1,800 jobs coming to Shoals

FLORENCE -- With a few strokes of a pen, Gov. Bob Riley introduced the Shoals to a new neighbor, one the area has long waited to greet.

Railcar manufacturer National Alabama Corp. will locate in Barton Riverfront Industrial Park, bringing at least 1,800 jobs with it, at a pay scale of $15 to $18 an hour.

"Ladies and gentlemen, welcome your new neighbor," Gov. Bob Riley proclaimed after the company signed the contract during a ceremony Wednesday morning.

"This is a defining moment in this state, this area.''

His words were met with a standing ovation from a crowd of about 500 people. Many in the crowd had earned ovations earlier during the ceremony for their relentless pursuit of the industry.

"We are proud to be bringing National Alabama Corporation to this sweet home," National Steel Car Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Greg Aziz said, playing on the phrase, "Sweet Home Alabama."

Apparently, the company plans to bring it home quickly, breaking ground within two or three weeks and beginning operations early in 2009.

The company is a subsidiary of National Industries Inc., the parent company of National Steel Car Limited, of Hamilton, Ontario.

The Shoals beat out about 150 sites for the industry, Aziz said.

"The Shoals community was challenged by the size of the project and the size of the incentives, but the Shoals community never blinked," U.S. Rep. Bud Cramer said.

Cramer, D-Ala., of Huntsville, said he has used the Shoals as a model for the possibilities that can happen when a community is one single force, rather than smaller, individual entities.

"This project caused us to come together in a way I don't think any multi-county area has come together," Cramer said.

Along the way, legislation was passed to allow Lauderdale and Colbert county commissions to adopt a half-cent sales tax to fund incentives for the project.

The commissions approved the tax increase in June. It will be implemented beginning Aug. 1, and is expected to produce about $6 million a year.

Shoals Economic Development Authority Executive Director Forrest Wright said the tax was essential.

"Without that, we would not be having this conversation," Wright said, shortly after the announcement.

Once the sales tax brings in $8 million for the project, funds from tax will be set aside for more industrial recruitment.

The tax is part of nearly $110 million in state and local incentives for the project.

That doesn't include a $350 million loan from the Retirement Systems of Alabama to pay for construction of the two- million-square-foot building.

"This truly is the beginning of a great partnership," Aziz said, "a partnership that we are confident will bring many benefits to the nation, to the Shoals area and to the state of Alabama for many years to come."

Wright said Riley's dedication to the project was crucial. He said the importance Riley placed on it was apparent by the fact that he had Alabama Development Office Director Neal Wade personally direct it.

Riley called Wright "the best in the business."

Wright said it literally was a community effort, right down to landowners who were willing to sell their property so the Barton site would be large enough -- 640 acres -- to accommodate the railcar industry.

The Barton site will produce 8,000 to 10,000 railcars per year once it's in full operation, Riley said.

Aziz said this plant will be unique, in that it will run several lines at a time, rather than a single line. That will allow it to manufacture several types of railcars at once.

"Flexibility is the Holy Grail in this industry," he said.

The plant will be nearly a mile long and have 5 miles of track.

National Steel Car has been in business since 1912 and employs about 2,500.

Aziz said the company wanted a presence in the United States and began looking two years ago. He said the Ontario site is landlocked and the company needs to expand.

"Our focus is on quality across all aspects of our organization, whether it involves engineering innovation, customer service or employee relations," Aziz said.

He said his company has a tradition of building long-term customer relations, and he believes the Shoals plant will continue that practice.

"Meeting customer needs and expectations is critical, and helping them succeed is our business," Aziz said. "We must continue to earn this confidence and trust every day through demonstrated excellence.

"National Alabama will not only be an extension of this, but it will be a key factor in our company's success going forward.

"It will bring competitive attributes to support this: a strategic location here in the Shoals region that is close to our main customer base; an opportunity to build a state-of-the-art facility on a 640-acre greenfield site, employing the best process engineering and technology that will deliver a high-quality manufacturing process, and, of critical importance, a welcoming community and people who are motivated and want to become a significant part of our organization."

Riley said Aziz had throngs of bidders wanting him to locate the company in their community.

"But the reason he chose the Shoals is, I've never seen a community come together the way this one has," Riley said. "With every problem, this community said, 'This is how we'll overcome it.' He saw something fundamentally different about what you have here. He loves your quality of life. He loves you people here.

"What you're going to see today is an enhancement of that quality of life."

Aziz said Riley was a major reason behind his decision.

"Governor Riley bleeds red, I mean he bleeds for this state," Aziz said. "His commitment, care and want to do what's right is surpassed by none. The commitment is unbelievable."

Riley commended Cramer, saying he's never seen anyone work so hard for a project.

Cramer said Wednesday's announcement is evidence that the economy is on an upward swing in the Shoals.

While things have seemed to start improving in recent years, the Shoals suffered tremendous losses in employment through various industry closings and layoffs in the 1990s.

"This kind of investment illustrates that northwest Alabama has turned a corner in economic recruitment," Cramer said. "National Industries' selection of northwest Alabama is the culmination of an aggressive regional strategy that we have successfully executed in the Tennessee Valley.

"Throughout the entire process, all of us from the governor to the county commissions were willing and eager to do whatever it took to bring this facility to northwest Alabama."

RSA Executive Director David Bronner said an earlier project made the decision to finance this project easier.

He was speaking about an economic-enhancement project that is funded by a 2-cent-per-gallon tax in Lauderdale and Colbert counties. The project was created early this decade, on the heels of the 1990s job losses.

That, along with RSA funds, helped pay for two Robert Trent Jones golf courses in Colbert County and a four-diamond, Marriott Shoals Hotel and Spa in Florence. It also paid for enhancements to the conference center and Renaissance Tower, both in Florence.

Hotel occupancy and golf-course numbers have exceeded expectations.

Bronner said Wednesday he again is impressed by the success in landing the railcar industry in what had been dubbed "Project Tiger."

"The way you worked together for this project is unique," he said.

That also left an impression on Wade.

"Y'all have become a poster child with this," he said. "We have been going around the state saying, 'Look what the Shoals has done. That's what you need to do.'

"Today was the result of that. This is the second largest project we've been able to bring to the state.''

Tom Smith can be reached at 740-5757 or tom.smith@timesdaily.com.

Bernie Delinski can be reached at 740-5739 or bernie.delinski@timesdaily.com.