1. Hyundai Plans $173 Million Expansion in Montgomery
Hyundai Motor Manufacturing of Alabama has announced plans for a $173 million expansion that will create 214 jobs at its Montgomery plant. The project will expand and modify an existing engine plant. The expansion will allow the facility to produce the 1.8 liter Nu engine, which is used in the Elantra, a small sedan that is also made in Montgomery.
The expansion also allows the company to start production of the Theta engine for the company’s Kia plant in Georgia. The Theta engine is used in the Sonata, Santa Fe and Sorrento.
“This investment is another example of HMMA’s strong commitment to the people of Montgomery and the people of Alabama,” said Young Deuk Lim, president and CEO of the company. “Hyundai strives to make its products close to its assembly plants. The enhancements to the engine plant increase our capacity and the ability to implement new technologies.”The expansion is scheduled to be complete in March 2012. The new plant is expected to produce 300,000 units per year.
2. Lakeside Steel To Add 80 Jobs in Thomasville
Lakeside Steel has announced a third phase of its project in Thomasville, bumping employment to 280 and total investment to $57.5 million. The Canadian firm makes pipe for oil and gas drillers. Last year, Lakeside announced a $40 million, 120-job pipe mill south of downtown Thomasville.
Then, in March, the Welland, Ontario, firm said it would build a $7.5 million, 80-job facility to harden pipe and shape and machine its ends. That plant will be located at a former Linden Lumber Co. mill north of town. Now, the firm says it will spend another $10 million to add similar hardening and end-finishing capacity for pipe casing.
Chief Executive Officer Ron Bedard said that expanding its pipe finishing capacity, instead of relying on third parties for processing, would be attractive to customers and increase profits. "The new end-finishing and heat treatment facilities, when online, will provide increased security of supply to our customer base and will significantly enhance the company's margin," Bedard said in a statement. Lakeside said it would sell up to 23 million Canadian dollars ($24 million) in stock, in part to pay for the newest expansion.
3. Raytheon Chief Says New Missile Plant Sign of Commitment to Area
HUNTSVILLE -- Raytheon, which has nearly 600 employees in the Huntsville area, is expecting to add more than 200 to its work force as its new missile plant on Redstone Arsenal begins production next summer, said Kevin Byrnes, Huntsville site executive for the company.
A groundbreaking ceremony will be held in a few weeks for the facility, which will handle final assembly and testing of Standard Missile 3 and SM-6 missiles. Byrnes said the plant can also be seen as a $70 million symbol of Raytheon's ongoing commitment to Huntsville. He pointed out Raytheon's LEED-certified Warfighter Protection Center building in Cummings Research Park is itself only five years old.
4. Honda Ready To Ramp Up Its Output
Workers at Honda's Alabama auto factory in Lincoln are more than ready to return to full production, their new chief said. Tom Shoupe, who took the reins of the 4,000-worker plant this spring, said it is expected to return to full production in August.
The plant, along with other Honda facilities in North America, drastically slowed output following the March 11 earthquake in Japan. The disaster damaged suppliers and created a parts shortage. "We're more than ready to get back to our core business," said Shoupe.
At the same time, Honda has announced nearly $200 million in new investments in Lincoln to prepare for the upcoming addition of the Acura MDX SUV to its assembly lines.
The work, which was planned before the earthquake and production slowdown, also will enhance production of the plant's current lineup, which includes the Odyssey minivan, Pilot SUV and Ridgeline pickup.
"We've never stopped investing in our Lincoln plant because it is critical for us to keep it on the cutting edge of quality, efficiency and sustainability," Shoupe said.
5. ADO Selected as World Bank Private Sector Liaison Officer
The Alabama Development Office's International Trade Division has been selected by the World Bank to act as the state's Private Sector Liaison Officer (PSLO), which will help the state's business community gain access to World Bank contract opportunities, be a resource for the private sector, and increase awareness of private sector-led growth in developing countries.
Governor Robert Bentley said, "My mission is to create jobs for Alabamians and the Alabama Development Office is charged with helping to fulfill that mission. With more than half of U.S. exports going to developing countries, it is great news that Alabama's World Bank liaison will make companies aware of World Bank funding and procurement opportunities."
The ADO joins a prestigious group of just four other organizations in the United States with this endorsement, including the Chicago Global Mid-West Alliance, the Greater Houston Partnership the Trade Development Alliance of Greater Seattle, and the World Trade Center Institute in Baltimore.
This announcement comes as exciting news for the state and its companies which are interested in accessing World Bank procurement opportunities in developing countries. Since the Illinois PSLO opened, the number of World Bank contract awards for Illinois firms more than doubled, and the Midwest region saw an increase of more than a third in contracts, worth millions of dollars.
"This is an exciting opportunity to partner with the World Bank Group. We have been aggressively pursing international markets for Alabama businesses and with this accreditation we have an exceptional opportunity to increase export activities and sales in developing countries," stated Seth Hammett, director of the ADO.
