1. EADS Opens Aircraft Maintenance Center in Mobile
EADS North America formally opened a $6 million aircraft maintenance center earlier this month at Mobile Regional Airport.
The 30,000-square-foot facility is designed to maintain and repair EADS CASA aircraft in use by government customers in the U.S., Canada and Mexico. It is located adjacent to an EADS CASA North America office that has provided aviation training and spare parts for the U.S. Coast Guard since 2005.
2. MFG Galileo To Bring 50 New Jobs To Opp
A 40,000 square-foot spec building at the Opp south industrial park is a “beehive” of activity. Workers are preparing for MFG Galileo Composites Corporation. It will initially hire around 50 area residents. The Reno, Nevada, company manufactures custom-designed radomes for civilian and military use.
City officials say company representatives feel Opp is a great fit. Opp City Planner Don Childre said, "This company will move into the building, bring good paying jobs and hopefully new ones as well"
3. Montgomery Plant Makes 20,000 Hyundais in September Alone
Hyundai Motor Manufacturing Alabama made more than 20,000 vehicles in September, the first time the plant produced that many in a month in almost a year. The plant rolled out 11,622 Santa Fes and 9,115 Sonatas for a total production of 20,737.
The plant operated 21 days last month for an average daily production of more than 987 vehicles daily. Hyundai last produced more than 20,000 vehicles in a month in October 2008.
4. Unmanned Space Exploration Finds Home in Decatur
“Decatur residents send astronauts to space station.” Crazy stuff? A whole lot less crazy now that United Launch Alliance has added the Atlas V to its rocket-production arsenal.
The consolidation means that all the major U.S. satellite-launch vehicles are made in Decatur. It is fair to say that unmanned space exploration has its home in Decatur. For a city that thinks of itself as a blue-collar, meat-and-potatoes place, that is an amazing foray into the high-technology universe. The move will also bring 150 jobs to the city.
Looking into the near future, Decatur’s role in space exploration could become even more significant. NASA’s Ares V is under attack, and almost every attacker proposes a modified Delta IV or Atlas V as a cheaper, more reliable alternative. The idea is that the Decatur-made rockets could deliver components of a future lunar mission into orbit in multiple launches, with assembly and fueling taking place in orbit.
5. Atmore-based Alto Plans $3 million, 10-job Expansion
Alto Products Corp. an Atmore-based manufacturer of automotive clutch plates and automatic transmission parts, plans a $3 million expansion that promises to create 10 jobs, according to Atmore Mayor Howard Shell.
6. Foley Goodrich Plant Grows From 37 to 800 Workers
FOLEY -- The growth of the Goodrich Foley plant from 37 to 800 employees is not only an economic success story, but shows that Alabama can be a leader in the aircraft manufacturing industry, company and state officials said today. The plant, which makes and repairs aircraft engine housings, marked its 25 anniversary with a celebration that included local, state and federal dignitaries.
At a time when federal officials are trying to decide if the next generation of Air Force tankers will be built by Northrop Grumman and EADS in Mobile or Boeing, the Foley plant shows that an Alabama aircraft facility can produce quality material, said Linda Swann, deputy director of the Alabama Development Office.
"This shows the state of Alabama is the place to do aerospace business," Swann said. The plant's economic impact on the area is $60 million a year, said Robert Ingram, director of the Baldwin County Economic Development Alliance. He said the facility is the largest plant in Alabama and in the top 1 percent of plants in the state.
7. Fortune Small Business names Huntsville Number One
Fortune Small Business has named Huntsville the No.1 medium-sized city to grow a business in the "Best Places to Launch" feature appearing in the magazine's November issue.
Orion Propulsion and its president, Tim Pickens, is featured in the article, with Pickens discussing the growth of his company that specializes in rocket-engine testing and manufacturing. "I couldn't ask for a better community for doing what I want to do, and that's developing a space company," Pickens said in the article.
Another Huntsville company profiled in the article is Q-Track, a startup that has "graduated" from the Huntsville business incubator BizTech.
The "Best Places to Launch" feature is based on the findings of a study by the Kauffman Foundation and the magazine showing which small, medium and large U.S. cities scored the highest based on per capita income, hourly wages, workforce quality, crimes rates, taxes and foreclosures. The study is available on the CNNMoney.com Web site.
8. Scotch, Gulf Announce Merger That Could Put 100 Back to Work
A merger between Gulf Lumber Co. of Mobile and Scotch Lumber Co. of Fulton could put 100 people back to work at a Fulton sawmill early next year. The two firms said today that they have reached a deal to create Scotch & Gulf Lumber LLC.
9. Westwind Opens New Aircraft Modification Facility in Huntsville
Warfighters deployed around the globe, and the men and women with their hands on the controls and their lives on the line, are who retired Air Force Col. Leo Thorsness wants everyone to remember when they visit or come to work in WestWind Technologies' new building.
"There's a few of us that were on the tip of the spear, but it takes the whole team to make it work," he said before hundreds of WestWind employees and guests gathered for a ribbon-cutting ceremony."And you people are a big chunk of that," Thorsness said. "Our freedom is stronger because of people like you."
It was a sentiment shared by retired Army CW4 and pilot Mike Durant."The soldiers, as great as they are, cannot do it on their own," he said. "They rely heavily on the things that we do here as a community."
Both men now live in the Huntsville area, and it was an honor to have them help officially open the company's 63,000-square-foot Aircraft Modification & Integration Center, said Roger Messick, WestWind's chief operating officer.
10. Dupre Logistics To Hire 13 in Birmingham
Dupre Logistics LLC, headquartered in Lafayette, La., said it is expanding its distribution services group into the Birmingham market, adding a terminal with four trucks and 13 employees. It expects to double the terminal's resources by the end of 2010.