Buckle Up: Alabama auto industry accelerates growth (Video)
Alabama’s auto industry is on a hot streak, with record production numbers, rising investment, expanded hiring, and redesigned models rolling off the assembly lines. Last year alone, the auto industry added around 6,500 jobs and $3 billion in new investment in the state, according to a preliminary analysis of data in the Alabama Department of…
World Stage: 2015 foreign investment reaches $3.4 billion
Foreign direct investment in Alabama topped $3.4 billion in 2015, as companies based in 18 different countries extended their reach into the state. The vast majority of the 95 FDI projects were expansions, including a major addition to the Mercedes-Benz plant in Tuscaloosa County. Other auto industry investments were growth at Hyundai’s Montgomery factory and…
Alabama trade team finds opportunities in Spain, Morocco
Spain and Morocco put out the welcome mat this week for Alabama business leaders, who visited the countries in an effort to strengthen trade ties. The 16-member state delegation is nearing the end of the trade mission, which kicked off in Spain with business-to-business meetings, networking opportunities and visits to several companies with a major…
Mobile Chamber signs trade memo as gateway to Morocco
CASABLANCA, Morocco – The Mobile Area Chamber of Commerce this morning signed a memorandum of understanding with the American Chamber of Commerce in Morocco calling for the organizations to promote trade and build mutually beneficial business connections. The development comes on the third day of an Alabama trade and business development mission that began in Spain…
Alabama trade mission targets opportunities in Spain, Morocco
Business leaders from across Alabama will be in Europe and Africa next week, seeking new markets for their state-made goods and services. Alabama Department of Commerce Secretary Greg Canfield is leading a trade and business development mission to Spain and Morocco that kicks off today with the group’s departure. The 16-member delegation is made up…
Business Facilities names Alabama ‘State of the Year’ for 2015
Business Facilities magazine said today it has selected Alabama as its 2015 “State of the Year” after landing a string of coveted economic development projects from Polaris Industries, Google and other companies. This is the first time Alabama has claimed the site-selection publication’s highest award. Business Facilities singled out Alabama’s successful recruitment of Polaris’ $127…
SEUS Japan: Leaders vow to build on close economic, cultural ties
BIRMINGHAM, Alabama – Leaders from Japan and seven Southeastern states pledged today to continue building on a longlasting partnership that has stimulated two-way trade and investment while creating nearly 140,000 jobs across the Southeast. Expanding the close economic and cultural ties between the region and the Asian nation was a central message from today’s sessions…
How Japan business ties add horsepower to Southeast growth
BIRMINGHAM, Alabama – As leaders from seven Southeastern states gather with their Japanese counterparts for a high-level forum in Birmingham, this longstanding Trans-Pacific relationship is positioned to strengthen as trade and investment ties expand. Those strong economic bonds provide the foundation for the SEUS Japan 38 joint forum beginning this weekend in Alabama’s largest city,…
International SEUS Japan 38 forum to kick off in Birmingham
BIRMINGHAM, Alabama – Business leaders and top government officials from Japan and seven Southeastern states will begin arriving in Birmingham this weekend for a major conference that aims to strengthen cultural ties and expand commercial opportunities. The annual joint forum of the Southeast U.S.-Japan and Japan-Southeast U.S. associations begins Saturday, Nov. 14, with an invitation-only…
Martin Luther King III to speak at SEUS Japan 38 in Birmingham
BIRMINGHAM, Alabama – Martin Luther King III, a human rights activist and eldest son of Civil Rights leader Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., will speak next week at a joint meeting of organizations that seek to strengthen economic and cultural ties between seven Southeastern states and Japan. King, who once headed the Southern Christian Leadership…
