ELKMONT -

An Elkmont industry is expanding and has plans to grow their employee base by more than 125 jobs.

EFI Automotive Inc. (Electricfil Corporation) plans to construct the North American Corporate office in Elkmont beginning this summer.

The project is scheduled to cost $2,668,000.

EFI began in Elkmont in 2004 with a commitment to grow up to 84 jobs. The company expanded in 2012 with another commitment of 120 jobs.

Terry Waters, executive director of economic and workforce development for the Alabama Department of Postsecondary Education, said taxpayers can contribute as much as $10 million annually under the new tax credit program.

"In my opinion, this is the beginning," said Rep. Bill Poole, R-Tuscaloosa.

Poole was among legislators and officials with Shelton State Community College, the Department of Postsecondary Education, and Mercedes-Benz U.S. International who discussed the dual enrollment program Monday, using a lab filled with mills and other precision machining equipment at Shelton as a background.

HUNTSVILLE, Alabama - Rocket propulsion company Aerojet Rocketdyne and aerospace and defense engineering services company Dynetics are teaming up to collaborate on new aerospace technologies and systems in Huntsville

"The goal is to do more design, development, testing and manufacturing in Huntsville," Dynetics Director of Development Steve Cook said Monday. "Combining high performance and affordability is critical to future booster and space propulsion systems. We believe this partnership with Aerojet Rocketdyne allows us to collectively bring the best people and technologies of the 'Rocket City' to our NASA, Department of Defense and commercial customers."

That could include working together on one of the big rocket challenges facing America today: designing and building a replacement for the Russian RD-180 engines that now propel United Launch Alliance's defense satellite-launching Atlas V rocket. The supply of those engines is being threatened by tensions between the U.S. and Russia.

By Patrick Rupinski

40 acres in the Tuscaloosa Airport Industrial Park to a German automotive parts manufacturer that plans to build a plant on the site that will employ about 350 people by 2018.

Bolta Werke GbmH, which is based near Nuremberg, Germany, announced plans to build its first American plant in Tuscaloosa in September 2013.

Thursday's action was one of the final steps before construction begins this summer, said Johannes Carl, the future managing director of the plant, which will be called Bolta US Inc.