Unveiling the new red and white “Made in Alabama” logo for the state’s Commerce Department, Gov. Robert Bentley announced that the state saw $5.4 billion worth of investments in new and expanding industry in 2012, which the department estimates will bring in 21, 000 new jobs.
Headliners include newcomer Airbus, plus major expansions at Mercedes-Benz, Walter Energy, Austal USA and Hyundai.
Tuscaloosa County led the state, with $1.4 million in projects announced, followed by Mobile, $777, 766, 000; Jefferson, $611, 616, 000; Morgan, $434, 255, 000; Madison, $236, 077, 749; Lee, $198, 300, 000; Jackson, $178, 500, 000; Talladega, $151, 500, 000, and Montgomery, $131, 862, 056.
However, Mobile led the list for most new jobs announced, at 2, 586, followed by Jefferson, 2, 351; Montgomery, 2, 068; Madison, 1, 346, and Tuscaloosa, 1, 338.
Even newer are Safran Engineering, the first supplier for Airbus, which opened its doors on the same day as the Airbus groundbreaking, and Kuehne + Nagel, another Airbus supplier that announced plans for a Mobile office a few days later. And in Dothan, Commercial Jet Inc. announced a $12 million investment in maintenance, repair and overhaul operations at Dothan Regional Airport.
Text by Nedra Bloom
