28 minute read
By Lori J. Connors
from HBJ Jan 2022 issue
Huntsville Ranks #6 Among Best Places to Work in Manufacturing
By Lori J. Connors / Graphic by Lori J. Connors
Advertisement
to: https://asmartplace.com/
To access the SmartAsset data, go to: https://smartasset.com/ data-studies/best-places-to-work-inmanufacturing-2021. w
Although the manufacturing industry hit its peak in the U.S around 1969, about 7.5 million jobs have been lost nationwide in the 50 years of industrial decline that followed.
But there is good news. The manufacturing sector is making a comeback here in the United States. What’s more, it’s becoming quite the big deal in Huntsville-Madison County.
To find the best places to work, specific to the manufacturing sector, SmartAsset recently analyzed data for 378 metropolitan areas. This data was then evaluated with regards to manufacturing jobs as a percent of the total workforce, employment growth, income growth, and home affordability.
To further fine-tune its findings, SmartAsset relied on the most recent unemployment data, using it to factor in the overall impact of COVID-19.
According to study, the Huntsville metro area made it into to the top ten out of the 378 metro areas surveyed. In fact, Huntsville ranks number 6, just below neighboring Cleveland, Tennessee.
According to the chart, the South and the Midwest have both experienced growth spurts in manufacturing. Though many of the individual metro areas are different, these two historic manufacturing industry hubs dominated the top 10 in the SmartAsset study for the second year in a row.
When evaluating Alabama’s top industries, transportation equipment manufacturing ranks as the state’s largest industrial sector, employing 47,247 workers. Food processing ranks second with 34,179 jobs, while third-ranked fabricated metal products accounts for 31,562 jobs.
The ushering in of a new era in manufacturing in North Alabama speaks volumes regarding the quality of life and subsequent growth of the community. It translates into bigger and better opportunities; creating more available jobs, coupled with more revenue brought into the region.
The North Alabama manufacturing base consists of a diverse mix Photo by Dawn Suiter – both traditional and technology manufacturers – that make up roughly one-fifth of the overall local area employment.
The area’s manufacturing sector is made up of over 220 companies with 32,000 employees. Many of those workers being trained and developing the skills needed to perform technology-based precision manufacturing.
The population has been growing a rate that surpasses state and national averages. Manufacturing labor is a significant portion of the overall labor force. Huntsville’s metro area has the capacity and can sustain another 7,000 manufacturing jobs through 2022.
The area’s well-developed interstate, rail, and air cargo infrastructure make North Alabama ideal for the manufacturing industry. The Port of Huntsville’s Huntsville International Airport is home to Foreign Trade Zone #83 and the International Intermodal Center, as well as U.S. Customs. There are also over 30 foreign based companies with manufacturing and business operations in Madison County.
There’s a lot of encouragement to bring manufacturing to the Rocket City. The Huntsville-Madison Chamber of Commerce has industry retention and expansion initiatives in place. These initiatives enhance business growth for industry and entrepreneurs alike. As the metro area continues to grow, it is important to have a diverse set of industries. It’s good for the local economy as well as the community.
To learn more about the Chamber’s manufacturing industry initiatives, go
Artemis Part III: Stacked and Loaded to Execute a Successful Mission
By Kimberly Ballard / Photos courtesy of NASA
This is the third story of a three-part series on the inauguration of the Artemis Lunar and Deep Space Missions using the SLS Rocket, developed and tested here in Huntsville, and set to launch from Kennedy Space Flight Center
It’s true, a 2021 launch date for the first of NASA’s Artemis “Return to the Moon” missions has been moved to February 12, 2022 at 5:56 p.m. EST. But America’s space program is known for its ambitious timelines, and the delay is short-lived as Artemis I will undergo a wet dress rehearsal for her historic rendezvous with the moon in early January, according to NASA deputy associate administrator for exploration systems development, Tom Whitmeyer, speaking to Space News in October.
A wet dress rehearsal (as opposed to a dry run) consists of fueling the SLS (Space Launch Systems) core stage and putting the rocket through a practice countdown, stopping just short of the ignition of its four RS-25 engines.
In early September, Huntsville native David Beaman, systems engineering integration manager for the SLS program, walked an awestruck audience at the Davidson Center’s National Geographic Theater, through preparations for Artemis’ iconic launch as it currently awaits its magnificent journey from the Vehicle Assembly Building at Kennedy Space Center.
