JAN 2023
LASTING LEGACY SEN. RICHARD SHELBY BOOSTED ALABAMA’S BUSINESS FORTUNES DURING LENGTHY CAREER
Page 16 IN THE 19 FARMERS LEGISLATURE COMMUNITY COLLEGES
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ON 53 SPOTLIGHT MONTGOMERY COUNTY
Volume 38 / Number 1
JANUARY 2023
CONTENTS
Features 12
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MARKET WATCH ALABAMA STOCKS END IN THE BLACK AFTER ROUGH QUARTER A recap of stock performances from August through November.
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State Sen. David Sessions, at his Sessions Farm in Mobile County, is one of a half-dozen legislators bringing agriculture concerns to the forefront. Photo by Dan Anderson.
GOVERNMENT A LASTING LEGACY Alabama business and education leaders reflect on Sen. Richard Shelby's impact on the state’s burgeoning economy. FARMERS IN THE LEGISLATURE Lessons from the land inform state policy.
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ALABAMA LEGISLATIVE DIRECTORY A look at Alabama’s leaders at the state and national levels. WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT COMMUNITY COLLEGES LAUNCH PROGRAMSTOMEETWORKFORCENEEDS Nursing, marine tech, AI and NASA work all have new programs in progress.
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DO THE JOB TO LEARN THE JOB Major employers develop in-house training programs to find workers in time of full employment.
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TIGHT MARKET Alabama workforce leaders offer advice to help navigate state’s labor shortage. BEST COMPANIES EVENT FIRMS BIG AND SMALL HONORED AS BEST COMPANIES TO WORK FOR IN ALABAMA River Bank & Trust and Swagelok take top honors. RETROSPECT TURNING LITTLE ROCKS INTO BIG BUSINESS The early years of the Birmingham Slag Company.
On the Cover: Retiring U.S. Sen. Richard Shelby shares a pleasant moment with Gov. Kay Ivey during the groundbreaking for Mobile International Airport. Photo by Mike Kittrell.
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53: You can tour Montgomery on foot, by boat or even by horse-drawn carriage. 43: Alabama's growing industries, like Austal USA, turn to in-house training programs to nurture the skilled workers they need. 49: Jimmy Stubbs (center) and the team from River Bank & Trust ranked first among large companies in the Best Places to Work For in Alabama competition.
SPECIAL SECTION 35 BUSINESS COUNCIL OF ALABAMA GEOGRAPHIC SPOTLIGHT 53 MONTGOMERY COUNTY
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BENCHMARKS: MONTHLY BUSINESS NEWS BRIEFING CAREER NOTES: WHO’S MOVING UP COMPANY KUDOS: A MONTH OF ACHIEVEMENTS BA INDEX: HUNDREDS OF LEADS EACH MONTH HISTORICAL ALABAMA: A WALK DOWN MEMORY LANE ALABIZ QUIZ: TEST YOUR KNOWLEDGE
January 2023 BusinessAlabama.com | 5
JANUARY 2023 BusinessAlabama.com Volume 38 / Number 1
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 Bell / kbell@pmtpublishing.com CIRCULATION Anita Miller / anita@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.
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Benchmarks First Solar chooses Lawrence County for $1.1B solar module plant FIRST SOLAR INC.
has selected Lawrence County for its fourth American photovoltaic solar module manufacturing facility. The $1.1 billion factory is expected to be commissioned in 2025 and will employ more than 700 workers. “First Solar is a world-class manufacturer, and its solar modules are poised to play an increasingly important role in U.S. energy self-sufficiency,” said Gov. Kay Ivey. The factory, planned for Mallard Fox Industrial Park, is expected to have an annual capacity of 3.5 GWdc and will be fully vertically integrated, producing the company’s advanced thin film PV modules. The company also has three facilities in Ohio, including one that is scheduled to come online in 2023. “Our team, from the state down to the local level, has worked extremely hard to make this project a reality. First Solar will have a tremendous impact on our economy and region. We look forward to building those relationships for a successful future,” said Tabitha Pace, president and CEO of Lawrence County Industrial
B U S I N E S S COOL STUFF Both NASA’s SLS Rocket and its James Webb Space Telescope have been honored by Time Magazine as inventions of the year. Both benefitted from multiple Alabama contractors, and Marshall Space Flight Center took the lead on the Artemis launch. GOOGLE CASH A $391.5 million settlement that Google has reached with 40 states over location tracking practices means Alabama will be getting $7.6 million from the tech giant. It’s part of the largest multi-state attorney general privacy settlement in U.S. history. ROAD WORK AHEAD Alabama received about $959 million in federal
Development Board. Workers at First Solar Inc.’s Ohio plant make photovolThe company sees the taic solar modules. The company will be making those plans as part of its strategic same modules in Lawrence County, bringing more than push to scale its U.S. man700 jobs to Alabama. ufacturing base in support of efforts to decarbonize the American economy and achieve self-sufficiency in renewable energy technologies. “The passage of the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022 has firmly placed America on the path to a sustainable energy future,” said Mark Widmar, CEO of First Solar. “This facility, along with manufacturing to more than $4 billion. its sister factories in Ohio, “As it works to develop the next will form part of the industrial foundageneration of solar technologies, First tion that helps ensure this transition is Solar represents the kind of innovative, powered by American innovation and technology-forward company that can ingenuity.” help power Alabama’s economy into the The company is one of the world’s 10 future,” said Greg Canfield, secretary of largest solar manufacturers and is the only the Alabama Department of Commerce. U.S.-headquartered company. Its latest “This investment supports sustainability investments in Alabama and an upgrade and advances America’s energy security — expanding its Northwest Ohio facility will and it’s great news for Alabama.” bring its total investment in American
B R I E F S highway and bridge formula funds, resulting in 581 new improvement projects during the first year of the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act. That’s part of more than 29,000 projects launched nationally. MORE ROAD WORK Dothan-based Construction Partners, which specializes in the construction and maintenance of roadways in six Southeastern states, has acquired three hot-mix asphalt plants near Nashville from Blue Water Industries. BRIDGE BUDGET The Alabama Department of Transportation says it is fully on board with the I-10 Mobile River Bridge and Bayway project. ALDOT will move
forward with the $2.7 billion project, using a $125 million federal grant and $250 million in dedicated state funding. LIVING SPACE Construction kicked off in early December on the 52-home ShadowBrook community in Birmingham, a project of Growth by NCRC, the city and community partners. The new residential area will be in North Pratt, an area devastated by 2011 tornadoes. MORE LIVING SPACE Doster Construction began work on a 350-unit multifamily project in Huntsville in early December. Virginia-based Bonaventure is developing and managing the property, called Attain at Bradford Creek.
HOT STUFF AT U.S. STEEL U.S. Steel says it’s on pace for its second-best financial year ever, with seamless pipe being manufactured through a new electric arc furnace at near maximum capacity. The furnace was a $412 million investment for the Birmingham company. CONTRACTS KBR has been awarded a $156.7 million U.S. Army task order to support capabilities assessment and enhancements for the Army’s Black Hawk helicopter fleet. Work is expected to take place at KBR and partner facilities in Huntsville. Lockheed Martin is one of eight firms participating in a $431 million U.S. Army contract to build High Mobility Artillery Rocket
January 2023 BusinessAlabama.com | 7