Economic Development in Mobile

[bayourat15]

The Mobile area could soon land another major new employer. Florida-based hospitality company Cala Corp. is seeking $300 million in Gulf Opportunity Zone financing as they consider a $600 million shipyard on about 80 acres at Middle Bay Port. The shipyard, which could employ thousands, would build a new class of luxury resort ships.

Details near the end of this article.

[Southron]

wow! Thanks Southron u do a helluva job on these forums

[Southron]

WKRG-TV in Mobile recently ran a series of special reports on Mobile's economic future, including several segments on ThyssenKrupp and the KC-30 tanker aircraft. Check out the videos at the link below.

WKRG: Mobile's Makeover

[Southron]

Cala Corp. has dropped plans to build its UnderSea Resorts at Middle Bay Port, at least for the time being, because the state finance department has already allocated available GO Zone financing. Some of the funding may be re-allocated, but that may take up to a year. The company may have been experiencing financial problems as well.

The proposed ship would be similar to a very large cruise ship, but with a 30-foot underwater component.

Ship info: www.undersearesort.com

Mobile Press-Register: UnderSea no GO

[Alabadrock]

Cala Corp. has dropped plans to build its UnderSea Resorts at Middle Bay Port, at least for the time being, because the state finance department has already allocated available GO Zone financing. Some of the funding may be re-allocated, but that may take up to a year. The company may have been experiencing financial problems as well.

The proposed ship would be similar to a very large cruise ship, but with a 30-foot underwater component.

Ship info: www.undersearesort.com

Mobile Press-Register: UnderSea no GO

[Southron]

Check out this CNBC video about the Mobile economy. It covers ThyssenKrupp, Airbus, port expansion and more.

CNBC: Mobile thrives after Katrina

[Southron]

Inc. magazine included two Mobile firms, telecommunications provider Southern Light LLC and engineering and construction company Hargrove & Associates Inc., as part of its annual list of the 500 fastest growing private companies in America

The CNBC video in the previous post is actually the first of a two-part profile of Mobile on the cable network. The second video is linked below.

Mobile Press-Register: Mobile economy ready for its close-up

CNBC - video 2

[Southron]

Mobile Aerospace Engineering, which employs 1,250 at the Brookley complex, is considering expanding its aircraft maintenance hub to include construction of a warehouse and up to three new hangars. MAE would use the new hangars to support a $470 million contract it won from FedEx earlier this year to convert 87 Boeing 757-200 passenger jets into commercial air freighters. The FedEx contract is expected to add about 200 jobs at MAE, which pays an average of about $14 to $18 per hour.

Mobile Press-Register: MAE looks to expand

[mobileal1]

Mobile County Comissioners launched a campaign to attract young professionals. Check out the site its called Come back Home to Mobile...

Come back Home to Mobile

[Southron]

^ Hope that campaign is successful.

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Berg Spiral Pipe Corp. is on schedule to start production next September at its $75 million plant on the old International Paper site near the Mobile River. The plant's 200,000 sq ft pipe building is expected to be finished this week, and foundation work has begun on an 80,000 sq ft pipe coating facility.

Mobile Press-Register: Berg Spiral Pipe on track to open in September

[Southron]

Austal USA will go ahead with a $200 million-plus expansion of its Mobile River shipbuilding complex, whether it wins major new military work or not. The company plans to break ground on a 16-acre, 700,000 sq ft modular shipbuilding facility in the third quarter of 2008. Austal now has about 1,176 employees, and the expansion could eventually add nearly 1,200 more jobs.

Mobile Press-Register: Austal to go ahead with expansion

[bayourat15]

Hey, didnt realize it but the expansion of the state docks will in time add 1,300 jobs! wow!

[Southron]

Northrop/EADS will build the new Air Force refueling tanker aircraft in Mobile!

Check out the discussion here: Air Force fuel tanker to be built in Mobile

[Southron]

A short Press-Register article lists some of the major economic development wins in Mobile over the past few years. Mobile really is on a roll now. May the hot streak continue!

Mobile Press-Register: Mobile on a roll

[Southron]

The Northrop/EADS aircraft manufacturing plant could expand the existing aviation business in southwest Alabama into an industry cluster that drives the regional economy, much like the Mercedes plant near Tuscaloosa sparked the state's automotive industry. The new plant will add 1,800 jobs to the 2,800+ workers at existing aerospace firms in Mobile and Baldwin counties. Supplier and spin-off jobs will push the job total higher over the next few years.

Tanker project boosts efforts to build aerospace industry in Mobile and region

[Southron]

The word is getting out about the coming boom in Mobile. According to the guy supervising construction of the downtown Hampton Inn, word is spreading among contractors that Mobile is "THE place" for new construction over the next ten years or so. He said, "It's the biggest in the South as far as future work."

Economist Semoon Chang said new and expanding industries in aerospace, steel, shipping, shipbuilding and the racetrack could create 10,000 jobs in the next few years, with a ripple effect.

Associated Press: Mobile's economy on upswing

[Southron]

Mobile has become a major magnet for foreign investment. A fast-growing port, access to interstate and rail corridors and cooperation among local leaders are bringing in companies from Germany, France, Australia, Singapore and elsewhere.

Thirty major foreign companies now employ more than 6,000 workers, not including the new plants announced within the past year. German steelmaker ThyssenKrupp's $3.7 billion plant will employ 2,700, and the $600 million aircraft assembly plant for Northrop Grumman/European Aeronautic Defence and Space Co. will employ 1,500.

Birmingham News: Upwardly Mobile

[Southron]

SSAB's steel mill (formerly owned by IPSCO) in north Mobile County will undergo a $460 million expansion that will create 180 new jobs. Construction should begin in 2009 and be completed in 2011.

The national economic downturn isn't keeping some good things from happening in Mobile!

SSAB picks Axis mill for $460 million expansion

[Southron]

Austal USA won a $1.6 billion contract to build up to 10 high-speed transport ships for the U.S. military (Navy and Army) between 2010 and 2015. The contract will allow Austal to sustain its workforce, which now numbers over 1,000 employees.

Congratulations to Mobile!

Austal in Mobile wins $1.6B Navy contract