Beaman grew up watching the space program with a ringside seat as his father was part of the Wernher von Braun team in the 1950s and 1960s. Graduating from the University of Alabama-Huntsville, Beaman’s job today has been to ensure that the hardware, which has been developed by a number of individual companies, is integrated with the SLS rocket at the VAB, and to make sure it’s ready to execute its mission when the time comes for liftoff.
“Artemis’ solid rocket boosters are the largest in the world, standing over 170 feet tall,” Beaman said. “I am a classic car nut, so the best way I can describe how powerful these boosters are, is to envision lining up 1967 Corvettes nose-to-tail. For them to produce power equivalent to just one of these boosters, they would stretch from here to Kennedy Space Center.” He remined the audience Artemis will be the first time in nearly 50 years NASA has developed and integrated a heavy lift vehicle - since the Saturn V. After “stacking” and thereby integrating the core stage with its two solid rocket boosters, the vehicle stands at an astounding 212 feet tall inside the VAB. On top of the Core Stage, they stacked the Launch Vehicle Stage Adapter (LVSA), and on top of that is the upper stage Interim Cryogenic Propulsion Stage (ICPS), built by United Launch Alliance (ULA) in Decatur. The actual Orion spacecraft will then attach to the ICPS, however, with the entire vehicle fully integrated, a mass simulator is installed on top. It represents the Orion as they go into a series of tests that are currently still in progress in the VAB at Kennedy.
There are 10 specific tests the vehicle must go through after integration to make sure it is ready to fly.
“The testing assures us we are doing everything we can to make sure everything we have done to this point works as we have modeled it out to do,” said Beaman. “That the hardware we’ve built is integrated and not only the physical interaction, but the electrical interaction of the hardware responds the way analytical models predict it should when the vehicle is ready to take on its mission.”
One of those tests is a push-pull test in which the solid rocket boosters are moved back and forth while measuring the dynamic interaction between the boosters and the launch pad.
They also perform a shake test of the entire vehicle after it is assembled to make sure it dynamically responds the way it is expected to.
“We had several things in the space shuttle program where we came very close to having issues, and they were all tied to the dynamic interaction of the vehicle,” said Beaman. “We have a test program that puts us in a good position to understand the vehicle and to validate and verify our analytical models.”
Beaman describes each of the integration steps they put the vehicle through is a well-orchestrated dance.
“We have a team here in Huntsville responsible for the integration,
and we have individual teams with individual elements developing the hardware, and we have a physical integration team down at Kennedy going through all of that process to develop everything we need to execute the mission and make sure it is run successfully.”
Beaman said they also do simulations, leading up to launch.
“We must go through a process of understanding not only is the hardware ready, but are the people ready to support the mission,” he said. “We have facilities at Marshall Space Flight Center and people spread all around the country doing simulations or practice runs.
“Football coaches say you should practice like you play and that is what we do – we practice like we play, and we practice hard.”
Taking a complex vehicle into space requires leadership and Beaman said the people leading teams at MSFC and at the Huntsville Operations Center are constantly analyzing the data, practicing the launch countdown, and monitoring the actual flight machine with the vehicle to make sure it is performing as expected.
“We want to be ready when we get to the final countdown, and ready when we send the first woman and next man into space, and we want to make sure we do it in a safe way. These simulations and practices make sure we are ready to execute the mission.”
Beaman said while Artemis I will not carry a manned crew, payloads are extremely important to the Artemis I mission.
“We have 10 secondary payloads on the Orion Stage Adapter that will fly on the first mission,” Beaman said. “Several of them are locally developed.
“One of them is the Near-Earth Asteroid Scout (NEA Scout). It will fly to a near-earth asteroid and gather data and bring that data back. Think of it … something the size of two loaves of bread has the capability of flying in space and sending data back. It’s amazing the science contribution we will get from this mission.
“The other secondary payload is called Bio Sentinel. It will carry yeast DNA and measure the response of double strand breaks of DNA,” he explained. “In space, we are not just dealing with the cold, but we are dealing with radiation. It is a very violent environment, and it will help us detect, measure, and compare the impact of deep-space radiation on living organisms over long durations beyond Low-Earth Orbit (LEO).
