Birmingham had 11 foreign companies announce 682 jobs and $250.4 million in capital investment in 2016, according to the Birmingham Business Alliance’s 2017 Regional Growth Report. Five of those companies that announced projects were new to the region.

This brings the number of foreign-based companies doing business in Birmingham to 80. Many of the foreign-based companies are suppliers to vehicle manufacturers Mercedes-Benz and Honda, located west and east of the Birmingham region.

“We’ve had strong success with expanding employers, but there are even bigger opportunities to come through organic growth in Birmingham,” said Brian Hilson, CEO of the Birmingham Business Alliance. “We’re excited for each company in the automotive and manufacturing sector that has experienced growth, but we are even more excited about each company’s large impact on the future workforce and the opportunities being created for new employees, their families and the entire Birmingham community.”

Here are a few of the foreign-based investment that occurred in the seven-county region in 2016:

Spanish automotive supplier, Gestamp, had the largest foreign capital investment for 2016, with a $131.7 million expansion of its metal-stamping facility in Jefferson County.
MöllerTech based in Germany, invested $46.3 million in its new production plant in Bibb County in 2016. Its 150,000-square-foot plant created 220 jobs in Bibb County.
Canada-based Kamtek had $20 million in capital investment to create 120 jobs in Birmingham.
Austrian Voestalpine Automotive Body Parts invested $11.1 million into its new facility in 2016, creating 42 new jobs.
Evonik Industries, based in Germany, had a capital investment of $7.7 million last year.
Japanese company Yorozu Automotive Alabama announced a $10 million investment, in addition to its $100 million plant that’s nearing completion in Jasper last year.
Eissmann Automotive, based in Germany, invested $14.5 million in its 130,000-square-foot building expansion in St. Clair County last year, resulting in 200 additional jobs.

The BBA’s 2017 Regional Economic Growth Report details the 75 projects that announced 2,014 jobs and $587 million in capital investment in the Birmingham region in 2016, and includes Birmingham’s performance metric comparison to its peer cities, where the Magic City improved in nine of 12 economic indicators such as employment, population, degree attainment, cost of living and personal income.