DEC 2022
OF THE 22 RETURN TRADE MISSION & VRBO MEAN 72 AIRBNB BIG BUSINESS HERE SPOTLIGHT:
75 TALLAPOOSA
& CHAMBERS
COFFEE for a CAUSE
TROY WHETSTONE’S MODERN HOUSE COFFEE SHOP SERVES UP JAVA AND JOBS
Page 32
BEST
COMPANIES TO WORK FOR
IN ALABAMA Page 41
Volume 37 / Number 12
DECEMBER 2022
CONTENTS
72
Jake and Sidney Collins Freeman are Airbnb hosts at their Venue at Lakewood in Livingston. Photo by Art Meripol.
Features 13
ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT YEAR IN REVIEW A roundup of the biggest business news of 2022
37
22
INTERNATIONAL TRADE ON THE ROAD AGAIN For the first time in three years, Alabama sent a business trade delegation overseas.
IF THE SHOE FITS Baldwin campaign aims to put shoes on feet that need them.
39
FISHING FOR PHILANTHROPY Thompson Engineering sponsors company events like fishing rodeo on Dauphin Island to aid its community.
32
PHILANTHROPY COMPANIES WITH HEART Businesses like Modern House Coffee Shop that aim to tackle social ills require good ideas and savvy planning.
34
CHICKEN AND CHARITY Peco Foods’ community efforts go well beyond chicken feed.
4 | BusinessAlabama.com December 2022
72
HOSPITALITY ALMOST LIKE HOME Alabama Airbnb and VRBO hosts top $100 million in rental fees.
98
RETROSPECT INDESTRUCTIBLE Roanoke’s Ella Smith Doll Company.
78
On the Cover: Troy Whetstone founded his Modern House Coffee Shop in Birmingham’s Titusville to provide jobs and a community gathering place as well as coffee. Photo by Cary Norton.
78: Wicker Point’s golf course will take advantage of the land’s topography. 13: Earlier this year, United Launch Alliance announced a $300 million expansion. 41: Thompson Engineering is one of Alabama’s Best Companies to Work For in 2022.
TOP RANK 26 ECONOMIC AND INDUSTRIAL DEVELOPMENT AGENCIES 29 INDUSTRIAL SITES SPECIAL SECTIONS 41 BEST COMPANIES TO WORK FOR IN ALABAMA 93 BUSINESS COUNCIL OF ALABAMA GEOGRAPHIC SPOTLIGHT 75 TALLAPOOSA AND CHAMBERS COUNTIES
13
Departments 7
97 100
102
103
41
103
BENCHMARKS: MONTHLY BUSINESS NEWS BRIEFING CAREER NOTES: WHO’S MOVING UP BA INDEX: HUNDREDS OF LEADS EACH MONTH COMPANY KUDOS: A MONTH OF ACHIEVEMENTS HISTORICAL ALABAMA: A WALK DOWN MEMORY LANE ALABIZ QUIZ: TEST YOUR KNOWLEDGE
December 2022 BusinessAlabama.com | 5
DECEMBER 2022 BusinessAlabama.com Volume 37 / Number 12
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 WEB PRODUCER Mattie Naman / mattie@pmtpubishing.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 2022 by PMT Publishing Co., Inc. All rights reserved. Reproduction in whole or in part without written permission prohibited. Letters to the editor are welcome.
6 | BusinessAlabama.com December 2022
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.
Benchmarks Montgomery chosen for $600 million beverage park MANNA CAPITAL PARTNERS has announced
A vision for the new beverage park Manna plans in the Alabama’s capital city.
plans to build a beverage park in Montgomery, valued at $600 million and employing about 280 people. The beverage production and distribution complex will be owned and operated by Manna Beverages & Ventures. “Manna’s significant investment in Montgomery and its commitment to supporting underrepresented enterprises make the company a welcome addition to Alabama’s business community,” Gov. Kay Ivey said. “I know Manna’s leadership will find all the ingredients they need for success in our state and look forward to seeing how their growth plans unfold.” Louisville, Kentucky-based Manna Capital Partners, founded by Ulysses L. “Junior” Bridgeman and Kevin Attkisson,
B U S I N E S S HAPPY BIRTHDAY Huntsville’s Cummings Research Park celebrated its 60th birthday in late October. Established in 1962, the park is ranked as the second-largest research park in the U.S., fourth-largest in the world, with some 300 companies that hold 826 patents. BREEZY HUNTSVILLE Breeze Airways plans to begin flights from Huntsville to Orlando and Charleston on March 2, 2023. The airline already flies out of Huntsville to Tampa and Las Vegas. AMAZON AIR LANDS IN MOBILE Amazon Air began daily flights to and from Mobile
concentrates on investment and acquisition possibilities across multiple industries, with an emphasis on sustainability and creating opportunities for minority and women-owned businesses. The MB&V beverage park will include a 1.7 million-square-foot production facility capable of producing both alcoholic
and non-alcoholic products, along with distribution operations. The first bottles are expected to come off the line in 2025. The facility, located at the Hope Hull exit off Interstate 65 in Montgomery, will encompass more than 180 acres in a new industrial park established by Montgomery’s economic development team.
B R I E F S International Airport, making the airport the first Alabama station on Amazon’s air cargo network. RURAL LIFE Growing businesses injected nearly $1.7 billion into Alabama’s rural counties last year, the Alabama Department of Commerce said during a summit for rural developers in October. NO KIDS Hyundai’s global CEO Jose Munoz says the Korean automaker will break ties with two supplier firms that are being investigated for using child labor. Hyundai makes cars in Montgomery.
SAFETY FIRST The Occupational Safety and Health Administration has fined Dollar General stores in Alabama, Florida and Georgia $2.8 million for safety issues. The Alabama stores are in Clay, Dothan, Odenville and Town Creek. STOP THE PRESSES Alabama Media Group has announced that it will no longer print newspapers after February 2023, turning instead to all digital news coverage. Farewell to the Birmingham News, Mobile Press-Register and Huntsville Times. OUT OF STEAM Alabama Power is closing its
oldest power plant, the Gadsden Steam Plant, in January. The plant on the Coosa River has been in operation for 109 years. HAVE FUN The City of Birmingham has announced plans for a family fun center — with bowling, skating and more — at the CrossPlex complex in West Birmingham. It’s slated to open in 2024. PADDLES OUT Construction is set to begin on the kayak course section of Apollo Park, the 10-acre park that’s adjacent to Top Golf and the Orion Amphitheater in Huntsville. The expansion will more than double the size of the existing pond, with 30-foot flumes for the kayak course.
December 2022 BusinessAlabama.com | 7