Finally, Beaman stresses that Artemis I is not just a one-trick-pony.
“We are already working on Artemis II, III, IV, and subsequent missions; processing a lot of the hardware for Artemis II and III already,” he said. “Our next mission is only a little over two years away, so when we fly early next year, we are about 2 years away from Artemis II.” w
HATCH Program Finds Success with First Two Cohorts
By Noah Logan / Photos courtesy of Audrey Smith
It’s been almost three years since HATCH co-founders Garret Coyne and Beth Boyer first talked about the idea for a hospitality workforce program that would empower its participants to lead self-sufficient lives. HBJ was able to interview the two co-founders after the program was launched and personally see how important the Huntsville community is to everyone involved.
Their vision of HATCH is now a reality. Students from the program’s first and second cohort have seen their lives dramatically change participating in the eight week curriculum and being compensated to do so. Every student from the first cohort of HATCH is still employed with their initial job placements and the second cohort is set to graduate on December 17th.
Kierra Burks graduated from HATCH’s first cohort in October. She had a passion for making food and was able to complete her externship at the HATCH Café which opened with the brand new South Huntsville Public Library as a service for guests at the library and a way to raise funds for the program.
The 20 year old is still employed at the café today while also attending school to be an RN like her mother before her. Burks said she would definitely recommend the program to anyone who qualifies. “Getting involved with the program is a great idea especially if you’re not exactly sure where you want to go in life”
“Before I joined, I wasn’t sure if I would like it but I really did enjoy it in the end,” she said. “It teaches you a lot over the course of the program while also making friends and making connections. It taught me a lot of things I use at my job now from general hospitality and customer service to different ways to prepare food and more.”
The program has over 40 different employment partners for externships and job placements including the restaurant Drakes and manger April Mount. Mount hired HATCH graduate James Moore and remarked on his transformation throughout his time there and also the program as a whole. “James has come very far since day one. His time at HATCH helped him with things like attitude, demeanor, how to handle stress at work and how to interact with both guests and fellow employees,” she said. “Getting involved with the program is a great idea especially if you’re not exactly sure where you want to go in life,” she elaborated. “It lets you reach out to people who can genuinely help you start a path in the hospitality industry and get your foot in the door. It really is a great program they have.”
Some of the employment partners working with the second cohort include The Camp, Rhythym on Monroe, Darkside Coffee and Sam & Greg Pizzeria.
Audrey Smith has overseen both cohorts in her time as Program Director for HATCH. Her background as a counselor has helped the program emphasize mental health and various life skills in addition to job training. “A lot of our kids have experienced trauma and they have a very limited support system so we try to address that while they are here,” she explained. “We brought on a therapist, Dr. John Ruffin, for the second cohort. He does group sessions three times a week and individuals throughout the week.”
Applications are still open for the third cohort of HATCH graduates at the time of writing. Applicants who fall within the 18-24 year old age group can apply at hatchhsv.com. Those chosen will begin their eight week curriculum on January 11th and be paid $1,250 over the course of the program. w
As anyone who has gone shopping recently knows firsthand, consumer goods such as toilet paper, meat, and frozen vegetables have been more difficult to find and often more expensive. Consumers around the world are having similar experiences due to disruptions in the global supply chain.
Although inconvenient for consumers, the recent supply chain disruptions have hit small independent business owners especially hard, significantly impacting many business sectors including retail stores, restaurants, breweries, homebuilders, and numerous others who lack the economies of scale enjoyed by large chains and franchises.
According to Assistant Manager Anthony Smith of GigaParts, access to new technology presents a major issue for the company, which builds custom computers and sells components for those who want to build their own systems, as well as radio equipment and other electronics. Smith noted that some products have been “out of or low stock for so long they’re infinitely backordered,” such as graphics cards and chips.
Although price increases on stand-alone computer components make individual parts less attractive to customers, Smith explained that the sticker shock is reduced when those parts are incorporated into a computer system. He has also noticed that customers are more aware and forgiving these days.
Graphics cards have increased in price because of low supply and high demand, and Smith said that they are in such short supply, vendors that do business online raffle off the opportunity to buy them at full price. GigaParts won one of these raffles, buying cards at full price and then doing a customer giveaway in which they presented one lucky winner with a free graphics card.
