AUG 2023
30 ATHLETES, LAWYERS & NIL 37 WHAT CEOS GET PAID SPOTLIGHT ON
43 LIMESTONE &
MORGAN COUNTIES
INSIDE BUSINESS OF SPORTS
The
SABAN Way
HOW COACH NICK SABAN’S ‘PROCESS’ CAN TRANSLATE TO THE BUSINESS WORLD
Page 10
AUGUST 2023 BusinessAlabama.com Volume 38 / Number 8
PUBLISHER Walker Sorrell / wsorrell@pmtpublishing.com ASSISTANT PUBLISHER Stephen Potts / snpotts@pmtpublishing.com EXECUTIVE EDITOR Alec Harvey / alec@pmtpublishing.com EDITOR Erica Joiner West / ewest@pmtpublishing.com COPY EDITOR Nedra Bloom / nedra@pmtpublishing.com ART DIRECTOR Vic Wheeler / ads@pmtpublishing.com DIGITAL EDITOR Kathryn Dorlon / kdorlon@pmtpublishing.com ACCOUNTING Keith Crabtree / acct@pmtpublishing.com ADMINISTRATION/OFFICE MANAGER Lauren Sullivan / lsullivan@pmtpublishing.com ACCOUNT EXECUTIVES Birmingham: 205-802-6363 Hal Cain / Ext. 111 / hcain@pmtpublishing.com Lee Mills / Ext. 102 / lmills@pmtpublishing.com Mobile: 251-473-6269 Joe Hyland / Ext. 214 / jhyland@pmtpublishing.com DIRECTOR OF INTEGRATED MEDIA & EVENTS Sheila Wardy / swardy@pmtpublishing.com BIRMINGHAM OFFICE 3324 Independence Drive / Homewood, AL 35209 205-802-6363 MOBILE OFFICE 166 Government Street / Mobile, AL 36602 251-473-6269 CORPORATE T.J. Potts, President & CEO Thomas E. McMillan, Partner & Director Business Alabama is published monthly by PMT Publishing Co., Inc. Copyright 2023 by PMT Publishing Co., Inc. All rights reserved. Reproduction in whole or in part without written permission prohibited. Letters to the editor are welcome. Moving? Please note US Postal Service will not forward magazines mailed through its Bulk Mail unit. Four to six weeks before moving, please send old mailing label and new address to Business Alabama, P.O. Box 43, Congers, NY 109209922 or call 1-833-454-5060.
August 2023 BusinessAlabama.com | 3
Volume 38 / Number 8
AUGUST 2023
CONTENTS
15
Joel Lamp leads Huntsville's efforts to provide great athletic facilities for residents and to attract the tourist revenue associated with athletic travel teams and tournaments. Photo by David Higginbotham.
Features 10
BUSINESS OF SPORTS THE SABAN WAY Alabama’s head football coach has a process that works in the business world as well as on the field.
12
REELING IN TOURISTS Fishing tourneys bring visitors and revenue to Alabama’s lake and Gulf waterfront communities.
15
IF YOU BUILD THEM, THEY WILL COME Recreational facilities are the crux of Alabama’s growing sports tourism business.
18
COMPLETING A COMEBACK Northwest-Shoals Community College is playing sports again after a 12-year timeout.
30
32
LAW NIL SEEKERS New rules involving name, image and likeness are creating challenges in college athletics. LEGAL AID When legal issues loom, smaller businesses are wise to think outside their own offices.
4 | BusinessAlabama.com August 2023
34
66
ALABAMA STOCKS WALL STREET PUMMELED WITH RATE HIKES AND INFLATION Business Alabama’s year in the stock market. RETROSPECT MONEY BALL The saga of the 1914 Montgomery Billikens.
On the Cover: Coach Nick Saban's "process" is well-known, and it has applications in the business world. Associated Press photo.
43 43: Look to the skies — it's the Alabama Jubilee Hot Air Balloon Classic at Decatur's Point Mallard Park. 18: The Northwest-Shoals Community College Patriots are back on the diamond after a decade without sports. 12: Fishing mingles tranquil time on the water with a chance for big rewards — for those equipped with rod and reel and for the communities that host the tournaments.
