Calhoun County
Anniston Army Depot is a maintenance complex recognized for heavy combat vehicle, artillery, small arms weapons and locomotive expertise. It is the center of industrial and technical excellence for ground combat vehicles, assault bridging, small arms, towed and self-propelled artillery systems, locomotives, rail equipment and non-tactical generators.
The depot supports the world’s largest and most technologically advanced land combat vehicle in the Department of War inventory — the M1 Abrams tank. It is also the depot source of repair for the Army’s newest combat vehicles — the Stryker, and the Armored Multi-purpose Vehicle (AMPV) systems.
Throughout the last decade, the depot has built a reputation for pursuing partnerships with local, regional and global public and private entities to serve defense missions.
Major tenant organizations include the Anniston Munitions Center, which receives, stores, and ships conventional munitions and missiles for all branches of the U.S. military; and Defense Logistics Agency Distribution, which is a forward distribution point responsible for receiving, storing and shipping defense material, including products produced by the depot.
Anniston Army Depot, whose parent command is the U.S. Army Tank-Automotive and Armaments Command, is under the jurisdiction of the U.S. Army Materiel Command.
With more than 3,000 employees, the depot is the largest employer in Calhoun County. A 2025 economic impact study credited the depot with a $944 million economic impact on the state and 7,171 jobs.
Other vehicles also play a key role in the Calhoun County economy.
General Dynamics Land Systems works with armored vehicles and BAE Systems performs military vehicle rehab.
New Flyer makes buses and is among the largest employers in the county.
With Honda and other auto manufacturers in the region, several supplier firms are located here. Key among them are Bridgewater Interiors, which makes automotive seating systems, and International Automotive Components, which makes interior systems.
Calhoun County also is home to a diverse group of metalworking companies that support industries ranging from automotive and defense to the production of precision-machined components essential to everyday life. Among the largest of these firms are Tyler Union, M&H Valve Co., FabArc Steel and Doncasters Structural Steel.
Anniston also is home to the FEMA Center for Domestic Preparedness, the nation’s premier training facility for emergency responders. The center has nearly 1,000 employees, about half full-time and half part-time. The workers offer advanced training to emergency responders from all 50 states, territories and federally recognized tribal nations. Its mission: “Training the Best for the Worst.”
Approximately 50,000 emergency responders complete CDP resident, non-resident and web-based training annually, with most being healthcare, law enforcement, fire services and emergency management professionals.
The CDP campus is home to several unique facilities. Among those is the nation’s only hospital facility dedicated solely to training healthcare professionals in disaster preparedness and response, and the only venue in the country where civilian responders train with hazardous biological materials and toxic chemical agents.
In addition, the CDP campus also is home to FEMA’s Incident Workforce Academy, which trains and equips the agency’s workforce for deployments.
The CDP is a major economic driver in the area; recent economic research shows the CDP contributes $255 million annually to the economy of Calhoun County and has a $290 million annual economic impact on the state of Alabama.
Talladega County
In Talladega County, Honda’s Alabama Auto Plant employs 4,500 workers. The company produces 340,000 vehicles and 340,000 V-6 engines annually. Honda has a capital investment totaling $3 billion.
Automobiles produced at the Alabama Auto Plant include the Odyssey minivan, Passport SUV, Pilot SUV and Ridgeline truck.
Also in Lincoln, the Talladega Superspeedway is the largest racetrack in the National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing and typically produces the fastest race speeds in the NASCAR circuit. The track is 2.66 miles in length.
Talladega Superspeedway generates $400 million or more annually in economic impact for the state of Alabama. The venue hosts more than 100,000 fans at its major events.
Business Briefs
Calhoun County
- MAY 2026: FabArc Steel Supply, in Oxford, is set to break ground on a 25,000-square-foot facility that will bring administrative and fabrication support functions under the same roof.
- MARCH 2026: Associated MetalCast invested $6.24 million in Oxford and expects to add 50 workers.
- MARCH 2026: M&H Valve advances Anniston operations with $19 million in advanced manufacturing technology.
- FEBRUARY 2026: Changer & Dresser invested $4.85 million to expand its current facility and add equipment. The move will bring in an estimated 30 new jobs.
- FEBRUARY 2026: Tyler Union, in Anniston, invested $6.2 million in facility upgrades, including advanced production equipment and expanded office space.
- DECEMBER 2025: Jacksonville’s Bryant Machine Co. announced a $3.6 million expansion to meet increasing demand for precision engineered solutions.
- OCTOBER 2025: Wellborn Cabinet celebrated its grand opening in Anniston.
- OCTOBER 2025: Interstate Sheet Metal invested $2 million and expects to add 27 jobs.
- OCTOBER 2025: Amazon announced a new delivery station in Oxford; the company expects to add 70 jobs, some full-time and some part-time.
- AUGUST 2024: Innotex of Ohatchee added an assembly line and eight jobs.
- SEPTEMBER 2025: Kronospan invested $600 million to expand its current facility. It expects to add 125 workers.
- SEPTEMBER 2025: Anniston’s AMZ Alabama invested $22 million to add space and machinery and expects to add 50 workers.
- AUGUST 2025: Doncasters Structural Steel, in Oxford, invested $7 million for a growth project that will add jobs, buildings and machinery.
- AUGUST 2025: ALTEX Packaging, in Anniston, launched an $8 million expansion to purchase an additional 50,000-square-foot building and new equipment, and add about 30 jobs.
- MAY 2024: Heritage Arms, in Oxford, invested $1.5 million and added 10 jobs.
- FEBRUARY 2025: Industrial Resin Recycling, in Piedmont, installed a new transformer and added 30 jobs.
- AUGUST 2024: Wellborn Cabinet Inc. opened a new plant in the Oxford West Industrial Park. The facility will produce laminated cabinetry for the remodeling and new construction markets and will employ 400 people.
- APRIL 2024: New Flyer Industries, in Anniston, invested $250,000 in new equipment.
- APRIL 2024: Doncasters Structural Steel invested $1.35 million in new equipment.
Talladega County
- June 2026: Legacy Cabinets, in Eastaboga, closed on June 6. It had employed more than 500 people.
- FEBRUARY 2025: Honda, in Lincoln, celebrated the start of mass production for the 2026 Honda Passport and Passport TrailSport.
- JANUARY 2026: The East Alabama Rural Innovation Training Hub, called EARTH, begins working to find economic development solutions for rural communities.
- JANUARY 2026: Cooper Steel South, in the Childersburg Industrial Park, has a 100,000-square-foot facility under construction. The facility will add a new process line along with a shipping and receiving facility and will employ 55 people.
- NOVEMBER 2025: Automation Robotics and Controls Inc. has constructed a new facility in the Childersburg Industrial Park and will employ 20 people.
