1. Riley Breaks Ground at Calhoun Robotics Center
DECATUR - As a robot handed him a shovel at a ground-breaking ceremony, Gov. Bob Riley said a $71 million robotics complex will help keep the state on the leading edge of technology needed for economic development. "I want us to take work force development and job training to a different level," he said.
Riley headed a long list of state and local officials gathered at the ceremony for the Advanced Technology Robotics Research and Development Complex. The training and development center across from Calhoun Community College will have the capacity to train 450 people a year to operate robot machines when it opens in two years.
2. 54 Alabama Schools Rank Among Nation’s Best
Fifty-four Alabama schools have been recognized in a recent edition of U.S. News and World Report as being two of the best high schools in the country.
U.S. News & World Report — in collaboration with School Evaluation Services, a K-12 education and data research and analysis business that provides parents with education data on www.schoolmatters.com — analyzed academic and enrollment data from more than 21,000 public high schools to find the very best across the country. These top schools were placed into gold, silver, bronze or honorable mention categories.
Alabama’s list includes one gold medalist (Loveless Magnet High School), three silver medalists (Mountain Brook High School, Vestavia Hills High School and Grissom High School) and 50 bronze medalists.
Gold medalists are the top 100 high schools nationwide with the highest college readiness index scores ranked numerically. Silver medalists are the next 504 top-performing high schools nationwide based on college readiness index scores. Bronze medalists are the next 1,321 high schools that passed the first two steps.
3. Vector Aerospace Opens New Facility in Andalusia
Vector Aerospace is already outgrowing its new 38,000 square-foot facility in the South Alabama Regional Airport industrial park, the company’s CEO announced at grand opening ceremonies attended by Gov. Bob Riley, members of Vector’s international team and local government and economic development officials.
Declan O’Shea, CEO of the of the Toronto-based corporation, said he was “bowled over” by the warm welcome he and other company officials have received in Alabama, where 100 of the company’s 2,359 employees work. He said the company will do $17 million in business in Alabama this year; $23 million next year; “and the year after that, we’ll move into another new facility.”
Riley said Vector is one of more than 300 aviation aerospace companies currently operating in Alabama.” This adds to the diversity so vitally important in the economy today,” he said. “Our economic model is considered the best in the nation.”
4. Steelcase To Bring 250 New Jobs to Athens
Steelcase, Inc. located in the Limestone County City of Athens, announced in December that the company will be closing a facility in the Atlanta area and moving the manufacturing equipment to Athens. The equipment moving in totals $13 million and new equipment equals 1.2 million. Current employment at the plant is 850 and the move will bring 250 additional jobs to the Athens plant. The company plans for the equipment to be operational in the 2nd quarter on 2009.
5. Scientists rank UAB fifth-best place to work in United States
The University of Alabama at Birmingham is ranked No. 5 nationally in the "Best Places to Work in Academia,” a survey of life science researchers published in the November issue of The Scientist magazine. The medical center jumped 42 places in the survey this year. The magazine credited the university's rapid rise in the rankings to its strong interdisciplinary approach to research. It cited UAB's 17 research centers, and state-of-the-art facilities like the Richard C. and Annette N. Shelby Interdisciplinary Biomedical Research Building, which opened in 2006.
The rankings are based on an Internet poll of 2,300 scientists from 54 U.S. institutions. The researchers rated institutions on job satisfaction, pay, tenure and research resources.
6. Opelika/Chambers County Partnership Creates More than 1,000 Jobs
At least seven industrial development projects are taking place along a six-mile stretch of interstate frontage in adjoining industrial parks in Opelika and Chambers County.
Four of those projects are automotive suppliers totaling 883 new jobs who will begin hiring employees in the first and second quarters of this year in Chambers County. Those companies include Daeki America, Ajin USA, MPTech America, and Daedong Hilex of America.
In Opelika, automotive supplier Mando is expanding and will hire an additional 200 employees. Another supplier, Hanwha has announced a 40,000-square-foot expansion.
In the Greater Valley area, a new project called the Discovery Center has opened. Located in the West Point Technology Park, the Discovery Center presents a comprehensive visual and graphic overview of the lifestyle, amenities, geography, recreation, employment and residential future of the Greater Valley Area, specifically highlighting extensive residential, hospitality and retail development in Chambers County.
