News
Ted Koppel: “Alabama has taken its place among the great states”
BIRMINGHAM, Alabama — Nearly 50 years after walking alongside Martin Luther King Jr. and thousands of others while reporting on the civil rights march in Selma, veteran journalist Ted Koppel says the Alabama of today is a “totally different place” than the Alabama of 50 years ago. “Alabama has taken its place among the great states,”…
Area Development ranks Alabama a top state for business, touts labor force
MONTGOMERY, Alabama — Leading site consultants from around the nation again picked Alabama as a top state for business, citing its competitive labor costs and ranking it highly in numerous other categories that are key to economic developers, according to a survey in Area Development magazine. For the fourth consecutive year, Alabama ranks among the…
Alabama market briefings to promote exports to Southeast Asia
MONTGOMERY, Alabama — The Alabama Department of Commerce and the U.S. Department of Commerce’s Export Assistance Center along with other Export Alabama Trade Alliance members will present a series of market briefings on Southeast Asia, featuring speaker Wanwemol Charukultharvatch, senior commercial specialist at the U.S. Embassy in Bangkok, Thailand. Events are scheduled for Sept. 26 at…
NASA tests 3-D printed rocket part at Alabama’s Marshall Space Flight Center
HUNTSVILLE, Alabama — NASA‘s largest 3-D printed rocket engine component generated a record 20,000 pounds of thrust during a test at Huntsville’s Marshall Space Flight Center, which has long played a vital role in the U.S. space program. According to the space agency, the Aug. 22 test in Alabama represented a “milestone” for reducing the…
Alabama gets high marks in economic development magazine’s rankings
MONTGOMERY, ALABAMA – Alabama ranked in the Top 10 in six different categories in Business Facilities‘ 2013 Rankings Report, an annual report card of how U.S. states are performing in economic development. The publication targets site consultants and economic developers. This year, the magazine took a close look at states’ energy rankings. Alabama ranked No.…
Mobile hosts NASA, aerospace companies for business development event
MOBILE, Alabama — Representatives of NASA agencies and big-name aerospace companies will be in Alabama’s Port City in early September for a business networking and trade show event that could result in new partnerships or contracts for small- and mid-sized firms. The business-to-business forum, hosted by the Mobile Area Chamber of Commerce, is set for…
Space and Missile Defense Symposium lifts off in Alabama aerospace hub
HUNTSVILLE, Alabama – Imagine satellites no bigger than a loaf of bread. Now dream up technology that would power low-cost launch systems. These are the kind of topics that will emerge at this week’s Space and Missile Defense Symposium in Huntsville, an annual gathering that allows thousands of defense industry professionals to make contact with…
Alabama economic developers, educators team for new workforce development strategies
BIRMINGHAM, Alabama – Top Alabama education officials and economic developers increasingly are on the same page when it comes to workforce development strategies, crafting initiatives that align classroom learning with critical workplace needs. At a forum sponsored by the Birmingham Business Alliance, Alabama Secretary of Commerce Greg Canfield and high-ranking state education officials described how…
Mobile, Huntsville among top metros for economic growth potential, Business Facilities says
MONTGOMERY, Alabama – Two Alabama cities with growing aviation and aerospace sectors – Mobile and Huntsville – rank near the top of Business Facilities magazine’s Economic Growth Potential Rankings of U.S. metro areas. Mobile ranked No. 2 in the publication’s analysis, while Huntsville is No. 4 on the list. Business Facilities said Mobile earned its…
Alabama scores high in Business Facilities ranking as ‘rising automotive powerhouse’
MONTGOMERY, Alabama – Expanding production in Alabama’s auto industry means the state is “coming on strong as a rising automotive powerhouse,” according to a new Business Facilities ranking. The publication, which targets site consultants and economic developers, ranked Alabama No. 2 in its annual state Automotive Manufacturing Strength ranking, up from No. 7 in the…