1. Austal To Add 500 Jobs in Mobile
The U.S. Navy has awarded Mobile's Austal USA shipyard $204.2 million, the second installment on what the shipyard hopes will be a 10-vessel, $1.6 billion contract. The new work on two Joint High Speed Vessels will create hundreds of new jobs by this summer, according to Austal.
The Joint High Speed Vessel, an Army-Navy program, includes up to 10 shallow-draft ferries for carrying troops and equipment - including vehicles and a helicopter -- at speeds of up to 43 knots within areas of combat. Austal is the prime contractor, and has the first vessel under construction in Mobile. The new money allows Austal to buy diesel engines, waterjets and other equipment for two additional vessels.
2. Airbus Engineering Center Reaches Milestone in Mobile
Airbus’ Mobile Engineering Center has hit full employment of 150 engineers, reaching ahead of the scheduled projected when the facility opened in 2007. Airbus, a subsidiary of the European Aeronautic Defense and Space Co., said the employment figure is evidence of it commitment to Mobile and to creating American jobs. The center does interior cabin work on a series of Airbus aircraft.
3. AU Expects Big Impact from MRI Research Center
Auburn University and the Samuel Ginn College of Engineering hosted a groundbreaking ceremony for a new $21 million facility that will house Auburn University's new Magnetic Resonance Imaging, or MRI, Research Center.
"The MRI Research Center is a prime example of how state funds can be invested and state educational institutions collaborate with the private sector to develop a world-class research center to advance science and technology, improving quality of life in the global community and promoting economic development for the state of Alabama," Dean of Engineering Larry Benefield said.
Construction of the 45,000-square-foot facility began in January with a projected completion date in September. It is the second building in the research park.
4. Huntsville Firm Wins $209 Million Contract
HUNTSVILLE-- APT Research has been awarded a contract worth more than $209 million from the Missile Defense Agency and will add more than 100 jobs.
APT Research, an employee-owned business, is one of three winners for the Missile Defense Agency engineering and support services (MiDAESS) contract to provide engineering support services to the Redstone Arsenal-based MDA. APT's award is for Quality, Safety and Mission Assurance (QSMA) support.
"This has the potential to be the largest single contract in APT's history," said Meredith Hardwick, vice president of contracts and accounting.
5. New Biotechnology Center Opens in Birmingham
Surmodics Pharmaceutical and Birmingham's biotechnology industry got a booster with the opening of a new drug development and manufacturing facility in Oxmoor Valley. Gov. Bob Riley says Surmodics' new drug development center puts Birmingham on the map in the industry.
Gov. Bob Riley and other officials joined SurModics Pharmaceuticals President Art Tipton to open the new operation, which already has multimillion-dollar deals in place to produce new drug delivery formulas for Roche and Genentech, among others.
6. Athens Company To Add 60 Jobs
Within a year of beginning production in Athens in January 2009, Custom Polymers PET was planning its expansion. Construction workers at the newest of the company’s three local sites are busily adding a rail facility to aid in shipping, and company officials plan to add 60 new jobs, said spokeswoman Sharon Geiger.
And while those plans are not contingent on receiving an up to $8 million federal grant for which the company applied, Geiger said it will “speed things up.”
Congressman Parker Griffith, R-Huntsville, Athens Mayor Dan Williams and Limestone County Economic Development Association President Tom Hill visited the plant Friday in support of Custom Polymers application for the Energy Efficiency Conservation Block Grant from the U.S. Department of Energy, Geiger said.
7. Port Authority Inks Deal To Bring Heavy-lift Capability to Mobile
The Alabama State Port Authority has finalized a deal with Memphis-based Barnhart Crane & Rigging Co. that will bring a 400-ton barge-mounted crane to the port of Mobile in May, director Jimmy Lyons said.
Heavy lift capability is now limited to 110 tons, and companies such as deep-sea exploration equipment manufacturer. The crane will have the ability to move large pieces of equipment such as transformers, commercial wind turbines, and other heavy cargo.
"I think it's going to present some economic development opportunities for us, not only in Mobile, but in the rest of the state," Lyons said.
8. Mercedes Suppliers May Get Dose of Stability from C-Class
Mercedes-Benz U.S. International's landing of C-Class production in 2014 is a needed jolt to the supplier base Mercedes has established since coming to Alabama, industry experts said.
Like MBUSI, suppliers suffered as a result of the downturn in manufacturing as many of the companies they provided services for drastically reduced output. Therefore, experts say, Mercedes choosing to diversify its platform by adding a sedan could mean a more dependable source of workflow.
Bill Taylor, president of the Economic Development Partnership of Alabama, says this helps suppliers move further down the road with Mercedes. “The more products you have under one roof, the more we are going to be able to handle different cycles of business,” Taylor said. “The more product portfolio you have, the more you are able to handle the peaks and valleys of business.”
9. Production Start Growing Close at ThyssenKrupp
The start of production is growing very near at ThyssenKrupp's massive steel complex in Calvert. The first slabs for the mill are on their way from Germany and could arrive at the state docks' new Pinto Island terminal by Feb. 15, said Jimmy Lyons, director of the Alabama State Port Authority.
10. Economist: Alabama May Help Lead Economic Recovery
Alabama and other states in the Sun Belt region likely will outperform other parts of the country in the economic recovery because of their relatively stable real estate markets, an economist told Gadsden residents this week.
The stability of the Alabama and Texas economies will help lead the way to a sustainable recovery nationwide, said Chief U.S. Economist for BBVA Compass Nathaniel Karp, who said the recovery has already begun.” A lot of that has to do with housing," Karp said. "An important thing to remember about Alabama is that we didn't have the housing bubble that some states had. "Even though we're looking at a recession, the pricing adjustment in the housing market here has been much milder.” The same is true of the commercial real estate market, he said, which in some areas is even stronger than it was before the economic crisis set in 24 months ago.