Alabama bioscience industry targeted for growth
BIRMINGHAM, Alabama – The Alabama bioscience industry already has strengths, but officials in the field have a strategy to expand the sector’s reach, just as state officials once did to nurture a fledgling automotive manufacturing industry into a top producer. Alabama’s current bioscience palette – according to BioAlabama, the state affiliate of the Biotechnology Industry…
Southern Research Institute attacks cancer, environmental challenges and more
BIRMINGHAM, Alabama – At Southern Research Institute, scientists are researching novel cancer therapies, testing advanced materials at temperatures up to 5,000 degrees and developing solutions to daunting environmental challenges. The not-for-profit research organization, whose main campus stands close to the University of Alabama at Birmingham, can offer clients a broad range of capabilities, according to…
Alabama STEM education initiative gets worldwide attention
MONTGOMERY, Alabama — Six-year-old Blake examines three small wheat seeds under a magnifying glass and then documents what he has observed. He pinches together a piece of paper towel until it fits into a straw. The student deposits his seeds in the straw and the teacher places the straws in cups. The class discusses whether…
HudsonAlpha Institute builds base in Huntsville for biotech research
HUNTSVILLE, Alabama — A biotechnology park – the brainchild of the successful Huntsville entrepreneurs behind the HudsonAlpha Institute – showcases the promise of biotechnology in Alabama. Entrepreneur Lonnie McMillian co-founded ADTRAN, the second largest supplier of telecommunications equipment in the U.S. Jim Hudson Jr. created Research Genetics, the world’s leader in genetic linkage products. Research Genetics…
AIDT training programs give Alabama advantage in industrial recruiting
MONTGOMERY, Alabama – In just about every corner of Alabama, AIDT, the state’s top-ranked job-training agency, is helping companies assemble workforces and upgrading worker skill sets. AIDT training programs are preparing workers to build “Made-in-Alabama” products such as next-generation warships for the U.S. Navy and luxury automobiles sold around the globe. The agency is teaching…
AIDT Maritime Training Center readies workers for jobs in Alabama shipyards
MOBILE, Alabama – An eight-week welding course at the AIDT Maritime Training Center gave Rodney Patrick a future he didn’t expect – a career in shipbuilding. Around three years ago, the Mobile County man was working as an investigator for a law firm when the economic downturn put him on the job-search trail. A friend suggested…
Hyundai manufacturing plant in Alabama sets records as activity hums around clock
MONTGOMERY, Alabama – The Hyundai manufacturing plant in Alabama, already one of the U.S. auto industry’s most productive, is set to power output to record levels in 2013 after adding a third shift at the $1.7 billion facility. The third production shift, initiated last September, provided an immediate capacity boost at a plant that Automobile Magazine named…
Golden Dragon copper tubing plant will provide boost to rural Alabama county
MONTGOMERY, Alabama – The Golden Dragon copper tubing plant, now under construction in Wilcox County, will create at least 300 jobs and could serve as a model for rural economic development, according to reports on the al.com web site. The $100 million Golden Dragon manufacturing project is considered a significant economic development victory for rural…
Industrial robots training center prepares Alabama workers for high-tech manufacturing jobs
TANNER, Alabama — Rick Maroney minds a flock of industrial robots in one of the world’s most innovative and futuristic training centers. Maroney is a project manager at Robotics Technology Park (RTP), where workers from manufacturers such as Toyota, Honda and Navistar have come for training on the latest equipment from the world’s top industrial…
Alabama candy manufacturer tastes sweet success in overseas markets
BIRMINGHAM, Alabama– From a modest candy factory tucked away in a corner of suburban Birmingham, Scott Green satisfies sweet-tooth cravings in more than 50 countries across the globe. Green’s firm, Creative Concepts in Irondale, produces Pucker Powder, a sugary confection that is dispensed from custom-designed machines to fill plastic tubes in colorful layers. The company…
