BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – Promising new therapies for debilitating diseases like diabetes and Parkinson’s are stemming from drug discovery work taking place in Alabama research facilities – an effort that’s getting a $2 million infusion from two insurers. At the center of this high-potential research is the Alabama Drug Discovery Alliance (ADDA), a unique collaboration between […]

BIRMINGHAM – Tokyo-based Dai-ichi Life Insurance Co. teamed up with Birmingham-based Protective Life Corp. Monday morning to announce $4.1 million in donations that will have significant impacts on medical research, education and culture in Alabama. The donations announced today follow the Feb. 1 completion of a formal merger between Dai-ichi, Japan’s second largest life insurance […]

CHICAGO – Honda showed off its redesigned Alabama-made Pilot family SUV last Thursday at the Chicago Auto Show. Entering its third generation, the Pilot has received a complete makeover. Honda said the 2016 model has been totally re-engineered and redesigned to offer new technology, advanced safety features, class-leading fuel economy and enhanced utility. “The new […]

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. — Mercedes-Benz’s newest Alabama-made vehicle, the GLE Coupé, will race through the jungles of “Jurassic World,” the highly anticipated next installment of the blockbuster dinosaur movie series that previously featured the automaker’s first Alabama-made automobile. The GLE Coupé, which will enter mass production at the company’s Tuscaloosa County plant this year, is among […]

MONTGOMERY, Ala. – Alabama exports climbed in 2014 to a near-record level, powered by shipments of Alabama-made automobiles to almost 100 countries, as well as rising overseas sales of products such as industrial machines, plastics, and iron and steel. Alabama’s exports totaled $19.518 billion last year, a gain of nearly 1.2 percent from 2013’s figure, […]

FOLEY, Ala. — When Doug Lipscomb settles in to catch Super Bowl XLIX, he won’t be focusing on the heroics of two top quarterbacks, the titanic tussles of burly linemen, or even the pyrotechnics of the halftime extravaganza. Nope, his mind will be on the turf. “We will have a little get-together at the house, […]

BIRMINGHAM, Alabama — The handcrafted ink pens Joel Lockridge fashions in a small woodworking shop at his Birmingham area home are fueling a mini export boom from Alabama to places all over the world. “I’ve now shipped to 27 countries and counting — some I’ve even had to Google to figure out exactly where I […]

SYLACAUGA, Ala. – The belt of white marble that runs beneath this central Alabama city once yielded gleaming columns, panels and other architectural elements found in monuments, government buildings, hotels and banks across the nation. For several decades, however, creamy Alabama marble has been in short supply for high-profile commercial and government projects. A new […]

MOBILE, Ala. — With customer deliveries of Alabama-made Airbus A320 Family aircraft set to begin in 2016, the European manufacturer is counting on its new production facility at Mobile Aeroplex to expand its presence in the world’s largest aviation market, according to Airbus Group Chairman Allan McArtor. “We want to be here permanently and understood […]

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. — Four Alabama metropolitan areas ranked among the nation’s 100 “Smartest Cities” in an analysis that examines which metro areas are gaining brainpower in the 21st Century. To compile its list, researcher NewGeography scored the nation’s 380 Metropolitan Statistical Areas (MSAs) based on three criteria related to gains in educational attainment since 2000. […]

MONTGOMERY, Ala. – Site selection consultants surveyed by national economic development publication Area Development have ranked Alabama a top state for doing business, giving the state particularly high marks for its labor climate and business environment. Alabama placed No. 4 in Area Development’s 2014 survey of the “Top States for Doing Business,” the fifth consecutive […]

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. – Mercedes-Benz, which launched Alabama’s auto industry nearly two decades ago, plans to sharply increase production at its Tuscaloosa County plant over the next two years, boosting annual capacity to 300,000 vehicles from the 185,000 produced there in 2013. Daimler AG and Mercedes executives said at the Vance plant on Friday that the […]

FITZPATRICK, Ala. — Peggy Sutton’s business may have started out as a hobby in this rural Alabama hamlet, but today her fast-growing To Your Health Sprouted Flour Co. sells its whole grain products to big-name food industry players and health-conscious customers around the world. In a Bullock County base just off U.S. Highway 82, the […]

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. — Sisters Stacey and Stephanie Dougherty are among the first Industrial Mechatronics graduating class at Mercedes-Benz U.S. International Inc. (MBUSI), the automaker’s Alabama operation. They join their father, Scott Dougherty, a Logistics Group Leader with 17 years at the Alabama plant, as members of the MBUSI family. Now Stephanie, 29, is about to start her own […]

(Above: Airbus Group Inc. Chairman and Chief Executive Allan McArtor and Hoar Program Management President Mike Lanier discuss the Mobile Aeroplex) MOBILE, Ala. – Construction work on the Airbus Alabama passenger jet production facility is moving forward on schedule, with the steel skeleton of a logistics center soon to rise near the assembly hangar already […]

LONDON, England — Alabama Gov. Robert Bentley addressed a group of economic development leaders and city officials from around Alabama Sunday morning at a London hotel, signifying the start of several intense days of business meetings and networking at the Farnborough International Air Show meant to bring new aerospace investment and jobs home to the […]

PINE HILL, Ala. – A $100 million, ultra-modern manufacturing facility located just outside of a small town in Wilcox County has begun turning out copper tubing for heating and cooling systems, appliances, refrigeration units and plumbing. But the GD Copper USA plant, located in one of Alabama’s most economically distressed counties, has also been able […]

MONTGOMERY, Alabama – Coming off a record year for movie and television production activity, Alabama is preparing for its role in the filming of “Selma,” a major motion picture focusing on Dr. Martin Luther King’s epic struggle to secure voting rights. The Alabama Film Office announced last week that portions of the movie project, which […]

Alabama’s three auto assembly plants combined to break a production record in 2013, surpassing the previous year’s total by 4 percent and stoking optimism that output can continue to rise. The Alabama assembly plants of Honda, Hyundai and Mercedes-Benz produced a total vehicle count of at least 915,000 last year, beating the 880,114 figure set […]

Paris, France – Governor Robert Bentley addressed a crowd of nearly 100 economic development officials and local elected leaders from across Alabama at a breakfast Sunday morning at the Marriott Paris – Rive Gauche Hotel. The group has gathered overseas for the 50th Paris Air Show, a biannual aerospace and defense trade show where companies and countries, suppliers […]