TOP RANK 29 ALABAMA’S LARGEST LAW FIRMS 37 CEO PAYCHECKS 38 ALABAMA’S PUBLIC COMPANIES
Departments
18
65
68
SPECIAL SECTIONS 21 TOP RANK PROFILES 39 BUSINESS COUNCIL OF ALABAMA GEOGRAPHIC SPOTLIGHT 43 LIMESTONE & MORGAN COUNTIES
6
69 71
12
71
BENCHMARKS: MONTHLY BUSINESS NEWS BRIEFING COMPANY KUDOS: A MONTH OF ACHIEVEMENTS CAREER NOTES: WHO’S MOVING UP BA INDEX: HUNDREDS OF LEADS EACH MONTH HISTORIC ALABAMA: A WALK DOWN MEMORY LANE ALABIZ QUIZ: TEST YOUR KNOWLEDGE
August 2023 BusinessAlabama.com | 5
Benchmarks
Microreactor module plant announced for Gadsden
Rendering shows plans for microreactor plant in Gadsden. ULTRA SAFE NUCLEAR CORP., based
in Seattle, Washington, plans to invest $232 million in a microreactor assembly plant in Gadsden. The plant will manufacture, assemble, test and inspect non-radiological modules needed to construct its advanced microreactors. USNC says the Gadsden plant will be the country’s first commercial-scale microreactor production facility and that no radioactive material will be used or stored at the new facility. About 250
jobs are expected to be created at the 578,000-square-foot facility. “Alabama is home to an impressive array of highly innovative companies, so our state is an ideal place for Ultra Safe Nuclear Corp.’s new advanced microreactor assembly plant,” said Gov. Kay Ivey. “This unique facility will benefit the Gadsden community through a significant investment and the creation of good jobs, while also reinforcing Alabama’s reputation for cutting-edge manufacturing operations.”
B U S I N E S S
B R I E F S
MORE BROADBAND Alabama is set to receive $1.4 billion from the U.S. Commerce Department to help expand broadband access in underserved areas.
growth of entrepreneurship in Alabama.
COST OF RENTING Renting? You’ll need $58,800 income to make ends meet comfortably, according to a new study by the University of Alabama and two other colleges. That’s more than the state’s median household income of $56,900. ENTREPRENEURIAL BOOST The Economic Development Partnership of Alabama Foundation has received three federal grants totaling just over $300,000 to accelerate the
SUPER SPEEDER Huntsville’s Dynetics has completed a large-scale test for its MACH-TB system that raises the testing speed for hypersonic systems. The Dynetics system includes an experimental glide body that can gather and validate data. MORE AT THE WHARF The Wharf in Orange Beach has launched Portside on Main, a 33,000-square-foot expansion that will include retail, office and entertainment space. The expansion will include 26,000 square feet of green and open space with an outdoor stage.
6 | BusinessAlabama.com August 2023
USNC’s search for a location spanned 16 states and hundreds of potential sites, the company said. Greg Canfield, secretary of Alabama’s Department of Commerce, called USNC’s technology “safe and amazing.” “USNC’s microreactors will be produced at the state-of-the-art facility in Gadsden and shipped as modules to sites around the world, allowing for the generation of reliable energy anywhere,” he said.
SOLAR GO A $40 million solar project near the Toyota plant in Huntsville received a permit. The collaboration among Huntsville Utilities, Toyota Alabama and Toyota Tsusho America will lead to more than 70% of Toyota Alabama’s power coming from solar energy. BAMBOO NEWS Alabamboo, based in Newton, is helping farmers in Lowndes, Butler and Crenshaw counties learn the benefits of bamboo farming and helping them connect with the marketplace. HEALTH AT HOME The UAB Health System, the city of Birmingham and Cooper Green Mercy Health
Services are teaming to provide follow-up care for patients at home, easing the strain on the city’s emergency facilities. PORT FUNDS The recently signed $3 billion Alabama General Fund budget includes $20 million for upgrades to McDuffie Coal Terminal at the Port of Mobile. The governor also signed a bill that expands credits that Alabama businesses can receive for using Alabama ports. NEW AT THE TOP Yolanda W. Page became Stillman College president, effective July 1. She replaces Cynthia Warrick, who announced her retirement last fall.
