1. Times Names Alabama-Managed Ares Rocket Best Invention of 2009
The Ares I rocket managed at Marshall Space Flight Center has been named the Best Invention of 2009 by Time magazine.
The splash in the national magazine comes just over two weeks after a successful launch of the Ares I-X, a test rocket that showed what NASA has done right, and wrong, with the new rocket design. It also follows a slew of criticism for Ares I, which has been recommended for the scrap heap by the Augustine Commission studying the future of manned spaceflight.
Time's editors admit the program has development teeth-cutting to experience, but cited the tradition of NASA developing technology, pointing out the Ares program is the legacy of Dr. Wernher von Braun's U.S. Army and Marshall rocket team.
"Well, I was shocked and amazed when I saw the story, but it shows the work our team has done over the past four years," said Teresa Vanhooser, acting manager of Ares projects at Marshall. "I'm just proud for the entire team. It's certainly great news after our success with Ares I-X."
2. Alabama Gets 3,600 Supplier Jobs Due to Kia
MONTGOMERY – Alabama is reaping rewards from Kia’s decision to build its first U.S. assembly plant just a few miles across the state line in Georgia.
The Alabama Development Office reports Kia is responsible for more than 3,600 new jobs at automotive supplier plants located in Alabama. Those workers are employed at 34 different plants in Alabama, including 12 new suppliers that located in the state since Kia announced its decision in March 2006. Twenty-five of those 34 plants supply both Alabama’s Hyundai plant and the Kia plant in Georgia.
“Alabama has done very well with Kia and I want to thank all the local communities for their aggressive industry recruitment efforts,” said Governor Bob Riley. “When Kia announced its decision, we said nothing but good would come out of it for Alabama. With more than 3,600 new job announcements, 12 new suppliers, 22 existing supplier expansions and $704 million invested in our economy, we can now point to real benefits for Alabama workers.”
Those job figures do not include a sizeable number of Alabamians who are expected to work at the Kia plant and at suppliers located in Georgia, said Neal Wade, Director of the Alabama Development Office. “We don’t know the exact numbers yet, but we expect 20-25 percent of Kia’s workforce will come from Alabama,” said Wade. “Once we were told Alabama was not being considered for this plant and Georgia was, we became one of Georgia’s biggest cheerleaders because we knew our proximity would result in new jobs here in Alabama.” The Kia plant in Georgia began production this month.
3. French Injection Molder Expanding into Alabama
LIVONIA, MICH. - French injection molder AdduXi SAS is expanding into North America with an office in the Detroit suburb of Livonia and plans for a molding facility in Alabama within two years.
For more of the story: http://www.plasticsnews.com/headlines2.html?id=17128&channel=82
4. Austal Unveils $200 Million Manufacturing Facility
Joe Rella, Austal USA's president and chief operating officer, ticked off a few facts about the first phase of the shipbuilder's new $200 million manufacturing facility during a formal ribbon cutting Monday morning:
- At 1,000 feet long and 350 feet wide, six football fields can fit inside it.
- Tilted on its end, the facility would be the 12th tallest building in the United States, more than 250 feet taller than the RSA Tower.
- The building contains more than 7,000 tons of steel.
5. Mohawk Industries To Expand in Roanoke
Mohawk Industries, a flooring supplier for residential and commercial buildings, announced plans to expand production at its Roanoke carpet-backing facility. The company said the expansion at the Roanoke plant will initially add 35 more employees to the approximately 400 it already has. More positions are anticipated in the future.
“ We are committed to delivering quality products to our customers,” Jamie Welborn, Mohawk's vice president of residential manufacturing, said in the release. “ The people at Roanoke share that commitment. The expansion will also increase manufacturing efficiencies at the location, which will help to contain costs.”
One of the major changes at the facility will be the addition and conversion of extrusion technology, which melts plastic to produce the synthetic material used to manufacture the carpet backing, the release said. These changes allow the facility to generate a higher yield, produce better-quality backing and reduce the physical labor involved in the manufacturing process.
Those interested in employment can apply online at www.mohawkjobs.com or at the local Alabama Career Center.
6. Alabama Ranks Seventh in Nation for Business Climate
Alabama ranked seventh in the nation for its business climate by a national economic development publication. Site Selection magazine ranked Alabama behind five other Southeastern states in its 2009 Top State Business Climate Rankings, which polls executives and looks at new and expanding business. Beating out Alabama were, respectively, North Carolina (No. 1 for the eighth time in nine years), Texas, Virginia, Ohio, Tennessee and South Carolina.
Alabama also ranked seventh in the nation in the magazine’s Executive Survey Business Climate Rankings, behind Texas, North Carolina, Georgia, South Carolina, Tennessee and Virginia. Corporate real estate executives were polled for this portion of the survey and account for half of the overall business climate rankings. The magazine credits North Carolina’s eight-time top ranking to its continued connection between higher education, research and development and business.
7. Unhurt by Economy, Shoals Company To Expand
G&G Steel, a home-grown steel manufacturer and fabricator, is expanding its operations in Russellville and Iuka, Miss., despite a flagging economy.
The operation, which started during recession-plagued 1975, is building two more work bays that will, in the first couple of years, add 15 to 25 workers to the 240 employees. The additional workers will include fitters, welders, painters and machine operators, according to Bret Gist, vice president of G&G Steel.
In 2007, the steel maker leased out its fabricator facility in Cordova that is adjacent to the Black Warrior River. In October, it opened a facility in Iuka adjacent to the Tennessee River.” We needed water access and a larger fabricator to continue the volume we've been doing since we acquired Warrior," Gist said.
8. Mercedes Returns to Five-Day Work Week in Alabama
Mercedes-Benz is returning to five-day work weeks at its Alabama factory in Vance, following a request for additional vehicles, the company said tonight. A limited amount of overtime also is expected. The plant, which employs about 3,000 people, has operated on four-day work weeks for most of the year, one of a series of cost-cutting measures to deal with a global sales slump in the automotive industry. Officials offered few details on the request for additional vehicles, except that it involves a combination of markets, including those that are overseas. The plant produces the M-Class sport utility, GL-Class full-sized sport utility and R-Class crossover. The five-day work week will start Nov. 30 and continue through February. The overtime is expected in December.
9. Forbes Gives Mobile High Marks For Economic Strategy
POINT CLEAR -- A noted Forbes Magazine columnist and scholar of urban development told a group of local business leaders Wednesday that Mobile and surrounding communities are on the right track by building infrastructure and recruiting new manufacturing businesses.
"I've been very impressed with what you've been doing here, investing in your ports and infrastructure, and working to bring in more manufacturing jobs," Joel Kotkin, a professor at Chapman University in Orange, Calif., told the crowd at Envision Coastal Alabama's annual meeting at the Grand Hotel Marriott Resort. "Many places in the U.S. have forgotten the basics," Kotkin said, and they're paying for it in the current financial crisis.
10. Indian Tech Firm Plans Headquarters in Birmingham
Indian software company Congruent Solutions Inc. plans to establish a regional headquarters in Birmingham, an executive with the company says. San Asuti, a Congruent executive vice president, plans to begin interviewing candidates for positions for a Birmingham office today.
Congruent creates software tailored for pension and retirement plan administration. "I just think it's going to be a no-brainer for us to settle down and do business here," Asuti said.
The company's Birmingham office will start with a handful of employees and handle administration of 401(k) and pension plans as well as develop and implement technology for the administration of those plans.
Asuti said the consolidation in banking and finance Birmingham has experienced in recent years, along with a budding technology industry, make it an ideal place for a regional headquarters. "We were attracted by the capability of people here," Asuti said.