News

At Alabama robotics facility, officials unveil expansion of training program
DECATUR, Alabama – Ivanka Trump, advisor to the president, joined leaders of Toyota Motor North America and the National Association of Manufacturers (NAM) at the Alabama Robotics Technology Park to announce an expansion of a program to develop skilled workers. At an event held inside Alabama’s unique robotics training facility, officials announced that the operation…

BIO Alabama names director as bioscience sector growth is targeted
BIO Alabama said today that experienced healthcare executive Sonia Robinson has joined the statewide bioscience trade association as its first full-time executive director, leading efforts within the sector to grow employment, increase research development and expand international trade. “The entire life sciences ecosystem is active in Alabama from research to institutional tech transfer; from startups…

What drove the Mazda-Toyota team to the ideal plant site in Alabama?
The site selection team working clandestinely on “Project New World” — the codename given to the massive auto assembly plant planned by Mazda and Toyota — started off with a list of 300 potential site locations across the United States. In the end, a site encompassing more than 2,000 acres in Huntsville, Alabama, claimed one…

How Airbus is going wheels up in Alabama with A220 production
On the campus of Airbus’ Alabama manufacturing facility, construction crews are working to complete a project that represents the next chapter of the aerospace company’s U.S. growth plans. The work on Airbus’ Mobile campus is strategically significant because it will allow the company to produce a second aircraft type in Alabama — the single-aisle A220…

Officials mark opening of Henry County sawmill after $40 million investment
ABBEVILLE, Alabama — State and local leaders on Tuesday marked the official opening of Abbeville Fiber LLC, a state-of-the-art sawmill that will employ 115 people in Henry County once the facility is fully staffed. The project represents the largest economic development project in the county’s history, with $40 million invested to date. “What I have…

Alabama to open European office to advance economic development
The Alabama Department of Commerce has opened a business development office in Stuttgart, Germany, to enhance the state’s strategic efforts to attract European companies considering job-creating investments in the U.S., Governor Kay Ivey announced today. Christoph Dörr, an experienced German businessman who spent seven years in charge of an industrial operation in Alabama, serves as…

Auto supplier DaikyoNishikawa kicks off construction on $110 million Alabama plant
HUNTSVILLE, Alabama – Governor Kay Ivey joined executives of DaikyoNishikawa US (DNUS) and local leaders at a groundbreaking event today to officially launch construction on the auto supplier’s $110 million manufacturing plant in North Alabama. The DNUS facility, which will produce plastic automotive parts for the Mazda Toyota Manufacturing U.S.A. (MTMUS) assembly plant, will employ…

Auto supplier Vuteq to create 200 jobs at Alabama parts plant
MONTGOMERY, Alabama – Governor Kay Ivey announced today that global automotive supplier Vuteq plans to invest more than $60 million to open a manufacturing facility to serve the Mazda Toyota Manufacturing U.S.A. (MTMUS) auto assembly plant in Huntsville. Japan-based Vuteq, which has operated in North America for over three decades, will hire approximately 200 workers for…

Marshall Space Flight Center to lead NASA lander program in return to moon
HUNTSVILLE, Alabama — NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine today announced that the Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville will lead the agency’s Human Landing System Program for its return to the Moon by 2024. Bridenstine made the announcement in front of the 149-foot-tall Space Launch System (SLS) rocket liquid hydrogen tank structural test article currently being tested at NASA’s Alabama…

Josh Laney to head Alabama Office of Apprenticeship as skills program expands
MONTGOMERY, Alabama — Ed Castile, deputy secretary of the Alabama Department of Commerce and director of AIDT, announced that Josh Laney has been named director of the newly established Alabama Office of Apprenticeship (AOA) as the state moves to expand a program that elevates the skill levels of workers. In his new role, Laney will…


