Economic trend continues for county
Story by Carol Pappas
Photos by Graham Hadley
If anyone is keeping score of late, St. Clair County’s tallies in the economic development column looks enviable from most vantage points.
Calling activity in the investment and jobs creation arena “robust” in 2019, St. Clair Economic Development Council Director of Industry and Workforce Development Jason Roberts also hints at a just as lively start to 2020.
“We are working on two large projects with international companies that we hope to be successful in recruiting in the very near future. One of these projects could be potentially the largest private investment in St. Clair County’s history.”
St. Clair EDC Executive Director Don Smith took it a step further, saying that it underscores that St. Clair is not only competing statewide and regionally, it is competing on a global stage. And, it’s doing quite well.
Like an accountant calculating record sales, Roberts recounts the activity and announcements for year-to-date, where St. Clair has experienced growth in existing industry – TCI, Ford Meter Box, WKW’s two expansions, Allied Minerals, Benjamin Moore, Unipres, J&M Exotic Foods and Advanced Tank.
Investments amount to more than $103 million and approaching 150 newly created jobs over the past 18 months.
WKW, which is in the automotive sector, completed its second expansion at the end of September and brought another business line from China. The new line will begin production in 2020. WKW, already in St. Clair’s top five employers, is adding another 30 jobs through its $13 million investment.
Allied Minerals represented a $12 million investment with retention of 60 jobs plus 30 new ones created by consolidating a facility from the east into the brand-new Pell City construction.
Unipres in Steele completed a large expansion at its stamping facility for metal automotive parts. Add $40 million in investments and 70 new employees to St. Clair’s economy in just that one project.
Benjamin Moore is adding a 10,000-gallon latex reactor to its paint facility, generating eight new jobs, $33 million in investment and illustrating the county’s successful venture into high tech competition. “The last couple of years, the community has been able to flex its muscles when competing domestically and internationally,” Smith said.
J&M Exotic Foods in Moody is doubling the size of its facility that produces spices and herbs with custom blending and packaging. Figure in another $2 million investment and 11 new jobs to St. Clair’s credit.
Roberts called Advanced Tank’s growth a “relatively small, but important expansion. St. Clair competed with a site in Colorado, the base of Advanced Tank’s operation, for the upgrading of its plate processing and sandblasting.
Advanced Tank has had a presence in Pell City since 1978, and while the $3.5 million investment and 12 new jobs created is impressive enough, “that we got it to come here is pretty important. New investments in new facilities usually are the last to suffer cuts” if there is a downturn, he said. “New investment means viability in the future.”
In other economic news, Smith pointed to an improving housing market, a new car dealership announced for Odenville and a half dozen or so retail and restaurant projects as reasons to be optimistic about the future.
A major retail development is hoped at I-20 at the site of the old county hospital, but there are no final plans or announcements to be made right now.
“We have had good announcements in nearly every community in the county in the past 18 months,” Smith said. And those without announcements thus far, “we’re working on very large projects. Hopefully, it will be a record-setting end of 2019 and beginning of 2020.”
Why all the focus on St. Clair? “We have all the amenities of a large, urban area like Birmingham combined with safety and low cost of a rural community and the close-knit family friendly aspects of a suburban community,” Smith said. “We’re able to market all three of those.”
Geographically, St. Clair sits in an enviable spot with two major thoroughfares – Interstate 20 and Interstate 59 running through it.
“Our leadership throughout the county works extremely well together,” added Roberts. “It makes it easier to operate here. It is an unparalleled level of collaboration and cooperation.”
Tally it all up, and it appears St. Clair County continues to be in the economic driver’s seat.
