SEDA E-Newsletter June 2006


	Shoals Economic Development Authority
June 2006 Archived Newsletters

SEDAupdate

Meeting Schedule SEDA News Available Building Highlight

Meeting Schedule

SEDA Monthly Board of Directors Meetings

August 8
September 12
October 10

Shoals Manufacturers
Association

July 12
September 13
November 8

For more information, contact Lesley Cox, (256) 764-0351

Shoals Industry-Education Training Alliance

July 19
October 18
January 17

For more information on the Training Alliance, contact Lesley Cox, (256) 764-0351

Shoals Economic
Development Authority

Phone: (256) 764-0351
(800) 239-6087
FAX: (256) 764-3850

500 North Court Street
P.O. Box 580
Florence, Alabama 35631

Web: www.seda-shoals.com

SEDA News

Alabama Wins "Gold Shovel" Award North American Lighting Project One of Top Ten Projects for 2005
Area Development trade journal has awarded Alabama the "Gold Shovel" award for having the highest ranking in the nation based on the 10 top job-creation and investment projects initiated in the state during 2005. The North American Lighting project in The Shoals area helped boost the state to the top spot, as it was the seventh largest project in the state based on the number of jobs created. Governor Bob Riley expressed his enthusiasm for the state's top ranking: "This is like winning the Oscar for economic development. Alabama's economic growth strategy has once again been nationally recognized for being a huge success.
	(l to r) Bob Smith, ADO; Daniel Robusto, NAL; Noriaki Yonezawa, NAL December 2005 Announcement The Shoals, Alabama
Our strategy is working and the results speak for themselves." The editors of Area Development contacted each state to ask for verifiable information on that state's top projects. Then, they ranked the states based on five factors: the number of direct jobs created; the ratio of new jobs per capita; the amount of company investment; the number of new facilities; and the number of projects that created high value-added jobs. When the dust settled, Alabama was the victor. Governor Riley emphasized the fact that Alabama's projects were distributed across the state: "In the past, most of our growth occurred along our interstate corridors. Today, we've succeeded in spreading economic growth and new opportunities beyond our interstates. Every county in Alabama today has unemployment rates in single digits." This is certainly true of The Shoals. Thanks to a number of new projects and existing industry expansions, the unemployment rate for the Florence-Muscle Shoals, AL Metropolitan Statistical Area has dropped from 8.8% in March 2002 to 3.6% in March 2006 (Bureau of Labor Statistics, U.S. Dept. of Labor). The Gold Shovel award follows a string of successes for Alabama's economic development efforts. Alabama has been named the "State of the Year" for each of the past four years--2003, 2004, 2005, 2006--by Southern Business and Development magazine, which covers economic development in 17 Southern and border states. Additionally, in March 2005, Site Selection magazine ranked Alabama as the "Most Competitive" state in the nation by awarding the Alabama Development Office, Alabama's state-level economic development agency, the 2004 Competitiveness Award. The top ten projects in Alabama in 2005, according to Area Development: EADS North America, Inc. EJM Aerospace Hudson-Alpha Institute for Biotechnology North American Lighting Kronospan U.S. LLC GKN Aerospace Services Austal USA C & S Door Corporation Jo-Ann Stores Hanil E-Hwa Interior Systems

The Shoals Sees Progress With Numerous Construction Projects

     The Shoals area continues to grow, thanks to a number of construction projects that are underway.

     In the Florence-Lauderdale Industrial Park, two large industrial buildings are currently under construction. In the photo to the left, a 50,000-square-foot building is quickly going up next to R.G. Darby Company on Kendall Drive. Pictured at right is a 30,000-square-foot building being built on Rushton St. just north of Thacker Casket Manufacturing's facility. The building will be the new home of Whatever It Takes Transmission Parts, which will be returning to the Florence-Lauderdale Industrial Park. The company had previously been a tenant in the Shoals Entrepreneurial Center on Northington Court before moving to its current location.

    A major improvement has been made to a key entry point into the heart of The Shoals. The newly completed Shoal Creek bridge is already seeing use from eastbound traffic, as seen in the photo on the left. As construction continues on U.S. Highway 72, it is clear how this project will impact the transportation infrastructure of The Shoals. Previously, westbound traffic had to cross Shoal Creek on a one-lane bridge, which created a bottleneck during peak traffic times. Soon, traffic will flow smoothly over the new span. This is good news for companies located in The Shoals or those who do business with these companies, as U.S. Highway 72 is a primary route from The Shoals to Interstate 65.

        Visitors to The Shoals and Shoals' residents alike have enjoyed an upsurge in the number of restaurants and retail establishments which have been added to the retail landscape over the past several years. Home Depot, Olive Garden, Aldi, Walgreens, Texas Roadhouse, Rosie's Cantina, and others have already opened. Now, a Kohl's department store is moving toward completion, which will give shoppers a great new venue for finding the apparel, shoes, accessories, and home products they seek. The Shoals offers a wide array of shopping and dining opportunities with both outstanding locally-owned and nationally-recognized establishments.

In December 2005, North American Lighting lit up The Shoals with the announcement that it would build its newest manufacturing facility in the Northwest Alabama Airport Park in The Shoals. The facility will manufacture tail lamps for automobiles and will employ over 300 people when fully operational. The project will continue to build on The Shoals' reputation as a natural choice for industry and a great place to do business. Construction on the facility has already begun as workers busily transform the site from a cotton field to a state-of-the art manufacturing facility.

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Available Building Highlight

UCI Building
2405 Denton Road
Tuscumbia, AL 35674

36,000 Square Feet

Square Footage	Ceiling Ht. Maximum	Ceiling Ht. Minimum	Dock Doors	Column Spacing (ft)	Floor Thickness (in)	Air Conditioned	Rail
Production--30,000 Office--6,000	28'	18'	4	25' x 60'	6"	Production--No Office--Yes	No

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Shoals Economic Development Authority
P.O. Box 580
500 North Court Street
Florence, AL 35631
Phone (256) 764-0351
Fax (256) 764-3850
E-mail: shoalseda@seda-shoals.com

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