News
Homecoming: Wickles Pickles returning production to Alabama
BRUNDIDGE, Alabama — Wickles Pickles, the tangy Southern treats produced by a pair of Alabama-born brothers, are returning to their roots. Sims Food Inc., the company behind the popular pickles that are sold across the U.S., is moving production from North Carolina back to Alabama. By the end of the year, Will and Trey Sims…
Growth companies power the Made in Alabama 2018 Holiday Gift Guide
Companies across Alabama are creating jobs, making investments and helping shoppers check off their Christmas lists. This year’s edition of the Made In Alabama Holiday Gift Guide features businesses that are growing in the state, with recent projects and expansions in communities large and small. From big-ticket items like a new car or boat to…
Honda launches Passport SUV production at Alabama facility
LINCOLN, Alabama – Honda Manufacturing of Alabama today celebrated the start of production of the all-new 2019 Honda Passport SUV, which will play a key role in the company’s efforts to meet high demand in the U.S. light truck market. Employees cheered as the new model was driven out in a ceremony that has become…
Alabama counties target Mazda Toyota supply chain in jobs push
HUNTSVILLE, Alabama – The groundbreaking for the new Mazda Toyota Manufacturing USA auto assembly plant in Huntsville took place just days ago, but the $1.6 billion, 4,000-worker project is already making a big impact across North Alabama. Business recruiters in the 13-county region have been working for months to lure suppliers for the facility. Their…
Westervelt Co. plans Clarke County lumber mill with 125 jobs
MONTGOMERY, Alabama – Governor Kay Ivey and officials of Tuscaloosa-based Westervelt Co. today announced that the company will build a new lumber mill in Clarke County, creating 125 jobs. The 134-year-old Alabama company is expanding its wood products manufacturing business through the construction of the new facility, which will produce Southern yellow pine lumber. The…
Consultants: How the ‘Project New World’ site search ended in Alabama
In a podcast series, site selection professionals who assisted Mazda and Toyota provide a detailed, behind-the-scenes look at why the automakers’ $1.6 billion auto assembly plant project is headed to Huntsville, Alabama. In three sessions, a team from JLL Chicago discusses the genesis of what became known as “Project New World,” shares particulars on a…
Mazda Toyota Manufacturing kicks off construction on $1.6B Alabama plant
HUNTSVILLE, Alabama – With help from a robot, the first shovel of dirt was turned today at a sprawling site that will be home to Alabama’s next auto assembly plant – a $1.6 billon facility being built by Mazda Toyota Manufacturing USA that will produce 300,000 vehicles annually, beginning in 2021. The jointly owned-and-operated automotive…
Airbus advances project to build new Alabama A220 assembly line
MOBILE, Alabama – Airbus announced today that Birmingham-based HPM will act as program manager for the planning, design and construction of a new assembly line at its Alabama manufacturing facility that will produce A220 aircraft. In this role, HPM will be responsible for managing all aspects of the design and construction of the new facility. It will…
Auto supplier Hwashin to add 50 jobs with $26M Alabama expansion
GREENVILLE, Alabama – Auto supplier Hwashin America Corp. announced plans to expand its Butler County manufacturing operation with a $26 million investment in new equipment and 50 new jobs. Hwashin, which produces body components for Hyundai’s Alabama auto assembly plant, has been in expansion mode since arriving in Greenville in 2003. The operation began with…
Alabama ranks high in magazine’s 2018 business climate rankings
National publication Site Selection again rated Alabama among the top states in its annual State Business Climate survey, reflecting its consistent attractiveness for high-value economic development projects. Overall, Site Selection ranked Alabama No. 8 in its Business Climate analysis, tied with Indiana. In a survey that is a major component of the Site Selection analysis,…