News
Mercedes supplier SMP to open $150 million Alabama facility, creating 650 jobs
MONTGOMERY, Alabama – Mercedes-Benz supplier Samvardhana Motherson Group plans to open a $150 million manufacturing facility in Tuscaloosa County, creating 650 jobs by the fourth year of operation, officials announced today. The new venture, called SMP Automotive Systems Alabama Inc., will manufacture various exterior and interior components for future models produced at the Mercedes assembly…
Russellville rocket team sets sights on NASA Student Launch program
A student team from Russellville is aiming for even loftier goals after winning a major U.S. rocketry competition and then a high-profile international contest at this summer’s Paris Air Show. The RCS Engineering Team, made up of seven middle and high school students from Franklin County, plans to follow its triumph in Paris by participating…
Auto supplier Kamtek to invest $530 million in Alabama expansion, creating 350 jobs
BIRMINGHAM, Alabama – Auto supplier Kamtek announced plans today to invest $530 million in an expansion of its Alabama operation that includes opening a new aluminum casting facility to meet automaker demands for lighter parts. Kamtek, whose parent company is Canada-based Magna International, says the expansion project in Birmingham will add 354 jobs to its…
Hyundai’s Alabama economic impact: $4.82 billion in 2014
Hyundai’s Alabama auto assembly plant and its supplier network generated a total impact approaching $5 billion in 2014 while also accounting for more than 12,600 direct jobs across the state, according to an analysis released today. The new study by M. Keivan Deravi, dean of the College of Public Policy and Justice at Auburn University…
NASA Marshall robot will build biggest composite rocket parts
HUNTSVILLE, Alabama – A giant robot at NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center is helping the agency build the largest lightweight composite parts ever produced for space vehicles. The robot’s work at the Alabama facility may prove pivotal in NASA’s new Space Launch System, designed to be the most powerful rocket ever built, capable to taking…
European space company RUAG to launch Alabama manufacturing operation
DECATUR, Alabama – Switzerland-based RUAG announced today that it will launch an Alabama manufacturing operation after forming a strategic partnership with United Launch Alliance, which produces rockets at a factory in Decatur. RUAG, one of Europe’s leading suppliers of products for the space industry, said the new Alabama operation will produce carbon-fiber components for ULA’s…
Business Facilities: Alabama ranks high for auto manufacturing, workforce development
Alabama got high marks for “Automotive Manufacturing Strength” and AIDT, Alabama’s workforce development agency, ranked high among “Workforce Training Leaders” in Business Facilities magazine’s annual rankings report, released this week. Record output at Alabama’s three auto assembly plants underlined the state’s No. 2 ranking in the magazine’s “Auto Manufacturing Strength” category. Alabama and Tennessee swapped positions…
Auburn University, NASA to explore 3-D printing applications
AUBURN, Alabama – Auburn University and NASA today signed a Space Act Agreement to explore and advance the applications of additive manufacturing, or 3-D printing — a technology that will revolutionize how all kinds of products, from simple items to components in rocket engines, are made. The signing took place during the university’s forum on…
REEL to open facility at Mobile Aeroplex to serve Airbus Alabama
MOBILE, Alabama – REEL USA Corp. will open an office and workshop at the Mobile Aeroplex at Brookley, where the company will service the critical jigs and tools used in Airbus’ first U.S. manufacturing facility. Today’s announcement involving REEL is the latest in a string of Airbus-related expansion moves at the Aeroplex, where the France-based…
Renewable energy options will boost Alabama competitiveness
Alabama Commerce Secretary Greg Canfield says initiatives to expand the availability of renewable energy in the state will enhance Alabama’s ability to compete for some economic development projects. This year, TVA entered into a 20-year agreement to purchase 80 megawatts of solar power from NextEra’s solar facility near Florence, and just last month Google and TVA…