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


 

In this issue:
Baxter announces $300M expansion at Opelika plant
Alabama makes list of top places for personal income growth
Forecasters see rising Alabama economy
U.S. Rep. Bradley Byrne: National Aviation Day tour highlights need for skilled trades investment
Brasfield & Gorrie teaming with CEFA to address construction labor shortage
Roberto Clemente Jr. to deliver keynote at Hispanic Business Council event
Movie to be shot in Opelika starting in September
Alabama Launchpad Innovation and Entrepreneurship Conference to Offer "One-on-One" Mentoring
North Alabama job losses affected state unemployment numbers
New York native Peter Yanul named VP of finance and strategy at HudsonAlpha in Huntsville
ECHS to host IMT program
Education leaders share importance of science

  


 

Baxter announces $300M expansion at Opelika plant
By WSFA 12 News Staff 
Updated Aug. 20, 2014
  
OPELIKA, AL (WSFA) -Baxter International, Inc. joined with Alabama Governor Robert Bentley and Opelika officials Wednesday to announce a multi-million dollar expansion plan for its state-of-the-art manufacturing facility, which will provide an economic boost to the Opelika area.

Company officials said during a news conference that the expansion will help address the growing global demand for dialyzers, a critical component used in hemodialysis therapy.

 

Baxter International is set to invest nearly $300 million in the Opelika site, adding 230,000 square feet and several production lines. The company currently employs around 170 people and anticipates hiring an additional 200 workers in 2016. The new employees will support the expansion and work with new productions lines, which are also slated to begin that year.


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Alabama makes list of top places for personal income growth

Alabama was selected as one of the best places for personal income growth, according to a report from our sister-publication Columbus Business First.

 

Alabama ranked No.11 on the list, which was compiled with data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. The state achieved this ranking with a percentage growth of 1.17 percent from the last financial quarter of 2013 to the first quarter of 2014.

 

Vermont and Washington topped the list with a tie, showing growth of 1.42 percent from the last quarter of 2013.

 

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[Birmingham Business Journal]

 

 

 

 


 


 
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

  


 

Forecasters see rising Alabama economy

Staff report

August 19, 2014

Alabama's economy appeared relatively weak at mid-year, but there are indications it will gradually improve during the rest of the year, according to the latest quarterly update of the state's 2014 economic forecast.

 

The forecast by the University of Alabama's Center of Business and Economic Research said slow economic growth dampened the state economy since CBER's 2014 economic forecast was released in January. But it also noted that heading into the last half of the year, business executives it surveyed are more optimistic.

 

CBER economists are now forecasting GDP growth of 1.5 percent for 2014 - better than the 0.8 percent increase seen in 2013. Output gains could be higher for the state's automotive and automotive parts manufacturers and for the primary and fabricated metals industries. Professional and business services firms and the health care and social assistance sector are also expected to expand at a faster pace.


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[Tuscaloosa News]

 

 


 


 
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

  


U.S. Rep. Bradley Byrne: National Aviation Day tour highlights need for skilled trades investment

on August 19, 2014 

MOBILE, Alabama - Substantial investments in Mobile's two-year technical training facilities should be given priority if the region - and state - intends to capitalize on the strengthening aviation sector, U.S. Rep. Bradley Byrne said Tuesday.

 

Byrne spoke specifically of the immediate need to expand Enterprise State Community College's Alabama Aviation Center on the Mobile Aeroplex at Brookley campus as well as the need to "come together as a community" to help Bishop State Community College fund the creation of an advanced manufacturing training center on its southwest campus.

 

Both projects, neither of which is currently funded, would help both existing and prospective employers cultivate a quality, homegrown workforce, Byrne said.

 

 "Our training programs are unmatched, but we have to continue supporting and expanding them, so that we're able to continue telling industry anywhere in the world, we have the advanced, trained employees you need right here," he said.

 

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[al.com]

 

 

 


 


 
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

  


 

 

Brasfield & Gorrie teaming with CEFA to address construction labor shortage
Bryan Davis Reporter-Birmingham Business Journal
August 19, 2014

One of the main things weighing the construction industry down has been the growing labor shortage since the Great Recession.

 

Alabama has lost thousands of construction jobs, and contractors have repeatedly told me that one of the reasons was an exodus of skilled workers from the industry during the financial crisis.

 

The industry has launched several initiatives aimed at reversing the trend, including one upcoming event by Brasfield & Gorrie and the Construction Education Foundation of Alabama to raise awareness of construction careers and training programs. The two will host an open house on August 22 from 10:30 a.m. until 1 p.m. at CEFA's headquarters at 6700 Oporto-Madrid Boulevard.

 

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[Birmingham Business Journal]

 

 

 


 


 
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

  


 


Roberto Clemente Jr. to deliver keynote at Hispanic Business Council event
Bryan Davis Reporter-Birmingham Business Journal
Aug. 20, 2014

Former Major League Baseball player and sportscaster Roberto Clemente Jr. will be the keynote speaker at the Birmingham Business Alliance's Hispanic Business Council's annual luncheon on September 12.

 

The BBA will host the event at the Birmingham Jefferson Convention Complex in the East Ballroom.

 

Clemente is the son of MLB Hall of Fame player Roberto Clemente. The native of Puerto Rico played professional ball from 1984 until 1989 for the Philadelphia Phillies, San Diego Padres and Baltimore Orioles.

 

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Movie to be shot in Opelika starting in September

Drew Taylor | Opelika-Auburn News | 

August 19, 2014

 

Opelika will soon be the setting of a film that will begin shooting next month.