According to Smith, “it makes sense...when things go back, we hope people remember where they won one or where they entered to get it.”
GigaParts adapts however they can to the ebb and flow of access to goods. “We get something in to tide us over and try to buy what we can where we can. It’s been hard. One thing we have hugely in our favor: the October before Covid we started growing into our own distribution center. We could buy in larger bulk and greater quantities for larger products. Vendors place higher priority on us.”
As for the radio side of the business, Smith reported that some vendors have had a much worse time than others. Components are manufactured in Japan and China, with products at different levels of completion due to a lack of parts. He added that some brands of accessories are particularly hard hit because they are shipped by boat. Labor in China has also taken a massive blow.
The radios themselves have had periods of shortage, according to Smith. However, he said, manufacturers have made a concerted effort to equal things out as much as possible.
Madison Band Supply owners Robin and Frank Cotton also reported that electronics are especially hard to find. In addition, Chinesemade products like earplugs are out of stock, and both instruments and parts for instrument repairs are harder to find. The most common euphonium from Yamaha is backordered for months, and even a simple pipe for the instrument is hard to find. “Students are choosing to replace instead of repair--whole horns are in supply rather than parts.”
Most musical instruments are now made in China and Taiwan, and according to Frank Cotton, even USmade instruments have parts from there, with the metal supplied by China.
Although scarcity presents problems, Frank Cotton said “we’ve kept our prices the same as two years ago. Supply prices haven’t really escalated yet, although our main supplier is going up by 5% rather than the usual 2-3%.”
Finding products takes much more work now than before: “We have to go through five or six distributors now instead of the normal supply chain...Bandmaster (marching) shoes ran out of a lot of different sizes and we had to make substitutions. We’re okay but we have to be creative and it takes a lot more energy.” Robin added, “We’re having to relearn patience.”
Local home builders and contractors are also experiencing the negative effects of supply chain disruptions. Wendy Lee, owner and founder of LeeHouse Homebuilding, said that although the homebuilding business has experienced labor shortages for the past five years or so, supply chain issues have had the greatest impact on the industry recently.
Lee noted delays in the availability of products ranging from plumbing fixtures and window glass to drywall mud and hardware glue. “There doesn’t seem to be a rhyme or reason but the end result is a delay in finishing the home, which not only affects the profit margin but, more importantly, adds frustration and disappointment for the customer who is already stressed due to higher pricing and a competitive market.”
According to Lee, price increases occur in the housing supply market on a daily basis, with trade partners and vendors passing down material increases including freight costs that in some cases more than tripled. “As a boutique-size homebuilder I have no choice but to raise the sales price of my homes, which unfortunately results in some buyers being priced out of the market.”
Adaptation is key: Lee focuses on frequent communication with customers, keeping them up-to-date on delays or product substitutions. While she continues to build pre-sale
By Dawn Suiter / Photos by Dawn Suiter
By Dawn Suiter / Photos by Dawn Suiter
homes for customers, she has added in more speculative builds, setting the prices once the homes are near completion so as to compensate for price increases incurred along the way. Lee acknowledges that “today’s market, with supply and labor shortages, the constant price increases, and so many unknowns, makes it a frustrating time to be a homebuilder...and probably more so a homebuyer.” She added, “let’s not lose sight of the American dream--it might take a little longer today but owning a home is still very much worth it.”
The food and beverage industry has also suffered heavily from supply chain disruptions. Tammy Hall, owner of Main Street Cafe in Downtown Madison, cited cost increases and lack of consistency as the two main issues faced by her business.
Hall stated that “like most longterm restaurants, we like consistency. Our customers appreciate this factor as well. The products that are key to that consistency are just unavailable at times. These are products that have never been a challenge to secure. And obviously because they are hard to get, the cost of those same products has consistently risen over the last 7 months since returning to normal service after COVID.”
Hall used the example of chicken to illustrate the hardships faced by not only her restaurant, but others like hers: while a forty-pound case of random-weight chicken cost $40 a year ago, “now it’s a bargain if I can get it at $80.”
Although her ingredient costs increased across the board, Hall hoped to ride it out without significant price increases on the menu. As of January 2022, however, Hall said she will have to increase prices “just to stabilize our food costs, unfortunately assuming these costs are here to stay.”
