1. Alabama Exports Up Nearly 10 Percent in 2008
Gov. Bob Riley announced this week that Alabama exports grew to almost $16 billion in 2008, an increase of nearly 10 percent from the year before. Alabama-produced exports reached $15.8 billion last year. Companies in the state shipped their products to 192 countries, with the top five destination markets being Germany, Canada, Mexico, China and Japan.
Finished automotives topped the list of Alabama exports for 2008, accounting for 31 percent of the state’s total exports. Vehicles produced in Alabama were shipped to 113 countries and totaled almost $5 billion in foreign sales.
2. Huntsville Firm Working on Space Telescope Doubles Lab Size
A company that's helping NASA develop its next-generation space telescope is also focusing on its Huntsville expansion. NeXolve held a ribbon-cutting ceremony this week at its new office in Cummings Research Park. Meanwhile, the defense and space contractor is doubling the size of its lab on Intergraph's campus off Interstate 565.
NeXolve is probably best known for its work with NASA, specifically its role with the James Webb Space Telescope. Webb is slated to replace the Hubble Space Telescope in 2011. The company, serving as a subcontractor to Northrop Grumman, is providing a five-layer sunshield - the shield is roughly the size of a tennis court - for the new telescope using a patented technology involving its thin-film polymers.
3. Phenix City, Troy University Create Economic Development Partnership
A new economic development partnership has been formed between Troy University and the City of Phenix City. The University will establish a Center for Business and Economic Development office in Phenix City and will conduct an economic development study for Phenix City. The study will provide recommendations regarding the structure and delivery of a comprehensive economic development program for the city. Areas to be examined include planning, industrial recruitment, retail development and small business development.
4. Aerospace Company Sets Up Operations in State
Home ASRC Aerospace Corp., an information technology and aerospace engineering company and NASA contractor, has set up a Huntsville operation. "We currently have work with five NASA centers," said Martin McLellan, vice president of ASRC Aerospace, which is based in Cape Canaveral, Fla. Having a presence in Huntsville, he said, better positions the company to add NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center as a partner.
5. Coal Production Up 8.3 Percent in Alabama for 2008
Alabama coal employment and production rose in fiscal 2008, according to figures released by the state Department of Industrial Relations. State production from seven underground and dozens of surface mines reached 20.5 million tons for the 12 months ended Sept. 30, the department's Office of Mining and Reclamation reported. That is up from the 19.6 million tons produced in fiscal 2007.
The state's mines employed 4,077 workers in the 2008 year, up 8.3 percent from 3,763 in 2007.
6. Steel Mill ThyssenKrupp Rising Rapidly in South Alabama
The steel framework continues to rise rapidly at for the $4.65 billion ThyssenKrupp construction site at Calvert The skeleton for one warehouse belonging to the carbon steel division is nearly complete, and another, larger one is going up rapidly.
Despite a delay announced by the stainless division, the frame of its cold rolling mill continues to grow rapidly. There's no such delay on the larger carbon side, where steel could start going up on the hot strip mill, one of the most complicated parts of the project, before the end of the month. "We're still making good progress on the hot strip mill," carbon division spokesman Scott Posey said. "We're finishing the foundation, and we're working on pouring the roof of the substructure.”
7. Soccer Tournament To Pack $7.5 Million Kick to Birmingham
The Red Diamond Vulcan Cup a youth soccer tournament that kicks off over two weekends beginning March 7, is expected to pump $7.5 million into the metro Birmingham economy.
That's the most in the 10-year history of the event, which has generated an economic impact of $40 million since its inception, said David Galbaugh, director of sports sales and marketing for the Greater Birmingham Convention & Visitors Bureau.
More than 300 teams from across the nation, including many state champions and state finalists, will play in the tournament.
8. Selma’s American Apparel Acquires SC Firm, Saves 1,400 Alabama Jobs
A purchase by American Apparel Inc. of a Greenville, S.C.-based company will guarantee jobs for 1,400 employees throughout Alabama for at least a year and adds 25 to 30 jobs in Selma. The move also increases the company’s sales by $40 million for the 2008-09 fiscal year and makes the company the largest manufacturer of military work uniforms in the country.
The company has purchased the majority of Wellstone Apparel LLC’s assets. Wellstone Apparel will consolidate two plants in Mississippi, which will be absorbed by American Apparel. The purchase also allows American Apparel to bring back the majority of its laid-off workers at its Centre and Oneonta plants.
9. Mobile Company Lands $45 Million NASA Contract
Mobile's American Tank and Vessel Inc., or AT&V, has landed a $45 million contract from NASA to build and install a key component to test a new generation of rocket engines, NASA announced this week.
AT&V, which employs about 190 people at design and fabrication facilities in Lucedale and Moss Point, was hired to fabricate and install a test cell diffuser, a device that sits below the rocket engine as it's being tested and d Work began on a 300-foot, steel-frame engine-testing stand in summer 2007 at NASA's Stennis Space Center in south Mississippi. The stand and AT&V's diffuser are both scheduled for completion in 2011, said Paul Foerman, a Stennis spokesman. Engine testing is set to start in 2012, he said.
The engine is for NASA's Constellation program, which is developing a new generation of spacecraft to send astronauts farther into space than they've ever gone before. It will play an important role in powering both crew and cargo vehicles, which are being designed at NASA facilities in Huntsville and Houston.
10. Firm Generating Major Interest with Wireless Indoor GPS System
A Huntsville company is generating interest from customers with a wireless indoor tracking technology it has developed. The company installed its first commercial system last week at a nuclear power plant's training facility near Augusta, Ga., for Southern Co.
The Near Field Electromagnetic Ranging technology was invented by Dr. Hans Schantz, Q-Track's chief scientist, and Robert DePierre, the vice president of engineering.
Gabig compared the technology to "indoor GPS" with applications for tracking people, such as miners or soldiers underground, and assets, such as pallets in warehouses. "It's an enabling technology," Gabig said. "We're getting phone calls from people with different applications."