 From Sept. 15-Oct. 10, the production company White Water Productions will shoot "White Water," a film based on a children's book co-written by Michael Bandy, an author originally from Opelika, and Eric Stein. The book, which was published in 2011 by Candlewick Press, is about a black child growing up in the early 1960s in Opelika during segregation.


 According to movie website IMDB.com, the plot is described as follows: "White Water is the story of a 9 year-old black kid in segregated 1963 Opelika, Alabama who becomes obsessed with the desire to taste the water from the "white's only" drinking fountain and sets out on a quest to do the unthinkable: drink from it."

 

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[Opelika-Auburn News]

 

 


 


 
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

  


 

Alabama Launchpad Innovation and Entrepreneurship Conference to Offer "One-on-One" Mentoring 


 

Don't miss the opportunity to have mentoring sessions with some of Alabama's top entrepreneurs, top CEOs, researchers, university presidents and industry executives at the 4th Annual Alabama Launchpad Innovation and Entrepreneurship Conference in Birmingham.


 

On Friday, Sept. 26, you'll have a chance to meet with the mentors for 15- minute sessions to interact with these leaders. This is a great opportunity to meet and gain valuable advice and knowledge.
 

Meet some of our mentors:


 

Sister Schubert Barnes

Jeff Morgan

Steve Hill

Dr. Ashok Singhal

G.T. LaBorde

Jennifer Skjellum

Dr. Dean Sicking

Brunson White

Ralph Hargrove

Michael Chambers


 Click here to see all of our mentors

  

Where else can you get access to all of this expertise and knowledge in one place?

 

 

To schedule a meeting, you must register for the conference through Eventbrite and download the conference app
 Based on mutual areas of interest, you can schedule One-on-One meetings with any of the mentors.

 


 

See full conference agenda
 

Don't delay. Register now! 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

  


 

North Alabama job losses affected state unemployment numbers
By Jack Madison
Aug.19, 2014
  
MORGAN COUNTY, AL (WAFF) -The unemployment rate for almost every state in the U.S. went down from July of 2013 to July of this year. 

The lone exception is Alabama. The state's unemployment rate went from 6.5 to 7 percent over the past year, while the nation's rate dropped from 7.3 to 6.2 percent.

 

It's a trickle down effect, according to the CEO of the Morgan County Economic Development Association, Jeremy Nails. When jobs here and in surrounding counties are fewer, he said, it affects all of North Alabama.

 

Lawrence County took a huge hit by the unexpected closing of International Paper. But Morgan County lost a lot of jobs too. Around 250 IP workers were Morgan County residents. 

Morgan County's unemployment rate rose by 20 percent from July of last year to July of this year. Jeremy Nails said businesses that closed in Colbert County affected Morgan County's unemployment rate too. 

 

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[WAFF]

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

  


New York native Peter Yanul named VP of finance and strategy at HudsonAlpha in Huntsville

on August 20, 2014

HUNTSVILLE, Alabama - A native New Yorker who has spent the past 10 years working in the biotech and medical device industries has found his home at HudsonAlpha Institute for Biotechnology in Huntsville.

 

HudsonAlpha has named Peter Yanul its new vice president for finance and strategy.

 

Yanul, who joined the Institute on Monday, has worked for more than 25 years in financial management and previously held financial leadership roles at Nektar Therapeutics and Open Biosystems/Thermo Fisher Scientific.

 

more...

[al.com]

 


 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

  


 

ECHS to host IMT program

By Phil Johnson

August 20, 2014 

 

Escambia County School Superintendent John Knott has announced the creation of an Industrial Maintenance Technology program at Escambia County High School (ECHS) in conjunction with Jefferson Davis Community College (JDCC) beginning this fall.

 

"The state had funds available for the development of career tech dual enrollment programs," Knott said. "We had already established an industrial technology program at the Escambia Career Readiness Center [ECRC] so we made application to fund a similar program in Atmore and received a grant to do so."

 

This new program is in addition to the culinary arts program already scheduled to begin at ECHS.

According to ECRC principal David Lanier, the program will prepare students to work in the fast growing field of industrial robotic manufacturing by offering students hands-on opportunities working with programmable logic controllers, the heart of many manufacturing processes today. Students will also study electricity, motor controls and process controls.

 

According to a JDCC course material, "Graduates will be eligible to work in a variety of businesses and industries, including heavy industry chemical operations, automotive companies and companies dealing with steel production, steel pipe manufacturing, airplane assembly and maintenance and shipbuilding."

 

 

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[Atmore News]

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Education leaders share importance of science

By AMY GUCKEEN TOLSON Staff writer

Aug. 20, 2014

 

A more concentrated focus on STEM education - science, technology, engineering and math - will not only benefit the future of students in the classroom today, but the future of the state of Alabama as a whole.


 

That was the message Mary Scott Hunter, Alabama Board of Education representative for District 8, and Dr. Casey Wardynski, Huntsville city schools superintendent, had for the educators gathered at the Von Braun Center last week for the STEM Education Forum at the Space & Missile Defense Symposium. The three-day event included remarks from Hunter and Wardynski, sessions on Project Lead the Way, a national K-12 STEM curriculum, a panel discussion on developing a cyber workforce and STEM Expo.


 

"When employers come here and locate here that do these kinds of advanced manufacturing, or STEM career field type jobs, we need to be supplying the Alabama workers, because it begs the question, if the employees aren't here, why come here at all?" Hunter said. "The number one thing that they need is not tax incentives and tax packages and financial packages, and all these other things, but people they can hire."

 

more...

[Redstone Rocket]

 

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