1. Gov. Riley Plans Industry-Seeking Trip to Europe This Week
Gov. Bob Riley plans to arrive in Europe on Wednesday for an industrial trip that involves trying to land new jobs and meeting with companies that have already provided jobs in Alabama.
Riley is scheduled to meet with an unidentified industrial prospect and three companies with Alabama operations.
Riley said he will visit with officials of Mercedes-Benz in Germany on Wednesday. Mercedes has an auto assembly plant in Vance. After Germany, Riley will go to Spain to visit aerospace giant EADS and BBVA. BBVA is the Spanish bank that bought Birmingham-based Compass Bancshares in 2007. EADS plans to build an aircraft assembly plant in Mobile if it and Northrop Grumman land a Pentagon contract. Riley said he plans to return to Alabama on Sunday.
2. Alabama Is Tops In Advanced Placement Programs
Alabama schools had the nation's largest increase in student participation and performance on Advanced Placement tests in the 2008-09 school years. The number of Alabama students taking AP tests rose 24.5 percent, compared with a 7.5 percent rise nationally, according to the College Board, which administers AP tests nationally. Alabama students posted a 21.1 percent increase in the number of AP test scores that qualified for college credit, compared with a 9.4 percent increase nationally. Both Alabama figures were the nation's best.
3. UAH Gets Biggest Contract In Its History
For more than 20 years, the University of Alabama in Huntsville has been providing researchers, engineers and other manpower to support the huge variety of the Army's work on Redstone Arsenal.
This year, that contract got a $78 million boost from the Army Research, Development and Engineering Command, said Dr. Gary Maddux, director of UAH's Systems Management and Production Center, or SMAP.
"This turned out to be the largest contract that UAH has ever received," he said. SMAP has more than 320 employees, Maddux said, and about 230 are involved in the Redstone Arsenal effort.
4. Green Solar To Create 150 Jobs in Birmingham
A new company will invest $11 million and create 150 jobs with a headquarters near downtown Birmingham, giving a boost to what economic developers believe could be a growth industry for the metro area.
Atlanta businessman Glenn Ford will make Birmingham the headquarters and manufacturing base for his Green Solar Cos. The company plans to construct a building at 31 First Ave. North for its headquarters and a manufacturing facility that turns out energy-efficient structural insulated panels.
"The manufacturing facility is the outgrowth of my vision and my team members' vision of where the construction industry is going," said Ford, who has spent the past several years in real estate and construction in the Atlanta area. "We feel in the 21st century and beyond, structural insulated panels are going to replace two-by-four frame construction. They're more energy-efficient, they're a cost savings and they reduce waste on the job site."
5. Virtual Tours Will Market’s States Available Industrial Sites
Two state of Alabama groups and the Montgomery Area Chamber of Commerce are using virtual property tours to market vacant industrial buildings across Alabama. The chamber, Alabama Development Office and the Economic Development Partnership of Alabama have five buildings in Montgomery on tour already drawing about 600 searches a day. The site www.edpa.org will list any building of at least 20,000 square feet for free and develop a virtual tour at the for-cost price of $750 per building.
6. Austal Completes First Stage of $170 Million Mobile Facility
Austal hopes its new $170 million modular manufacturing facility -- Phase One of which is now complete -- will enhance its standing with military clients and make Mobile the "Silicon Valley" of shipbuilding.
Austal has been building ship modules in its sheds along the Mobile River since setting up shop here in 2000. In the new facility, modules will come together assembly-line style and then head to the sheds for final assembly.
Austal plans a third shed next year to accommodate its growing workload. As part of a team led by General Dynamics Corp., Austal is competing for more work building the Navy's new littoral combat ship. The first Austal-built LCS, Independence, is in builder's trials now, and the team has a contract for a second LCS, Coronado.
7. Group Hopes To Solve Farming Problem While Creating Shoals Jobs
A Shoals-based organization that assists farmers in developing nations hopes to solve a problem plaguing farmers around the world while creating new jobs in the Shoals.
Amit Roy, president and chief executive officer of IFDC, which touts itself as an international center for soil fertility and agricultural development, said the organization is set to begin research into developing new fertilizers that will release nutrients when crops need them. Conventional fertilizers can allow nitrogen to be washed away or evaporate because it is released when it cannot be utilized by the crop. Roy said the lost nutrients are costly to farmers and can cause environmental problems.
IFDC hopes to develop fertilizers that will be more environmentally friendly and economical.
8. Downturn Has Paid Dividends for Hyundai, Washington Post Reports
An article in the Washington Post last week highlighted how well an Alabama company is doing despite the recession.
“The recession precipitated one of the most tumultuous years ever for the U.S. auto business, but to Hyundai, it may have presented the perfect opportunity... when car companies announce their latest sales figures, the South Korean automaker will announce its best retail month ever and that despite the vast shrinkage of the U.S. market, it expects this year's sales to exceed last year's.
…Just as McDonald's and Wal-Mart have found favor from consumers during the recession, so, too, is Hyundai benefiting from its cut-rate allure, analysts said. Having largely shaken off a reputation for quality problems that arose after its U.S. launch in 1986, Hyundais look like a deal to many consumers.
"Value-focused brands tend to do better than premium brands during difficult economic times, and that's played to our natural strength," said John Krafcik, Hyundai's president in North America.
9. Marshall Director Says Future Bright for Huntsville Center
Robert Lightfoot, Marshall Space Flight Center's newest director, told center employees last Tuesday that Huntsville should be able to count on future NASA launch and science work.
"It looks good for us here," Lightfoot said. "There are some concerns about the future, but decisions will be made soon. We all still have a job to do. We cannot forget that there are six space shuttle flights left, an Ares I test launch on schedule and science research we perform here."
10. Sonata Named One of Most Improved Cars of Decade
Hyundai's Alabama-built Sonata sedan has been named one of the most improved cars of the decade by Cars.com.
The web site describes the sedan's 2006 redesign as "a sucker-punch to the competition - a bargain-priced entry loaded with standard features, including six airbags and stability control. It had sharp styling and competitive interior quality, both of which improved in 2009, along with power and efficiency."
Hyundai began building the redesigned 2006 Sonata at its Montgomery auto assembly plant when that facility opened in 2005.