Karla Khodanian
Greater Together: A Letter from Steve Ammons, ...

Today marks my first day as the new Chief Executive Officer for the Birmingham Business Alliance. It is an honor to step into this role for an organization whose mission I deeply believe in, and whose team I deeply admire. 

Greater Together: A Letter from Steve Ammons, BBA's President & CEO
Karla Khodanian
Steve Ammons named CEO of the Birmingham ...

Steve Ammons has been named CEO of the Birmingham Business Alliance (BBA), the region’s primary economic development agency. Ammons will be responsible for leading collaboration between BBA and its community partners across the seven-county region to ensure the alignment and achievement of strategic objectives. He will begin his new role on May 30. 

Events
Tquila Automation Expands to Birmingham, ...

We are thrilled to announce that Tquila Automation, a leading automation software company, is expanding its map to the Greater Birmingham Region. This new location will create 200 new high-quality jobs with an average wage of $65,000 and expects to generate up to $21.51 million in overall economic impact over the next 20 years.

Investment

CMC Steel Alabama to invest nearly $68 million in Birmingham plant modernization and upgrades

CMC Steel Alabama will invest $67.75 million to expand and update the capabilities of their Birmingham facility. The investment includes a modernization of more than two-thirds of their rolling mill and will add 10 new jobs.

“From bridges to buildings and everything in between, CMC’s product bolsters modern infrastructure around the world”
— Jacqueline Chandler - Parnter, Business Attaction, BBA

CMC Steel Alabama employees close to 400 employees in the Greater Birmingham Region and has served as a dedicated corporate champion in the community for nearly 40 years. As part of their investment, the company also plans to work with Lawson State Community College to develop a maintenance apprenticeship program. The City of Birmingham and Jefferson County both supported the project, which is estimated to generate significant regional economic benefits over a 20-year period.

“Jefferson County is thankful for CMC’s continued investment in their Birmingham operation,” said Jefferson County Commissioner Steve Ammons, chair of economic development committee. “They are an important part of our manufacturing ecosystem and have been a long-time corporate citizen. I look forward to seeing their operation continue to thrive and employ the citizens of Jefferson County.”

CMC Steel Alabama is a Commercial Metals Company (NYSE: CMC) affiliate. Commercial Metals Company and its subsidiaries manufacture, recycle and fabricate steel and metal products and provide related materials and services through a network of facilities that includes seven electric arc furnace ("EAF") mini mills, two EAF micro mills, one rerolling mill, steel fabrication and processing plants, construction-related product warehouses and metal recycling facilities in the United States and Poland. Through its Tensar operations, CMC is a leading global provider of innovative ground and soil stabilization solutions selling into more than 80 national markets through two major product lines: Tensar® geogrids and Geopier® foundation systems.

The company worked closely with the Birmingham Business Alliance throughout the duration of the project. BBA continues to support CMC Steel as part of its business retention and expansion efforts.

“From bridges to buildings and everything in between, CMC’s product bolsters modern infrastructure around the world,” said Jaqueline Chandler, Partner, Business Attraction at the Birmingham Business Alliance. “Their continued commitment to our region strengthens our community’s workforce and future-proofs Birmingham role as a strong hub for builders.”

The Birmingham Business Alliance (BBA) is the first stop destination for businesses currently operating or considering an operation in Birmingham. The BBA is the economic development agency for the Greater Birmingham Region and local chamber of commerce for the city of Birmingham. Our mission is to help businesses start, stay and succeed in Birmingham. To learn more, visit www.birminghambusinessalliance.com

Alliance CEO weighs in on how Alabama should spend its infrastructure funding

The Birmingham Business Journal published an article recently, written by Angel Coker, asking local business leaders how they think the state should spend its portion of “The $1.2 trillion pie,” referring to Alabama’s portion of Congress’s recently passed Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act.

Coker spoke with The Alliance’s CEO Ron Kitchens to ask, “What should Alabama spend this infrastructure money on?”

Here is what he had to say,

“1. Universal access to high-speed internet.

2. Rebuilding failing bridges and roads, and expanding roads in areas of the state that are growing economic output.

3. Mega sites (5,000-plus acres) for industrial location that have full infrastructure in place. This would help ensure that we’re competitive with other Southeastern states for large, job-creating projects.

4. A network of auto-charging stations.

5. Growth of the Port of Alabama with increased access to the Port of Birmingham via water and rail.

6. The expansion of the Birmingham airport as a state logistics hub.

We need more and better jobs in the region, which requires not only ensuring that our citizens have access to world-class education and training, but we must also pre-invest in the required infrastructure to meet the needs of job creators.”

The estimated job growth nationally from these funds is 1.5 million per year for the next ten years, according to the summary of the bill.

You can read the full article here.