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February 7, 2008
Thank you. Pleasure to be with you. I appreciate the opportunity to
be with you all and speak.
Like to do three things today…
• First Background on MACC and our program of work
• Second outline present good news. What’s taking place right now in
our community.
• Third to describe Future Efforts ….by covering four key focus
areas of our program of work
In the end…overview of an organization that’s worked to grow and
improve Mobile for many years. Hope to illustrate our work is
well-planned and we’re professionally run
MACC one oldest… 171 years…1836.
• Non-profit member organization …staff of 45…$5 million budget..
42-person BOD guiding our work. We exist to serve some 2,400
members…representing nearly 85,000 workers. 94 percent < 100; 81
percent< 25; 63 percent < 10.
o Value....for our members in return for their investment
o Create jobs…retention, existing bus grow, recruiting new… more in
a moment
o As for Value….
? Info – TBV, TBVW, website, consulting services, “help” resource,
seminars, training sessions
? Networking – recognition/celebration events. ( increase sales,
lower costs, i.e., office, LD member to member discounts)
? Advocacy….Voice of Business… Advocate for their needs. Build a
positive business environment. Rep members best interest. 2 percent,
GR – ST; Taxation. Annexation issues; helping city be more
responsive to business needs (hurricane example ..streamline
permitting)…working for infrastructure
• Work recognized. On a local basis..most important measurement
…membership is up nearly 30 percent in less than three years…against
all national trends. .
• Recognized within CoC industry. Of nearly 7,000 chambers in US..
300 are accredited by USCOC; one of 29 to earn five-star
accreditation…. ACCE – Top Three for both 2005 and 2006…indicative
that our work business-like and done in strategic fashion.
Turning to the second area…these are exciting times in Mobile area.
There are great things happening in our community…Economy at an all
time high; unemployment at an all-time low. In the news every day.
Highlight….
Downtown is booming. RSA 35-story $165 m…state’s largest
building..largest on the gulf outside Houston. Many others.
International Shipholding Corporation ..first tenant..HQ from New
Orleans to the RSA tower this spring. Employ over 100. Signal
International just moved their HQ from Pascagoula to Mobile. (Marine
and fabrication business – offshore drilling, production units,
etc.)
Five-star Battlehouse Hotel is complete. $55m transformed Riverview
Plaza into four-star Renaissance Riverview Plaza. $15m Hampton Inn,
Royal/Conti.
Downtown Alliance…BID…Clean and Safe…Paying off w/Investment. Over
40 projects under way.
Along the waterfront, our $20m Alabama Cruise Terminal resounding
success. 125,000 cruising annually on Carnival’s Holiday. Matter of
time before 2nd and 3rd ship. Diversified
Economy.
A new $30m National Maritime Museum of the Gulf Coast– vis and
learning center – to be built at Mobile Landing along waterfront.
Mobile sits in nation’s 7th largest transportation corridor -- two
interstates, two airports, five RR.
State …ASPA….taking advantage of that building $350m Choctaw Point
intermodal facility. Operator will be Mobile Container Terminal –
joint venture of APM terminals (Maersk) and Terminal Link (CMA CGM)
900 construction jobs. Open 2008 with 80 startup jobs, avg $65K
annual salary. Terminal open handling some with 350K TEUs/container
equivalent.Nearly 4x present. Over time, 800k at full buildout,
employ over 300. Near 10-fold expansion.
Activity booming on the waterfront…Austal USA recently christened
first Hawaiian Super Ferry. Alakai. 350’ 4 stories tall..largest
alum ship ever built in USA. 40 knots. Second under construction.
More recently…. U.S. Navy recently said they’d invest up to $33
million in a new 700K sf modular manufacturing facility. Austal
building new breed of ship for Navy. When complete the facility will
be capable of construction of six large aluminum vessels ... per
year.
Announced $254 million expansion add another 1,000 employees to
Austal's current 1,160 workers. The company, a subsidiary of
Australia's Austal Ltd., is betting that it can win enough U.S. Navy
and commercial work to fill the 700,000-square-foot modular
manufacturing facility, plus a third assembly bay the company
previously announced.
Austal is competing to win work in the Navy's Littoral Combat Ship
program, as well as from a Navy program to build high-speed troop
and equipment carriers.
Activity all-time high at Bender, Atlantic Marine and CG Boatworks
on the river.
USA Mitchell Cancer Institute scheduled to open next year. Developed
by USA and Mobile Infirmary (Springhill). World-class comprehensive
research and treatment facility - 600 jobs @ $100k. $1 B impact over
next 10 years
USA Tech and Research Park. Office park facility puts educators,
researchers, students together with private industry. Successful
cities diversified economies.. tech parks. Stop brain drain..create
products, patents, companies, jobs.
In fact, it might surprise you but Mobile’s “knowledge economy” is
fastest-growing sector in Mobile with 6,000 jobs projected over the
next three years.
Aerospace…EADS (European Aeronautic Defense and Space Co.), Three
years ago placed 17-person operation here to service CG aircraft at
Regional Airport.
EADS aerospace engineering facility open and operational. They’ll
grow to as many as 150 engineers. $80k avg salary. (Design interiors
new A350 - cabin interiors, lavatories, and galleys.)