BENCHMARKS
Viridi Energy announces renewable natural gas project in Baldwin County plans for a similar project in Marathon County, Wisconsin. In June, the company also announced plans for a complex food waste-to-natural gas project in Yaphank, New York, in Rendering of a renewable energy plant planned for New York. partnership with American Organic Energy. VIRIDI ENERGY has announced plans for The New York project “represents a histhree new renewable natural gas projects, toric step toward circularity in waste disincluding one in Baldwin County. posal, housing the first anaerobic digester The Alabama project will harvest to process food waste in the New York natural gas from the county landfill in City metropolitan area. The project will Summerdale, transforming the emissions divert food waste from landfills located up into clean energy. to 300 miles away and transform it into “The facility is expected to produce RNG, via anaerobic digestion, and into more than 160,000 MMBtu of RNG other renewable products, such as fertilannually,” the company said in announcizer. The project will generate emissions ing the project. reductions equivalent to nearly 100,000 Also this year, Viridi has announced
B U S I N E S S
B R I E F S
ON CAMPUS Tuition rates have been frozen for in-state students at several Alabama universities including the University of Alabama, the University of Alabama at Birmingham, the University of Alabama in Huntsville and the University of West Alabama. The University of North Alabama has announced plans for a new stadium, slated to open in 2026 or 2027, and to be called Bank Independent Stadium.
for the Fleet Readiness Center. Huntsville-based System Studies & Simulation has been awarded an $85.8 million U.S. Army contract to work with weapon systems. Austal USA, in Mobile, has been awarded a $72 million contract for an additional Navy ocean-going tug, salvage and rescue ship. Interfuze, based in Huntsville, has won a $31 million contract from the Department of Defense for hardware and software support. Huntsville-based Integration, Innovation Inc. was awarded a $24.5 million contact to provide support services for Tactical Electronic Warfare Simulation for the. U.S. Naval Research Laboratory. Bhate
CONTRACTS Arrow’s Edge LLC of Huntsville has been awarded a $200 million U.S. Navy contract for maintenance, repair, overhaul and logistics support
tons of CO2 per year and is projected to produce renewable fuels equivalent to 10 million gallons of gasoline annually,” the company said. Writing about the Baldwin project, the company said, “While the county’s landfill is relatively small compared to other projects in our portfolio and development pipeline, Viridi recognizes the immense potential of developing smaller-scale RNG projects. These smaller landfill sites present unique financial and development challenges, but they also represent a significant portion of the remaining landfill development opportunities in the U.S. and Canada. We are confident that our deep experience in facility design and engineering can make such sites profitable for our investors and productive for our municipal and offtake partners.” Viridi is based in Northridge, California. It has partnered with global energy company BP to distribute the natural gas. Viridi also names Canadian firm Quadrogen as playing a role in developing the Baldwin site, which is slated to begin operations in the third quarter of 2024.
Environmental Associates, based in Birmingham, has been awarded a $7.8 million contract to build military working dog kennels at Warren Air Force Base in Wyoming. BIG BUILDS OLD & NEW Austal USA has begun work on a floating dry dock for the U.S. Navy, a new type of project for the firm’s year-old steel shipbuilding line. The $128 million contract was awarded in mid-2022. Within days of the start of the dry dock project, Austal celebrated the keel laying for the future USS Pierre, the last of 19 littoral combat ships to take shape on the aluminum shipbuilding line.
MERGERS & ACQUISITIONS Texas-based builder D.R. Horton has acquired Truland Homes, which it describes as the largest private homebuilder on the Gulf Coast with operations in Alabama and Florida. Truland Homes is based in Spanish Fort. Birminghambased financial planning and wealth management firm Waverly Advisors has acquired Silicon Hills Wealth Management, based in Austin, Texas. Birmingham-based Imaging Business Machines LLC has acquired Texas-based Exela Technologies’ IntelliScan Smart Scanning Solutions. IBML provides a portfolio of products for high-volume digitization. Virginia-based Akima has
August 2023 BusinessAlabama.com | 7