Enviva announces $175M pellet plant for Sumter County
A multimillion-dollar plant is expected to bring many jobs to Sumter County. Gov. Kay Ivey and executives with Enviva and local leaders announced Friday the company plans to invest about $175 million to build a wood pellet production plant at the Port of Epes Industrial Park. The planned facility is expected to create a minimum of 85 full-time jobs and an estimated 180 additional jobs in logging, transportation and local services. – WVTM
Alabama company Intergraph celebrates 50 years as a tech leader
Young Alabama tech workers cheered and applauded wildly Thursday the men who created key innovations of computing like interactive mapping and Computer Assisted Design (CAD), and used those innovations to build one of Alabama’s legendary technology companies. Intergraph, the company they work for and were cheering, was at one time Alabama’s largest corporation with annual revenues of $1.2 billion. – AL.com
UAW-GM talks take a ‘turn for the worse’ on Sunday
Talks for a new four-year labor contract between General Motors and its striking workers took a “turn for the worse” on Sunday after the United Auto Workers rejected the largest U.S. automaker’s latest offer but the two sides were still talking. GM made an offer to the union that basically repeated one the UAW had previously rejected, Terry Dittes, the UAW vice president in charge of the GM department, said in a letter to members. – Reuters
Alabama’s malls changing with the times
Brent Barkin has seen the past of retail, and he’s preparing for the future. The CEO of Shoe Station, Barkin has been involved in his family business since he was 10 years old, shifting shelves at the family store at Mobile’s Bel-Air Mall. And he was there when the company opened its newest store in March across Airport Boulevard at Springdale Mall. It was needed, Barkin said. “There’s been a shift in how customers perceive indoor malls in general.” – AL.com
Italian chemical company acquires Birmingham firm
A Birmingham-based chemical company tied to the oil, gas and industrial water treatment industries has been acquired by an Italian chemical group. Genoa-based Italmatch Chemicals, a global specialty chemical group, has acquired Water Science Technologies for an undisclosed sum. The acquisition was aimed at strengthening Italmatch Chemicals position in the North American oil and gas market. – AL.com
Tuscaloosa gets $3M from feds to remove lead contamination
The city of Tuscaloosa is getting $3 million in federal grant money to help remove lead contamination from low-income homes. The Tuscaloosa News reports the money will be used for safety improvements in 250 homes in the city. Tuscaloosa is the only Alabama city to receive money under a $314 million program overseen by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. – AP