7. 24 Site Consultants Participating in International Business Conference
An Alabama international economic development conference that has been six months in the planning will go on this week in Mexico. The Alabama International Business Conference, which is attracting 25 site consultants, will take place in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico.
"For the past five years, the Alabama Development Office and its co-sponsors have hosted events that promote Alabama as a great place to expand or locate a new business," said Neal Wade, director of the Alabama Development Office (ADO). "Of all the times during the past five years to market Alabama to the world, this may be the most important time because of the current economic situation."
The international conference begins a year of continued aggressive marketing in key target sectors, including automotive, aerospace/defense, logistics and bio-technology/life sciences. Site consultants attending the conference are often involved in major site decisions such as ThyssenKrupp, National Steel Car, Honda, Kia, Volkswagen, EADS/Northrop Grumman and Mercedes.
Gov. and Mrs. Riley will serve as official hosts for the event with others from Alabama's economic development community attending as well. Speakers include Alabama House Speaker Seth Hammett, State Finance Director Jim Main, Alabama Industrial Development Training Director Ed Castile, U.S. Chamber of Commerce official Leslie Schweitzer, EvonikDegussa executive Tom Bates and Fox News contributor Dick Morris.
8. Birmingham Attracts 2009 Davis Cup Tennis Matches
Representatives of the U.S. Tennis Association announced in December that the U.S.'s first-round Davis Cup match with Switzerland will be at Birmingham's BJCC Arena.
Davis Cup is one of the top tennis events in the world. It pits national men's teams against one another in four singles matches and a doubles match. And while the team members won't be set until 10 days before the March 6-8 event, the caliber of the teams could pit some of the game's heaviest hitters against one another.
Roger Federer, the No.2 player in the world and considered by many to be the best player ever, has said on his Web site that he intends to play here. He could be joined by countryman Stanislas Wawrinka, who teamed with Federer to win the Olympic gold medal in doubles this year. The Americans have generally fielded a team of Andy Roddick and James Blake in singles, and the doubles team of twin brothers Bob and Mike Bryan, the No.2 tandem in the world.
"This is not just a Davis Cup tie," said Jeff Ryan, the USTA's director of team events. "This is the United States vs. Switzerland and it's likely to pair up some of the best players ever to hit the court."
This will mark the first time that the Davis Cup has been played in Alabama, which will be the 33rd state to host a tie, which comprises a doubles match sandwiched between four singles.
9. U.S. Aero Services Announces 131 New Jobs in Enterprise
US Aero Services, Inc. announced last month that it plans to build a multi-million dollar facility in Enterprise and hire at least 131 employees starting next year.
Vice President Bruce McLean said the company plans to build a $12 to 13 million, 57,000 square-foot space for primary production of helicopter components and aircraft repair. McLean, who opened the business with partners President Steve Matherly and General Manager Willy Wilson, said the company would be certified by the Federal Aviation Administration.
The announcement by US Aero Services comes just a few months after the Enterprise-based ALFAB announcement of new multi-million dollar defense contracts and the addition of dozens of new jobs. Enterprise Mayor Kenneth Boswell said he couldn’t be happier with the company’s decision. “We’re in an atmosphere and economy where people say how bad it is,” said Boswell. “But Enterprise is a blessed community.”
10. ThyssenKrupp Expects Up to 10,000 Construction Workers On Site
ThyssenKrupp has reached some milestones and is poised to start up the facility on schedule in 2010. The German steelmaker is building a $4.2 billion carbon steel and stainless steel processing facility in Calvert, about 30 miles north of Mobile.
It is expected to create 2,700 permanent jobs. So far, 304 employees have been hired for the operation, which includes the Steel segment and the Stainless segment. More than 25,000 applications and resumes have been received for both salaried and hourly positions.
Since state and local dignitaries joined ThyssenKrupp executives from Germany at a groundbreaking a year ago, the project’s 3,500-acre site spanning Mobile and Washington counties has gone through a transformation. More than 10 million cubic yards of earth have been moved as workers cleared the way to build foundations. Now, the work has gone vertical, as structural steel is erected. More than 1,500 construction workers are on site each day and up to 10,000 will be on site in early 2009.