Here is today's summary of economic development news, a free service of the Economic Development Partnership of Alabama, representing Alabama's private sector investment in economic development. If you enjoy NewsFlash, thank an
EDPA Partner .
INSIDE ALABAMA WORKFORCE TRAINING CENTER WHERE STUDENTS BUILD FOR FUTURE
SOLOMON CRENSHAW JR.
Tytiania Dukes, a senior at P.D. Jackson-Olin High School, loves to tear up and rebuild-and that makes the Alabama Workforce Training Center (AWTC) ideal for her. She learned about the center when she heard an announcement about craft training, and she worked on several projects last year.
"This year, we built two storage houses," said Dukes, who is considering both pursuing a career in building construction and attending college, perhaps to become a criminal justice investigator.
"I'm going to do it until I go to college," she said. "My backup plan is going to be construction."
Crossville company gives $500,000 toward poultry research at Auburn
A Crossville company and its family have given Auburn University a half-million dollars toward a poultry research center.
Auburn University's College of Agriculture has received $500,000 from D&F Equipment Sales Inc. and the Fortenberry family, the company founders. The money will support the Charles C. Miller Jr. Poultry Research and Education Center, located at the North Auburn campus.
Specifically, it will help build a poultry research and educational processing plant promoting animal welfare, food safety and quality.
more...
Alabama Climbs Ranks Due To Automotive And Manufacturing Investment
Thanks in part to a continued influx of manufacturing investment and its steady flourishing of its digital capabilities, Alabama continued its climb up the 2018 Chief Executive Best States and Worst States for business rankings, to No. 17 from No. 19 last year and from as low as 24 in 2015.
"Part of what's going on is that we have suffered from people remembering the old Alabama, not the new Alabama," Steve Leath, president of Auburn University in Auburn, Ala., told Chief Executive. "But we wouldn't have these companies coming are at the rate they are if it wasn't a great place to come."
Toyota and Mazda chose a site near an existing Toyota engine factory in Alabama for a new plant that will employ up to 4,000 workers at an average annual salary of $50,000. Alabama's package of incentives was worth more than $350 million. The plant is to produce $951 million in net revenue to the state after the incentives are taken into account.
more...
#100ALMiles: Initiative promotes recreational tourism, encourages fitness
A new statewide economic development initiative is encouraging Alabamians to make use of the numerous parks, nature preserves and rivers in the state, and get fit in the process.
The 100 Alabama Miles Challenge is presented by the University of Alabama Center for Economic Development (UACED) along with other partnering organizations.
The goal is for a person to complete 100 miles of activity over a year's span in Alabama's nature by walking, running, hiking, swimming, paddling, riding or rolling.
more...
Three Mobile students visiting Germany for Airbus gala
Three eighth-graders from Mobile's Palmer Pillans Middle School are winging their way to Germany thanks to their involvement in an Airbus mentoring program.
On Wednesday morning the three students -- Alexis Vander, Al'Landria Jackson and Nicole Goodwin -- got a send-off from family and supporters at Mobile Regional Airport, before beginning their journey to Munich. Once there they, along with chaperones and mentors, will join similar delegations from more than a dozen other Airbus sites around the world in a celebration of the Airbus Foundation's 10th anniversary.
According to information provided by Airbus, planned activities include "the opportunity to tour the city, network with other students, partake in a 10th Anniversary Cake celebration, and observe an Airbus airshow featuring parachute jumpers and vintage Airbus aircraft."
more...
Alabama engineering design firms rise in national list
Alabama engineering design firms are raising their national profile, with Mobile-based Hargrove Engineers + Constructors leading the way, according to new Engineering News-Record rankings.
The ENR's recently unveiled list of the top 500 engineering design firms in the country includes four from Alabama. Three are based in Mobile and two of those have inched their way upward in the Top 100.
The highest-ranked among them is Hargrove, which rose from 73 in the 2017 list to No. 70 for 2018. ENR says its rankings are "based on design-specific revenue."
more...
Brasfield & Gorrie Completes $125M Women's Hospital in Dallas
DALLAS - Alabama-based general contractor Brasfield & Gorrie has completed Medical City Women's Hospital Dallas, a $125 million healthcare project that was developed within the 801-bed Medical City Dallas Hospital.
The project added five floors and 222 private rooms to Care Tower D at the complex.
Other project features include 24 labor and delivery rooms, 84 neonatal intensive care units, 12 VIP suites and 16 medical/surgical rooms. National architecture firm Perkins + Will designed the property.
more...
