FORT PAYNE – Following company ribbon cutting ceremonies here Sunday afternoon, Alabama Development Office Director Greg Canfield presented Plasman Corp LLC with a certificate and congratulated the company for a recent national recognition the company received.
Trade & Industry Development, a leading magazine dedicated to site selection, recently announced that Plasman Corp LLC is one of the winners in its 6th annual CiCi (Corporate Investment & Community Impact) Awards. The company was one of thirty selected from across the United States out of hundreds of submissions. The only stipulation for each nomination was that the project announcement had to be finalized in the previous year. Plasman was named a winner for the large community impact the company will have in the Fort Payne area.
“Not only do the CiCi Awards highlight the largest corporate investment projects, but they also recognize projects that have the most notable impacts on communities,” said Canfield. “Plasman Corp LLC was selected because of the impact the company will have on Fort Payne and the DeKalb County area. We appreciate the investment this company is making in Alabama and look forward to their growth and prosperity in the state.”
According to the magazine's editors, the hundreds of submissions were narrowed down to 30 winners for the two categories - Corporate Investment and Community Impact. Plasman, a Canadian automotive supplier, selected Fort Payne as its first U.S. manufacturing facility and plans to employ up to 150 people in the area. The company has invested $20 million into the plant to do plastic-injection molding, painting and assembly of automotive exterior parts and tool repair. The company is a Tier 1 supplier that works directly with automakers including Toyota, Honda General Motors and Chrysler.
The company said the decision to locate in Fort Payne, DeKalb County was directly related to all of the tremendous support and assistance received from the state and local county offices. “Locating in Alabama is aligned with our focus to expand our customer footprint to include customers in the south. We are pleased with our decision to locate here, and we are proud to be part of this community. We look forward to being a vital part of the economic growth of this area.”
There are a number of criteria considered for the Impact division - i.e., number of new jobs created, number of current jobs retained, unemployment figures, income level of the region and plant closings.
"Despite a slowly rebounding economy, the 2011 CiCi Awards showcase 30 impressive projects indicating positive economic growth across the country," said Scott D. Swoger, publisher of Trade & Industry Development magazine and president of Due North Consulting, Inc. "From Foreign Direct Investment to innovative, new domestic companies to blue-chip corporations recognized worldwide, we have seen significant developments throughout a broad range of industries. Each of these projects has a unique story to tell."
Winners of the 2011 CiCi Community Impact division are:
- Facebook - Forest City, North Carolina
- Wilh. Schulz GmbH - Tunica, Mississippi
- Macy's Inc. - Martinsburg, West Virginia
- Caterpillar Inc. - Victoria, Texas
- INEOS New Planet BioEnergy - Indian River Co., Florida
- Harley-Davidson Motor Co. - York, Pennsylvania
- IMO Group - Summerville, South Carolina
- Mamtek International, Inc. - Moberly, Missouri
- Allstate Insurance Company - Pocatello, Idaho
- Plasman Corp LLC - Fort Payne, Alabama
- Blade Dynamics - New Orleans, Louisiana
- Diplomat Specialty Pharmacy - Flint, Michigan
- Magna Composites LLC - Rowan, Caldwell, and Catawba Counties, North Carolinia
- DG Foods - Bastrop, Louisiana
- Clearwire LLC - Milton, Florida
Winners of the 2011 CiCi Corporate Investment division are:
- Samsung Austin Semiconductor - Austin, Texas
- Nucor Corp. - St. James Parish, Louisiana
- Nissan Motor Co. - Smyrna, Tennessee
- General Motors - Tonawanda, New York
- fortu PowerCell - Muskegon Co., Michigan
- Gulfstream Aerospace - Savannah, Georgia
- KiOR - Columbus/Newton, Mississippi
- General Motors - Spring Hill, Tennessee
- Caterpillar Inc. - Winston-Salem, North Carolina
- ATK Aerospace Systems - Clearfield, Utah
- ZF Group NAO - Laurens, South Carolina
- Adobe - Lehi, Utah
- GLOBALFOUNDRIES U.S. Inc. - Malta, New York
- Abound Solar - Tipton, Indiana
- Dow Chemical Co. - Midland, Michigan
The 30 recipients of the 2011 CiCi Awards helped create 19,116 new jobs, retain 9,420 jobs, and represent investments in excess of $15.4 billion.