers.

“Haddy has shown that we can put eight very powerful robots in St. Pete and print for lots of customers,” he said. “This is a great way to be able to make things that are tariff unaffected.”

Rogers, 51, said the facility is the largest robot factory in the world. Haddy first opened in 2022. The innovative company celebrated a grand opening at its new location, at 251 10th St. N., in April.

What You Need To Know

  • Haddy has the largest robot factory in the world in St. Petersburg

  • The material for the granules is sourced in the United States  

  • Granules and robots powered by artificial intelligence keep the products tariff free 

  • Haddy plans to build 7 more micro-factories across the United States over the next few years

“A year from now, you’re going to see the next micro-factory pop up in the Midwest… and you’re going to see a pop up on the West Coast,” said Rogers. “You’ll see 7 of these around the United States over the next 3 years.”

Some of the products Haddy currently prints for vendors include furniture, lighting fixtures, pet homes and flower planters. Rogers said the price for the items they sell has never gone up and will probably go down over time as the robots learn.

“As we make more things, and we learn more about how to make things more efficiently,” he said. “Our costs are going down versus coming up.”

The robots use recycled and bio compostable granules to 3D print the products, according to Rogers.

“All the things that we make these out of are really two inputs: software and granules. The granules come from the United States and the software can come tax free from anywhere in the world,” he said. “That is really an advantage because it means that we’re unaffected by tariffs.”

Tariffs have already been impacting the price of some furniture in the Tampa Bay area. Spectrum News found a media console sold at a St. Petersburg furniture store went up $600 on May 1. The store owner declined a request for an interview.

“We’ve seen the pressure and we want to respond to it,” said Rogers. “Our phone’s been ringing off the hook.”

Rogers said the Haddy team has been working on the technology for about 15 years. The U.S. Marine Corps veteran said the company is prepared to meet this tariff free opportunity to grow.

“The opportunity is now for America. The opportunity is now for Florida. The opportunity is for St. Pete and the opportunity is for Haddy,” he said. “We feel incredibly blessed right now to be prepared for this moment.”