Hall has adapted by ordering larger quantities than needed once they become available or by substituting similar options. “It’s very stressful trying to order everything we need to supply our hard menus. I’ve added new vendors in an attempt to bounce product availability between them. One week I can get red snapper from US Foods, the next week I’ll use Sysco, and the next may be Inland. It’s crazy!”
Each Sunday, Hall assesses her restaurant’s needs for the week, beginning the process of finding suppliers and determining when goods will become available. She said that the food reps are also stressed out, sometimes unable to find the simplest of goods such as cracker crumbs. “I mean, how can cracker crumbs be so hard to come by?”
Hall’s advice to other restaurant owners and small businesses: “just keep swimming. Do the best you can by your employees and customers. Be grateful that business is good and that you are fortunate enough to have to work to find products because business is good. Find your positives!”
As the owner of a manufacturing brewery/winery/distillery as well as a restaurant, Straight to Ale owner Dan Perry has experienced supply chain disruptions on multiple levels. Perry reports that he has seen freight charges on equipment ordered from overseas increase by 4x at the same time the delivery times have slowed to a crawl.
Straight to Ale is in the process of adding a new location and has been waiting on an electrical panel for over six months. “I could go on and on with examples (cardboard pricing, label pricing, bottle pricing), but I’m sure that everyone is seeing these same things at different levels.”
Supply chain disruptions have also impacted beer canning for Straight to Ale: “Our lead times on empty cans have tripled while the pricing has gone up 50% and the minimum purchase levels have doubled.
The restaurant side of the business, Ale’s Kitchen, is experiencing the same issues as Main Street Cafe, with prices increasing for all of the ingredients and shortages of necessary supplies. The restaurant has adapted by modifying its menus and using available food items to be able to continue to serve its customers. Perry expressed hope that things will eventually return to normal.
Although strains on the global supply chain are expected to ease by the second half of 2022, the use of creativity, flexibility, and patience will continue to pay off for small businesses as they adapt the lessons learned over the past couple of years to a changing economic environment.
Perry’s advice to other small businesses is “to tighten everything up, get out ahead on ordering, be flexible, and hang on. I have faith that things will eventually get better, but the ride is going to be long and rough until we get to that point. Our customers are tremendously understanding and are continuing to support us through all of this, and we are certainly grateful for that.” w
Huntsville Homebuyers Fight Back Against Corporate Cash Offers with RibbonCash Offers
By Kimberly Ballard
If you have tried to buy a house recently, you may have noticed the rules of engagement have changed.
One out of every three homes in the country today are bought with cold hard cash, and yet 99 percent of everyday households need a mortgage to secure their home.
Doesn’t quite add up does it?
But it’s true. Hundreds of billions of dollars in cash is being used to purchase homes, but it is not coming from the typical American family. So, where are these homes going?
Most of them are being sold to Wall Street investors who have stepped into Alabama and other states as well, with a single motivation of turning as much of the housing stock as they can possibly accrue into rental properties in which they are the landlord, reaping all the returns from the housing market.
According to Realtor.com, two cities close to home top the list of metros with the highest share of investment buyers. While Memphis and Birmingham top the list, Huntsville too is in the crosshairs according to Shaival Shah, founder and CEO of Ribbon, a real estate concept new to Huntsville that gives everyday Alabama homebuyers a new competitive advantage – turning every homebuyer offers into a cash offer to fight back against the corporate takeover of the U.S. housing market.
In early December, Shah said a memo crossed his desk from a Wall
Shaival Shah, founder and CEO of Ribbon Street investor stating they had $5.2 billion set aside to buy up housing inventory in Alabama. They were looking for markets with three recession-proof qualities: a military base, universities, and a strong hospital system.
Sound familiar?
“I brought Ribbon to Huntsville because it is one of the fastest growing markets in the country right now and it is a place where Ribbon can step in and support everyday families, making them more competitive in the homebuying process.”
Ribbon officially launched in
Huntsville with launch partner
Crye Leike Realtors on December 7. Ranked the third largest independently owned real estate company in the nation, Crye
Leike agents have a powerful tool in RibbonCash, to help everyday buyers compete - even in the most competitive market conditions, head-to-head with investors. “We’re excited for our agents and customers in North Alabama, because using Ribbon as part of the Crye-Leike Advantage program will give them a better chance of being successful when making offers,” said Steve Brown, president of Residential Sales at Crye-Leike. “By making offers not contingent on appraisal and the equivalent of cash, they can compete with investors. It’s a win for the buyer, the seller and our agents who show fewer houses to get an accepted offer.”
