Diverse Industry/Advanced Manufacturing
About a third of the workforce in this region is employed in manufacturing, making a wide range of products such as tile, automotive and forklift parts, mining conveyor systems, cabinets, commercial bamboo products, reflective signs, tub and shower stalls, recreational vehicles, clothing and commercial tile.
Many companies that deal in metals are among the area’s largest manufacturing employers, including Komatsu Mining Corp., TBEI/Ox Bodies, plus companies working in fabrication, wire die repair, wiring harnesses, forklift parts, zinc oxide and steel dust recycling and metal roofing.
One of the newest on the scene is O’Neal Manufacturing Services, located in Fayette, which invested $5.5 million to open a 130,000-square-foot steel fabrication facility in the former Fayette Fabrication building. It is expected to create 70 full-time jobs within three years after operations begin. It is a subsidiary of Birmingham-based O’Neal Industries and provides carbon steel and aluminum parts for a variety of industries.
Manufactured Housing/Lumber/Furniture
Several companies in the region are involved in this sector, which continues to grow. In Marion County, Deer Valley Homebuilders, Buccaneer Homes, Clayton Homes and Hamilton Homebuilders are among the largest manufacturers, building a variety of manufactured homes.
In Fayette County, Interfor (formerly Georgia-Pacific) is a sawmill that is one of the county’s largest employers. And in Lamar County, larger employers in this sector include lumber mill Weyerhaeuser Co. in Millport, plus Brown Wood Preserving in Kennedy, making treated utility poles; Millport Lumber making pallets; and K&S Lumber in Vernon, which is among the newest.
In Marion County, Kith Kitchens makes cabinet doors and sets in Haleyville, Hamilton Bath Ware makes tubs and shower stalls and Max Home Furniture, in Sulligent in Lamar County, makes upholstered furniture.
High-speed Fiber Optic
This fiber optic project has been underway for some time in this area, with many cities already connected in northwest Alabama. The goal of Freedom FIBER, a subsidiary of Tombigbee Communications, is to provide ultra-high-speed fiber optic internet service to all residents across 1,000 square miles in northwest Alabama. The company partnered with Alabama Power to facilitate the expansion.
Marion and Lamar counties have 100% coverage, and Fayette County should have more than 90% coverage by the first quarter of 2024, officials say.
Higher Education
Bevill State Community College, with campuses in Walker, Marion and Fayette counties, along with an instructional site in Pickens County, is a very important driver in the community, not only for its own employees and student body but also its role in workforce development and education for high school students and adult education and training. It works closely with industry to ensure that programs match workforce needs.
Facilities continue to be updated for workforce needs, and the college recently launched the CertifyNow: Fast-Track Your Success initiative that includes a wide variety of online workforce certification programs.
Health Care
Three hospitals serve the three counties and surrounding areas — Northwest Regional Health in Winfield, North Mississippi Medical Center-Hamilton and Fayette Medical Center. These facilities are among the largest employers in the area and have a significant economic impact on their communities.
Each of these facilities offers additional services such as rehab centers, nursing homes and specialty clinics. This sector continues to grow, with primary care clinics and rural health clinics in underserved areas.
Business Briefs:
December 2023: Warrior Met Coal Inc. is investing $154 million in infrastructure in Fayette County to facilitate the option of railcar transportation for its Blue Creek coal reserves from the company’s longwall mine in northern Tuscaloosa County. Production should begin in 2025 with about 400 to 500 jobs, officials say.
December 2023: King Kutter is working on a $5Â million expansion of its Winfield farm equipment production facility. They expect to add 15 jobs.
December 2023: Winfield City Schools, in Marion County, is renovating the former Sitel call center building for a new career technology center.
December 2023: Bevill State Community College is upgrading the welding department at the Hamilton campus and the nursing simulation lab on the Fayette campus, along with other improvements.
November 2023: For the fifth year in a row, Fayette Medical Center has been recognized as one of Newsweek’s Best-In-State hospitals.
November 2023: City, school and parks programs in Winfield are upgrading facilities, using a 4% sales tax from the city and school system funding.
November 2023: Construction continues on a $17Â million Marion County jail facility being built in Bedford Industrial Park in Hamilton.Â
November 2023: Robin Mixon becomes administrator at North Mississippi Medical Center Hamilton.
October 2023: Three HUB Small Business Plan Workstations are launched in three locations in northwest Alabama — one at the Vernon Public Library and one each at Bevill State Community College’s Hamilton and Fayette campuses. The stations provide free access to a step-by-step process to create a professional lender-ready business plan. BSCC and the Northwest Alabama Economic Development Alliance partnered on the stations.
October 2023: Bevill State Community College launches the CertifyNow: Fast-Track Your Success initiative that includes a wide variety of online workforce certification programs.
June 2023: The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency announces that Northwest Alabama Economic Development Alliance will receive a $500,000 Brownfields Assessment Grant to conduct environmental assessments and develop cleanup plans on properties in Marion, Fayette and Lamar counties.
June 2023: Tombigbee Communications, a subsidiary of Tombigbee Electric Cooperative, offers its 10G Freedom Fiber service to residents and businesses in Marion and Lamar counties. The utility is working to expand the same in Fayette County.
June 2023: A new $4Â million emergency room opens at Northwest Regional Health in Winfield. The hospital is part of the UAB Health System.
February 2023: Bevill State Community College announces a $37,500 contribution for scholarships and student competition from the Gene Haas Foundation. The scholarships will be awarded to students interested in the machine-tool technology program on the college’s Jasper and Hamilton campuses.
December 2022: O’Neal Manufacturing Services locates in Fayette, investing $5.5 million to open a 130,000-square-foot steel fabrication facility in the former Fayette Fabrication building. It is expected to create 70 full-time jobs within three years. It is a subsidiary of Birmingham-based O’Neal Industries and provides carbon steel and aluminum parts for a variety of industries.
March 2022: Tom Wisemiller, president and CEO of the Northwest Alabama Economic Development Alliance, announces that the alliance’s three counties — Marion, Fayette and Lamar — recorded robust growth from expansion projects in the last year, with around 300 new jobs and more than $150 million in capital investment.
This article appears in the February 2024 issue of Business Alabama.
