Monday, December 17, 2007
Area named nation’s top spot for industry
Being between billion-dollar automotive plants has really paid off for Opelika and Auburn and earned the area top billing.
March 23, 2007
Being between billion-dollar automotive plants has really paid off for Opelika and Auburn and earned the area top billing.
Site Selection magazine, a national trade publication, ranked Auburn/Opelika Metropolitan Statistical Area the top economic development area among metro areas with populations under 200,000 people.
Among the assets listed by the magazine were the proximity to Hyundai in Montgomery and a future Kia plant in West Point, Ga., Auburn University, Southern Union Community College, top health-care facilities and the 2,200- acre Northeast Opelika Industrial Park on Interstate 85.
Last year, the Auburn/Opelika MSA with a population of 123,000 people brought in 19 new facility projects. In Auburn, approximately 1,069 jobs were created with a $161.3 million in capital investment; and in Opelika, approximately 523 jobs were created with a $198.5 million in capital investment.
“Anytime that our area receives recognition in a publication as widely respected as Site Selection, it’s a good thing,” said Al Cook, Opelika economic development director. “We’re confident that our area will continue to grow and because of the outstanding leadership exhibited by Mayor (Gary) Fuller, the city council and the Opelika Industrial Development Authority this trend will continue.”
“We’re very aggressive on business expansion and a lot of the projects we have recruited over the years are now entering expansion phases and that’s been going very well for us,” said Phillip Dunlap, director of economic development.
Dunlap said that once companies get on line, they begin to grow and gain additional customer base, resulting in expansion.
“It takes some time to do that and what we’re seeing are some of the company’s we recruited in the last few years creating new jobs and adding capital investment now,” Dunlap said. “For us the job creation aspects are solid and there will continue to be job opportunities here in the market place.”
Auburn/Opelika beat Tuscaloosa for the top honor in the Tier 3 category of U.S. metros, although Tuscaloosa’s 12 corporate projects accounted for $592 million in capital investment.
The magazine delves in corporate real estate management and economic development for it’s bi-monthly editions.
To qualify, a project has to meet at least one of three criteria: at least $1 million in private capital investment, at least 50 new jobs or the addition of at least 20,000 square-feet of new floor area.
The editor selections were based on the development organizations’ overall performance in the following categories: total capital investment; jobs created; investment per capita; jobs per capita; overall economic vitality; depth and breadth of economic strength; diversity of industry; ability to generate break-through deals; and the overall quality of the group’s nomination package, including verifiable documentation for all projects.