Infrastructure, research and development tax credits, growth of technology companies, workforce development and the reauthorization of the Alabama Jobs Enhancement Act will be top priorities for the Birmingham Business Alliance (BBA) during the 2019 Alabama Legislative Session, which starts March 5.
Gas tax increase could repair Birmingham’s roads
Technology park with $85 million impact in the works
Governor Kay Ivey announced recently that a new technology park is coming to the Birmingham region, and that its impact will be substantial.
The Grand River Technology Park is slated to create 1,200 jobs, Ivey said, and will have an $85 million impact on the Birmingham region. The project is a partnership with the Alabama Department of Labor’s Abandoned Mine Land Program (ADOL AML), United States Steel Corp., the City of Birmingham, the Southern Museum of Flight, Jefferson County and the City of Leeds.
Record number of jobs, capital investment in Birmingham in 2018
Birmingham companies announced significantly more jobs and capital investment in 2018 than in 2017, according to the Birmingham Business Alliance (BBA).
In 2018, 58 companies across the Birmingham seven-county region announced 4,511 jobs and $1,026,024,686 in capital investment, compared with 3,068 jobs and $572.7 million in capital investment announced by 40 companies in 2017. The seven-county region encompasses Bibb, Blount, Chilton, Jefferson, St. Clair, Shelby, and Walker counties.
Brian Hilson stepping down as BBA President and CEO
Following a record year of over 4,500 jobs and $1 billion in capital investment for the Birmingham region, President and CEO of the Birmingham Business Alliance (BBA), Brian Hilson, announced he is stepping down to take another economic development position within Alabama. He will remain with the BBA until March 29, 2019.
New and expanding: RxBenefits adds 76 new jobs in Birmingham in 2018
Birmingham-based RxBenefits, a pharmacy benefits solution platform, added 76 new jobs in Birmingham last year, bringing its Birmingham employee count to 187.
In addition to adding new employees – eventually there will be 120 additional jobs in Birmingham – the company expanded its headquarters space, located at the Colonnade, and invested in technology.
St. Clair County is a model for economic resiliency, report says
The Birmingham seven-county region’s St. Clair County was recognized recently for its economic resilience in the aftermath of 2008’s Great Recession.
U.S. Steel to move forward with EAF in Birmingham, $215 million investment
BBA’s Baldwin discusses connecting the community to business needs
The Birmingham Business Alliance’s Vice President of Regional Development Nan Baldwin is involved in numerous different projects through her work, including Opportunity Zones, Alabama Communities of Excellence and transportation infrastructure talks, just to name a few. Her work all has one common purpose – to enhance the quality of life for all Birmingham residents. The BBA sat down with Baldwin recently to talk about her work and why she is passionate about it.
KAMTEK creates workforce pipeline through booming apprenticeship program
For Traci Wells, human resources manager at Kamtek, the greatest challenge she faces in her job is recruiting within skilled trades, specifically the tool and dye trade that Kamtek specializes in.
“Recruiters will say we can’t do it,” she said. “They literally tell us ‘You can’t do it.’”
So the team at Kamtek, a Tier 1 automotive manufacturing supplier that specializes in metal stamping and assembly and is most especially known for its work with Mercedes-Benz, decided to show recruiters they could do it – by building an apprenticeship program to help grow its own workforce, which currently employs 1,000 in Birmingham.
Former Daxko CEO Gray discusses his compelling alternative for entrepreneurs
Dave Gray, one of Birmingham’s entrepreneurial leaders, is launching a new project, Biso Collective, a software business. Gray, who was CEO of Birmingham-based Daxko and still maintains a board seat with the company, spoke to the Birmingham Business Alliance about his new business, why Birmingham is a great place to start a company and what has driven Birmingham’s recent tech boom.
ALDOT’s Cooper addresses BBA Governmental Affairs Committee
The typical vehicle today gets 40 percent better gas mileage than the typical vehicle in 1992, which is the last time the gas tax was increased. Roads, however, cost two to three times as much now, said John Cooper, director of the Alabama Department of Transportation (ALDOT), when he spoke this week to the Birmingham Business Alliance’s Governmental Affairs Committee.
Waymond Jackson receives 40 Under 40 Award in Economic Development
Latest BBA Investors Roundtable focuses on fundraising
Four Birmingham entrepreneurs gave advice on how to fundraise to a packed house at Innovation Depot last week.
The Investors Roundtable was hosted by the Birmingham Business Alliance in partnership with the BBJ and Innovation Depot. The event was part of a series focused on different topics in the Birmingham startup community, with this roundtable zeroing in on small businesses that have recently raised money through various platforms.