Alabama Governor Bob Riley, left, talks with Mississippi Governor Ronnie Musgrove, right, Friday April 11, 2003 at the State Capitol in Montgomery, Ala., prior to holding a joint press conference. The two, Southern Governors of adjoining states, have agreed to set up a joint economic development project on their mutual border. AP Photo/HO/Kevin Glackmeyer.

Suppliers Stack Up
in Alabama

Yes, those OEMs and their powerful supplier networks are more numerous throughout the region than ever before, most dramatically in Alabama.
        Company scouts see a lot of numbers they like in Alabama. Here's a new one: 295. That's the number of members as of mid-April in the Alabama Automotive Manufacturers Association. Ac-cording to the Conway Data New Plant Database, the state leads the nation in new manufacturing plants since January 2003, with 13. In 2002, Cullman County alone saw 40 expansions worth $33 million, part of overall investment topping $143 million for the year.
        Not all is sweetness and light in Alabama. In May, the International Paper mill in Tuscaloosa and the Kerr-McGee chemical plant in Mobile both announced permanent closures, resulting in the loss of 312 jobs. But for the automotive suppliers flocking to the state, that just means more people to train.
        Mando Corp. is investing $30 million in Opelika, where, to help accommodate the increasing airport traffic in the area, the Auburn-Opelika Robert G. Pitts. Airport is following up on a 2001 runway extension with another expansion that will result in a new terminal, hangars and a training facility. Fraser, Mich.-based Venture Industries, Hyundai's largest Tier 1 supplier, is building a $100-million, 600-job automotive plastics plant in Prattville, helped in part by a planned $1.8 million incentive package from the city. The plant will employ 200 when it opens in 2004 and 600 at full production. Alexander City will play host to a $53-million investment from Samlip Industrial Co., another Korea-based Hyundai supplier, which will employ up to 400 at its 130,000-sq.-ft. (12,077-sq.-m.) lighting systems plant.
        The roster just keeps growing, and apparently the state is ready to handle the infrastructure challenges wrought by such growth. The state's menu of cost advantages might even withstand a little upward wage pressure.
        "It doesn't hurt that electricity prices are over 15-percent lower than the national average, and projected to stay that way for the foreseeable future," says Chris Bell, vice president of economic development with Alabama Power. Part of the economically, politically and literally powerful Southern Co., Alabama Power benefits from being part of an integrated system of operating companies at the same time it sometimes helps the state battle with its neighbors for projects.
        "We call it economic dispatch," says Bell. "We can run all of our generators and manage our transmission system over our whole grid, which helps the whole region be successful. But those state lines continue to mean something, so therefore my team is focused on what's good for Alabama. All economic development is regional in the selection process, and we encourage regional participation, but ultimately communities are what companies buy."
        That observation might seem to run counter to a recent call by Georgia Gov. Sonny Perdue for a regional incentives truce in order to rein in the cash giveaways. But like the same region's water negotiations, resources are apt to flow toward where the best deals are.
        Sometimes, however, that state-vs.-state battle calls a truce.