News
Alabama wins Silver Shovel award for economic development
MONTGOMERY, Alabama – Area Development, an economic development-focused publication, awarded Alabama a Silver Shovel for solid business recruitment and support in 2016, keeping alive a winning streak stretching back a decade. In announcing the award, Area Development noted that Alabama’s economic development team continues to build on a proven track record of success. “It’s almost…
Amazon to open $30 million Alabama ‘sortation center’
Amazon plans to invest nearly $30 million to open a 362,000-square-foot “sortation center” in Mobile, a facility that allows the Internet retail giant to accelerate deliveries of products purchased online. The Amazon center in west Mobile off Interstate 10 will ultimately employ more than 360 part-time employees, though that number could rise by 1,000 in…
GE selects Auburn University for additive manufacturing program
A leader in additive manufacturing technologies, GE, has selected Auburn University as one of just eight universities from around the world to participate in a groundbreaking program focusing on 3-D printing research and education initiatives. Auburn, which has been strategically expanding its activities in additive manufacturing, will receive a state-of-the-art Concept Laser MLAB 100R metal…
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…