Alabama homebuyers continue to face steep headwinds in purchasing their dream home. The statewide median sale price increased 11.3 percent and the average days on market decreased from 71 days to 45 days, year-over-year, according to the Alabama Center for Real Estate.
“There are three communities of investors out there putting pressure on the average homebuyer,” Shah said. “They are big Wall Street institutional investors, who are not buying a couple of homes, they are buying thousands of homes.
“The second are high net worth individuals who have been living in places like New York, Boston, and Chicago, who because of the pandemic are working remotely and migrating into Charlotte, Atlanta, Nashville, and yes Huntsville, where they are bringing in a lot of assets to scoop up homes, they are used to paying $2 million dollars for in New York and Boston, for $225,000 in Huntsville.
“And the third group are high dollar individuals still living in New York and Boston, buying second, third, and fourth homes all around the country as investment properties.”
Zelda Freidman, a broker with Crye-Lieke said, “I am excited to see Ribbon in Huntsville because the housing market is so competitive right now, anything that helps our buyers compete with cash offers is welcomed by all of our realtors. “We are crazy busy with multiple offers and a lot of investors buying in Huntsville, making it really difficult for some buyers to be able to get their dream home.
“A home is the biggest purchase you make, building equity, cherishing it, taking care of it, raising a family in it,” Freidman continued. “Once we submit your pre-approval letter to Ribbon, it gives that homebuyer the advantage of making a cash offer. It is just that easy.”
Real estate is a $30 trillion dollar market and the number one driver of the U.S. economy. Everyone looks at it like a pot of gold, and Shah admits that one of his concerns when he formed Ribbon is that the U.S. is beginning to see the gentrification of the middle class in America. That is the deliberate displacement of the middle class by a wealthier class.
“We believe in home ownership,” Shah said. “Every other industry has faced disruption – look at retail with ecommerce, Walmart and Amazon. But real estate has been the last fron-
tier and the question is, what does that disruption look like in housing?”
He said Ribbon is taking a different stance, one in which they help the everyday household and family to be much more competitive in the process of buying a home.
“We have reconstructed the entire transaction in partnership with realtors and lenders, where now the family can secure their mortgage before or after they move into the new home.”
With a sizable balance sheet of their own and credit facilities, Ribbon will back the homebuyer up by turning pre-approved buyers into cash buyers.
“The average person who wants to buy a $300,000 house will typically get a mortgage. But if you put yourself in the place of the seller, the only thing they care about is the certainty the home transaction will close,” explained Shah.
“With a mortgage you must worry about financing contingencies, appraisal costs, and if you have an existing home, you must sell it before buying a new one, and all that has to happen in a tight window of 30 to 60 days.”
He said one out of every three offers backed by a mortgage gets delayed or falls through. The seller tries to minimize risk and optimize for cash offers.
“Just prior to Ribbon coming in this month, we had a first-time homebuyer struggling because some sellers won’t look at a mortgage-backed offer because it will cost the seller more time and money,” said Freidman at Crye Leike. “It’s been challenging but with Ribbon, we can present their offer as a cash offer. It is an easy process accessible to any pre-approved homebuyer.”
According to Shah, once the buyer is pre-approved and the mortgage bank says the buyer can secure a mortgage, the buyer can add Ribbon to your offer, giving them an automatic upgrade to an all-cash offer with a guaranteed close.
“That moves you from the bottom of the stack to top of stack and gives you a 40 to 80 percent higher likelihood of winning the offer,” he said. “Once the offer has been accepted by the seller, if your mortgage isn’t ready in time or there are unavoidable delays, which happens every day, Ribbon steps in and buys the home and reserves it for you for up to six months, transferring the home to you at the original purchase price when your purchase closes.”
What happens if the entire deal falls through or the family decides suddenly not to buy the house?
“The risk we take is that if we buy a home for someone and they choose for one reason or another they cannot or do not want to get the mortgage after Ribbon has bought it, they have the ability to freely walk away, and we put the house back on the market.”
He said for every 100 families Ribbon enables, less than five do not eventually go through. w