6. Norfolk Breaks Ground on McCalla Intermodal Facility
Norfolk Southern officially broke ground recently on development of the $97.5 million Birmingham Regional Intermodal Facility in McCalla. As a part of the railroad company’s Crescent Corridor, the Birmingham Regional Intermodal facility will be the first stop out of the port of New Orleans and link Birmingham in a transportation system reaching from the Gulf Coast to New Jersey.
“The Birmingham Regional Intermodal Facility will bring significant economic growth to McCalla and thousands of jobs to Alabamians,” said Alabama Gov. Robert Bentley at the ceremony.
7. Alabama Welcomes Company’s Decision To Restart Splenda Plant
MONTGOMERY -- Alabama Governor Robert Bentley welcomed the news recently that the company Tate & Lyle has made the decision to restart their McIntosh facility. This decision will mean approximately 100 excellent jobs in Washington County.
“The Tate & Lyle decision not only reflects confidence in their markets for Splenda® but also the positive business environment in the state,” said Governor Bentley. “We are working closely with the company to make sure their restart goes smoothly from an operational perspective, and we are also working with them on how existing and proposed state programs can further support their decision.”
Alabama Development Office Director Seth Hammett welcomed the company back to Alabama and said the state appreciates the jobs provided for residents of the south Alabama area. The plant will reopen within the next year.
8. CSX Certifies Baldwin County Megasite
BAY MINETTE — After three years of analysis and documentation, CSX Transportation approved a 3,000-acre tract in north Baldwin as an industrial megasite, clearing the way for an aggressive marketing campaign to automakers. The notice enables Baldwin County to purchase the land and start building roads and utility accesses, officials said. Cost of the land was not available.
Consultants sent official notice that the certification had been completed with special focus on landing a car manufacturer as a tenant. The property would also be suitable for “other large megasite opportunities,” the letter states.
9. Vector is Andalusia Airport’s “Star”
The “star of the South Alabama Regional Airport” – Vector Aerospace – held a groundbreaking ceremony recently for a new facility that will bring an estimated 125 jobs to Covington County.
Gov. Robert Bentley and ADO Director Seth Hammett, along with Andalusia Mayor Earl Johnson, Opp Mayor H.D. Edgar and County Commission Chairman Lynn Sasser, were among the dignitaries attending the day’s event.
Vector, a Canadian-based helicopter repair company, currently employs 150 people. The new expansion will allow the company to nearly double the number of employees and the amount of workspace at the SARA.
It took a group effort with the cities of Andalusia, Opp, their industrial development boards, the airport authority, the county commission and the newly developed county industrial development board to secure bond money to fund the $3 million project.
10. Governor Bentley Breaks Ground for Latest HudsonAlpha Project
HUNTSVILLE -- The way Huntsville Mayor Tommy Battle figures it, the state's $10 million investment into Cummings Research Park could have a ripple effect. Gov. Robert Bentley has vowed not to receive a paycheck until the state unemployment rate, currently at 9.3 percent, drops to 5 percent. Using state dollars to fund an 88,000-square-foot building on HudsonAlpha Institute for Biotechnology campus, however, is expected to generate jobs.
"We're doing everything we can to get you a paycheck," Battle said as Bentley attended the groundbreaking for a third building at the research park's 150-acre biotechnology campus.
Bentley said the state has committed $10 million to the building, which will cover the cost of the facility before up to 10 tenants occupy it. The tenants will then finance any needed upgrades.Because undetermined companies will occupy the building, HudsonAlpha officials said there is no immediate estimate on the number of jobs it may create.
The new building, for which ground has long been broken and is scheduled to be completed later this year, will be on the north side of the 270,000-square-foot HudsonAlpha building. It will also be the first in what co-founder Jim Hudson said he hopes will be "many buildings" along the McMillian Park, which features sidewalks crisscrossing to form a double helix, as in a DNA strand.
The groundbreaking brought out a bevy of local and state politicians as well as HudsonAlpha employees. "To think you do bench research and you can take those ideas and develop a model through which you can then develop a product and that product be made into a sellable product and it benefit the people not only of this state but this entire nation and be done right here in this area, that's what we need to be thinking about," Bentley said.
Hudson praised Bentley as being a supporter of HudsonAlpha when he was a legislator and continuing that support now that he is the state's chief executive.
The groundbreaking is the latest milestone in the seemingly overnight growth of the HudsonAlpha. The cornerstone facility in the biotechnology campus began construction in 2006, spurred by a $50 million donation by the state, and the formal opening was in 2008.
Since then, the Jackson Center across Genome Way from the HudsonAlpha building has been opened and now the third building is under construction."It's a proud moment for Lonnie and me," Hudson said, referring to co-founder Lonnie McMillian. "It wasn't that long ago that we had this dream but it has grown and grown - beyond our expectations. It's wonderful."