News
Alabama foreign investment tops $1.5 billion in 2016, creating 3,250 jobs
Businesses based in countries around the globe continue to find a welcoming home in Alabama, as the state’s foreign direct investment (FDI) reached $1.57 billion last year, driving job growth in several industries. Expansions accounted for the vast majority of the 79 FDI projects announced by companies in 17 different countries. But there were notable…
Alabama team embarks on Canada trade mission
Alabama Secretary of Commerce Greg Canfield is leading a trade mission to Canada this week that aims to build on already strong ties with the state’s strongest international trade partner. The Alabama trade and business development mission kicks off Wednesday in Montréal, then shifts to Toronto for the 10th annual Southeast U.S.-Canadian Provinces (SEUS-CP) Conference,…
UAB students’ research work takes flight with drone technology
Drones are quickly becoming a prolific part of modern society, and students at the University of Alabama at Birmingham are doing cutting-edge research involving the flying machines. Elizabeth Bevan, a doctoral student in the Department of Biology in the College of Arts and Sciences, is using drones in her thesis project that studies the effects…
Georgia-Pacific to invest $50 million in upgrades at Alabama mill
BREWTON, Alabama – Georgia-Pacific is investing $50 million to upgrade the paperboard machine at the company’s mill in Escambia County, following the completion of a $388 million energy improvement project that involved two years of construction. Slated to begin in late summer, Georgia-Pacific said the new project in Brewton will rebuild part of the machine…
James Hardie to open $220M Alabama building products plant
PRATTVILLE, Alabama – Governor Kay Ivey announced today that James Hardie Building Products plans to invest up to $220 million to open an advanced fiber-cement building products manufacturing plant in Prattville, creating 205 jobs. James Hardie, whose corporate roots go back more than a century, is a leading high-technology manufacturer of numerous types of fiber-cement…
Scorecard: Alabama recruited more than 14,700 jobs in 2016
MONTGOMERY, Alabama — Companies announced plans for more than 14,700 new jobs and nearly $4.2 billion in capital investment in Alabama during 2016, according to an analysis prepared by the Alabama Department of Commerce that chronicles wide-ranging economic development activity across the state last year. The 2016 New & Expanding Industry Report released today by Governor…
Elmore County project positions GKN Aerospace for growth
TALLASSEE, Alabama — A new economic development-focused alliance in Elmore County is funding the construction of a $700,000 warehouse facility that will permit the county’s largest manufacturer, GKN Aerospace, to open up critical manufacturing floor space for new projects. The 20,000-square-foot storage depot in Tallassee is the first project launched by the Elmore County Industrial…
Biotech firm Blondin to collaborate on breast cancer research project in Finland
BIRMINGHAM, Alabama – A key executive for Blondin Bioscience LLC is a collaborator on a prestigious grant awarded by the Academy of Finland that will aid in the study of breast cancer therapies. Dr. Katri Selander, founder and chief scientific officer of the Birmingham-based biotech startup, is a collaborator on the three-year, $474,000 grant awarded…
Aerojet Rocketdyne gives $1M for UAH Space Science Chair
HUNTSVILLE, Alabama — Aerojet Rocketdyne announced today it will fund a $1 million endowment to establish the Aerojet Rocketdyne Chair in Space Science at the University of Alabama in Huntsville (UAH). “Aerojet Rocketdyne is proud to be able to partner with the University of Alabama in Huntsville on numerous R&D initiatives related to propulsion and…
Gov. Ivey announces creation of Alabama Aviation Education Center in Mobile
MONTGOMERY — Governor Kay Ivey announced plans today to create the Alabama Aviation Education Center, a hands-on instructional facility to be located near the Airbus aircraft manufacturing facility in Mobile that aims to bolster Alabama’s workforce development efforts and inspire young people to pursue careers in the state’s growing aerospace cluster. The Aviation Education Center,…