Several factors come together to make Alabama an ideal place for investment, especially in top-performing sectors like automotive, aerospace and aviation, defense and bioscience.
“Major companies across the world already call the state home, and our expertise across multiple industries along with our qualified workforce have established Alabama as one of the top five business climates in the country,” says Ellen McNair, Secretary of the Alabama Department of Commerce.
The state also restructured its Department of Labor as the Department of Workforce, folding several workforce development entities under one umbrella. McNair notes that the new entity “exemplifies the state’s commitment to talent development, attraction and retention with its purpose of removing barriers and creating clear pathways to connect all Alabamians to prosperity through integrated services.”
Steel Production Soars
Alabama is seeing steep investment in the longstanding sectors of iron and steel. At its Fairfield Tubular Operations site in western Jefferson County, U. S. Steel will spend $75 million to install new equipment that will assist in the facility’s production of pipe and tubing for the energy sector.
Many locals have either worked or had a family member work at the facility, where a $412 million electric arc furnace began operations in 2020, replacing a blast furnace that was shut down in 2015.
There was enthusiasm at the end of 2023 when Japanese steelmaker Nippon Steel announced a $14 billion deal to acquire Pittsburgh-based U. S. Steel, which was finalized in June 2025. Both U. S. Steel and Nippon Steel have plans to invest $11 billion in U. S. Steel’s American operations by 2028 to enhance steel production capabilities.
“When Nippon came in and said that they were looking at acquiring U. S. Steel, we were pretty excited about it honestly because we saw it as an opportunity for new reinvestment in existing facilities within their footprint,” says Jefferson Traywick, economic development advisor at the Jefferson County Commission, whose father worked at the Fairfield site for 32 years. “And soon after acquiring U. S. Steel, [Nippon] said they were going to be investing a couple hundred million in their Alabama operations. That didn’t really come with a lot of specifics until this announcement with the initial $75 million investment in the new threading operation. This is in my opinion the first step toward reinvigorating the U. S. Steel operations here locally.”
The capital investment will go toward installing a new Premium Thread Line, increasing U. S. Steel’s threading capabilities and capacity and greatly improving production efficiency.
When asked how the Fairfield site expansion will add to U. S. Steel’s corporate strategy, a company spokesperson explained that “the project will enable USS Tubular to simplify the value chain, increase premium product volumes and capture greater market share against a backdrop of rising demand for premium tubular products.”
Traywick notes that Birmingham has a “metro population of about 1.2 million. So that gives us the biggest workforce pool to pull from. And given that we have a long history in manufacturing, specifically in steelmaking, we are still well situated for any steel-related projects that are looking at the area or existing operations that are looking to grow, which we have several of right now.”
Other steel companies are also leaning into Alabama. Germany-based Butting Global is spending $61 million building its North American headquarters and first U.S. production facility in Loxley, located near the Gulf Coast in Baldwin County. The 250-year-old company, which already has a presence in Finland, Brazil, Canada and China, is a known for its stainless steel piping, clad pipes, customized spools and components and cryogenic pipe and valve technology systems. The new site will sit on 50 acres, with Phase 1 having started in November 2025 and focusing on construction of the headquarters, engineering functions, the fabrication of stainless steel spools and components, and cryogenic pipe systems.
Leading global steel producer ArcelorMittal, based in Luxembourg, announced a $1.2 billion investment in an advanced manufacturing facility in Mobile County that will make “electrical steel” for EV motors and other uses. The project will be located near an existing site, operated jointly by ArcelorMittal and Nippon Steel (the AM/NS Calvert steel mill). The new facility is expected to create more than 200 permanent positions and will be able to produce up to 150,000 metric tons of electrical steel for automotive/mobility uses, renewable electricity production and electric motors, generators and specialized applications. Production is expected to start in 2027.
Secretary McNair notes that the ArcelorMittal project “also strengthens the region’s industrial base by supporting growth in advanced manufacturing and attracting additional suppliers and related businesses. This project expands Alabama’s capabilities into high-value electrical steel production, reinforcing the state’s reputation for advanced, world-class steel manufacturing. By reducing dependence on imported electrical steel and anchoring this specialty segment in Mobile County, Alabama further solidifies its competitive position in the national steel industry.”
Projects Aplenty
In 2024, Coca-Cola Bottling UNITED began construction on a new $335-million facility in Birmingham located on land purchased in 2013. The project will include a 150,000-sq.-ft. multilevel office complex and 300,000 sq. ft. of warehouse space where a state-of-the-art case picking system will be used. The building complex will sit along I-20/I-59 on a former Stockham Valves and Fittings site, which received a $2 million brownfield cleanup grant from Jefferson County. Coca-Cola Bottling UNITED also opened an $18-million sales center, warehouse and distribution hub in Auburn last June.
Cassandra Mickens, corporate communications senior manager for Coca-Cola Bottling Company UNITED, says the company “chose to build and expand in Birmingham and Auburn because these communities are part of our history and our future. Both locations give us the logistics, talent and partnerships we need to serve our customers with excellence. These investments modernize our operations, strengthen our workforce and position us for long-term growth across the Southeast.”
The city of Bessemer, also in Jefferson County, in November greenlighted a $14 billion hyperscale data center, known as “Project Marvel,” which is projected to be one of the largest private investments in the state. This 4.5-million-sq.-ft. facility will comprise 18 buildings and will be located on 700 acres.
About an hour’s drive west of aerospace hub Huntsville, American defense contractor Lockheed Martin will see expansion of its missile assembly plant in Courtland. The 88,000-sq.-ft. facility, located on a former World War II U.S. Army Air Corps location, is expected to be completed in early 2026 and will be a part of the Next Generation Interceptor program, which is focused on developing defense systems against ballistic missile threats.
Huntsville also scored a big win in December when Eli Lilly and Company announced it would invest more than $6 billion in a new site in the city that will manufacture small molecule drugs, including diabetes/weight loss GLP-1 medications like orforglipron.
The project will bring 450 permanent jobs to the region, several requiring highly skilled workers (engineers, scientists, lab techs and other personnel). Further, the construction phase is expected to create 3,000 jobs. Construction is expected to start this year, completing in 2032.
Huntsville Lands Its Quarry
According to the U.S. Census Bureau, no county in Alabama saw more growth between 2020 and 2024 than Madison County (home to metro Huntsville), which saw its population swell by 35,199 people over that span … No. 1 in the state and representing nearly 27% of the state’s overall population growth.
That figure may continue to climb in the wake of Huntsville’s official designation in September as home of the relocated U.S. Space Command, observed North Alabama Industrial Development Association President and CEO Brooks Kracke at a December luncheon in Atlanta. Redstone Arsenal is home to federal budgets totaling more than $50 billion, earning it the moniker “Pentagon of the South.”
“A lot of people out in Colorado will be offered the opportunity to move to Alabama,” Kracke said of the Space Command’s relocation from Colorado Springs, citing reports that many of those considering the move like what they see down south. Around 1,400 Space Command jobs are expected to transition to Redstone over the next five years. Around 60 acres of Redstone’s approximately 38,000 acres have been designated as the location for the new headquarters.
— Adam Bruns
