News
Truck & Wheel Group opens $30 million Alabama wheel assembly plant
VANCE, Alabama – Spain-based auto supplier Truck & Wheel Group today marked the opening of a new 127,000-square-foot manufacturing facility that will supply wheel assemblies for automakers in the Southeast. The company’s executive management team joined Gov. Kay Ivey, Mercedes-Benz’s Alabama operations chief Jason Hoff and community leaders at a grand opening ceremony for the…
Alabama ranks No. 3 for auto exports, with shipments to 88 nations in 2017
MONTGOMERY, Alabama — Alabama’s auto industry continues to dominate on the international stage, as state-built models were shipped to 88 countries around the globe last year. Motor vehicle exports topped $7.75 billion in 2017, according to the latest trade data reviewed by the Alabama Department of Commerce. That makes Alabama the No. 3 auto exporter…
New Alabama lumber manufacturing facility will create 110 jobs
MONTGOMERY, Alabama — Governor Kay Ivey announced today that Rex Lumber Co. plans to build a state-of-the-art lumber manufacturing facility in Pike County, creating more than 110 jobs and providing a significant economic boost to the region’s forest products industry. Rex Lumber projects the total capital cost of the new sawmill to be $110 million,…
Production ramp-up at Airbus Alabama factory could add 600 jobs
MOBILE, Alabama – The Airbus Alabama manufacturing facility is in line for 600 new jobs, thanks to a planned second assembly line for the Bombardier C Series jetliner and a possible increase in the production of A320 Family aircraft. On Tuesday at Airbus’ Mobile facility, high-ranking executives of Airbus and Bombardier gave the first detailed…
Could patented golden kiwifruit be Alabama’s next export success?
REELTOWN, Alabama – A small community in eastern Alabama is home to the nation’s only commercial golden kiwifruit orchard, an innovative operation that could lead the way in establishing a new specialty crop for growers across the Southeastern U.S. The Southeast Kiwi Farming Cooperative, established in 2014 and located in Tallapoosa and Macon counties, grows…
NAM’s 2018 ‘State of Manufacturing’ Tour stops in Birmingham
BIRMINGHAM, Alabama – The leader of the nation’s premier manufacturing trade group visited Birmingham’s Altec Inc. today to provide company leaders and key Alabama officials with a high-level briefing on the industry’s outlook. “It’s a great day to be in manufacturing, and it’s a great day to be in Alabama,” Jay Timmons, president and CEO…
Alabama exports set new annual record in 2017, topping $21.7 billion
MONTGOMERY, Alabama – Alabama exports totaled a record $21.7 billion in 2017, powered by rising overseas shipments of products such as automobiles, aircraft components, chemicals, paper, and minerals. New government trade figures show that exports of Alabama-made goods and services increased more than 6 percent from 2016’s total of $20.5 billion, the state’s previous annual…
Steve Case’s ‘Rise of the Rest’ tour to showcase Birmingham start-ups
Birmingham’s technology start-up scene is poised to receive a substantial boost from an initiative led by Steve Case, the founder of America Online and a champion of supporting emerging innovation ecosystems across the U.S. Case will visit Birmingham on May 9 as part of the initiative’s five-city “Rise of the Rest” bus tour, now in…
Topre America’s $80 million expansion to create 98 jobs in Cullman
CULLMAN, Alabama – Auto supplier Topre America Corp. plans an $80 million, 98-job expansion at its Cullman operations. The expansion will involve a new production line that will supply parts for the 2018 Nissan Altima being built at the automaker’s plant in Smyrna, Tennessee. Topre plans to install the new press line and machining equipment…
Walker County’s David Knight receives top economic development award
David Knight, executive director of the Walker County Development Authority, remembers the day two decades ago when the Alabama Development Office’s David Echols gave county leaders some harsh truth. At a meeting, Walker County leaders questioned Echols, a senior project manager for ADO, about why they weren’t seeing project activity. Echols replied they wouldn’t see…