Frontier Spinning Mills shutting down in Wetumpka, laying off 148
Frontier Spinning Mills is closing its Wetumpka plant, laying off all 148 employees by the end of the year. WSFA is reporting that the company confirmed the closure, saying it regrets the “necessity to close the Wetumpka plant.” The company just two years ago had a $6 million expansion of the facility, which added 18 jobs and warehouse space as well as new equipment. Frontier has operated in Elmore County since 2001. – AL.com
Alabama fisherman encourages you to ‘Buy Local!’
October is National Seafood Month. In Alabama industry leaders, cooks, shrimpers and others are working to expand an industry that has faced environmental disasters, competition from imports and other challenges. One thing working against local fishermen is strong competition from overseas. Over the last 30 years, more and more seafood has come from foreign waters. Today about ninety percent of the seafood on the menu here in Alabama and nationwide is imported. But, Alabama’s fishing industry says there’s reason for cautious optimism. – APR
Small company grows with its own apprenticeship program
When the Great Depression hit Michigan in 2008, wife and husband Cathy and Don Jesse took a gamble and moved about 800 miles south to central Alabama to focus on their machine tooling business. “We came with only a suitcase, a coffee pot and our dog. So it was a temporary move, but we decided we love it. We decided to stay,” said Cathy Jesse. But they couldn’t find a consistent workforce. Then in 2014, they said they came across a graduate from Wallace State Community College and brought him on board. Over the next two years, the couple decided to institute an apprenticeship program using Wallace State graduates. – WAAY
BBVA pledges $15.5 billion to community development
BBVA USA today pledged to pump $15.5 billion in lending, investments and services toward low- and moderate-income individuals and neighborhoods in the U.S. over the next six years. It’s a renewal of a similar $11 billion commitment made in 2014. The bank achieved that goal nine months early and surpassed it, reaching over $12 billion in lending and investments through this month. – AL.com
Pentagon awaits possible Amazon challenge over cloud deal
Amazon must decide soon if it will protest the Pentagon’s awarding of a $10 billion cloud computing contract to rival Microsoft. One possible grievance: the unusual attention given the project by President Donald Trump. Amazon was long thought to be the front-runner in the competition for the huge military contract. Its Amazon Web Services division is far ahead of second-place Microsoft in the market for cloud computing and has experience handling highly classified government data. – AP
Business owners participate in Diversity Dialogue
The Montgomery Area Chamber of Commerce recently held a Diversity Dialogue. The event is designed to help entrepreneurs develop a better understanding of economic development. Successful business owners were placed on a panel to discuss their strategies and methods of using diversity to increase their company’s bottom line. The topic of diversity included age, gender, race, and diversity of product, and how diversity benefits everyone. – AlabamaNewsNet
Hyundai gets 8% bump from new crossovers
Hyundai’s October U.S. sales rose 8 percent to 57,094 behind strong retail demand for the brand’s expanded crossover lineup. While car deliveries dropped last month, Hyundai said retail sales of three crossovers — Santa Fe, Tucson and Kona — each rose by 16 percent or more while the new Palisade crossover racked up deliveries of 4,357. – Automotive News