Northrop Grumman Corporation partnering with EADS and bidding on a
$100 billion contract, to replace the Air Force's full fleet of
500-plus tankers. Bids submitted for first phase of three
phases…valued at $40 billion…179 refueling planes;
Northrop / EADS will assemble planes at Brookley Field -- creating
1,500 direct jobs in Mobile. Across Alabama..create 5,000 jobs
(direct, plus suppliers) and generate more than $280 million
annually. Contract as early as Feb. 15 NGC partner, EADS, just beat
(1/07) Boeing on $1B contract with Saudi Arabia to build three
tankers.
January 14 Airbus announced plans to assemble commercial jets in
Mobile, contingent on winning bid to build aerial refueling tankers
for the U.S. Air Force. Airbus said its plan to add production of
A330 freighters to the tanker plant would create another 300 direct
jobs and potentially thousands more at parts and service suppliers.
The Air Force has said it plans to buy 12 to 18 planes annually
under the current contract. Adding the freighter line would boost
production capacity at Brookley to up to four planes a month.
Last year.… ST Mobile Aerospace Engineering Inc. signed seven-year
$470 m contract with FedEx Express Corp. convert 87 passenger jets
to air freighters at Brookley Field. Immediately, that means 200 new
jobs. MAE's largest private manufacturer (over 1,300).
Berg Steel and Pipe Coating building a $150 million steel and
fabricating plant. Employ 100 jobs avg annual $53k. High grade large
diameter steel pipe for oil/gas..clean industry. 25-60” in diameter;
up to 80’ lengths.
Now…the big one. Last May, ThyssenKrupp, one of the world’s largest
technology companies, chose north Mobile County for its new $3.7
Billion state-of-the-art steel and stainless steel manufacturing and
processing facility. According to the company, the construction
phase is expected to generate nearly 29,000 jobs and create
approximately 2,700 jobs when fully operational. An additional
38,000 to 52,000 indirect jobs are also expected to be created over
the course of a 20-year period.
There are many other projects…but the point is… Mobile Bay is red
hot. Recognized nationally..
Expansion Management magazine named Mobile one of the 50 hottest
cities.
- Entrepreneur Magazine fifth best midsize market for starting and
growing a business.
- Southern Business and Development…second hottest market in the
South for industrial growth
- Foreign Direct Investment Mobile # 8 on "Small Cities of the
Future list" and # 1 on "Most Business friendly small cities list"
Our work is to take advantage of opportunities and address
challenges before us. Unlike many communities… job growth /
recruitment … in Mobile .. centered at MACC… Unique Private / public
partnership…. Our role is to QB… quite successful over the years.
Four years ago, 160 companies, plus city and county, helped write
five-year ED plan.. then committed over $8.5 million to fund it.
Approach praised by many – state, regional, national level.
Tremendously successful, having exceeded all goals in just four
years. (1,100 jobs year – 7,361 ytd; Capital $1.7B over five years
-- $5.19B over four years; Annual salaries - $32,500 -- $47,700)
Consequently, our program of work has been rewritten and we’re
beginning a new effort to fund it.
Touch on some of the plan we’re working on… There are four broad
priorities… focus on our own… recruit to our strengths…workforce
needs… address infrastructure needs.
FIRST…Focus on our own. 80 percent jobs grown local. BRE… formal
program…visit with targeted firms… identify and overcome critical
barriers…assist in vendor, supplier, customer relocation. Simply
put… Our work is to help them overcome challenges today; so
companies can expand tomorrow. Began formal BRE program four years
ago..grown to receive state, regional and national recognition.
Also help existing companies increase their import and export
capabilities and opportunities. Specific initiatives to help
entrepreneurs succeed.
SECOND…Recruit to strengths. New Business Development…targeted
industry sectors include…aviation / aerospace, biomed and info
technology, steel manufacturing, maritime, transportation and
distribution, etc.
As part of that work, conduct trade missions, participate in trade
shows, target national media and site selectors, marketing efforts.
Recruitment and expansion efforts can be a real case of …Be careful
what you work for..you just might get it.
Two years ago…thought all-time high with 20 active projects.
Today…nearly 44 projects under way potential of 8,000 jobs.
THIRD …Workforce Development. Work is to advocate the needs of
business and to partner with others to address those needs.
Partnering includes Workforce coalitions… bringing business and
industry from specific sectors, such as healthcare, together with
K-12 and post-secondary education to develop programs that meet each
sector's specific workforce needs.
Proven very successful. As an example…the Bay Area Healthcare
Coalition. Annual interactive Health Occupations Career Fair, over
3500 Mobile and Baldwin high students participated since 2003.
Since 2004, 325 young people participated in Summer Scrubs - annual
summer gives high school students a week “behind the scenes” in
local hospitals to learn about healthcare professions..
We’re working with key partners such as Mobile Works…and the State
Office of Workforce Development – and many other local and state
entities – to implement a new strategic plan through Gulf Coast
Workforce Development Initiative -- to help us meet the job
demand…for today and for tomorrow.
Our work includes representing employers, helping build short-term
and long-term solutions. For example, coordinating vendor fairs for
local industries to secure employees locally. Also working to
develop a comprehensive external marketing plan for critical
occupations.
FOURTH…Infrastructure Advancement. To be successful, a community
must have necessary infrastructure coupled with a positive business
climate. We indeed work in the public policy area to impact the
business climate. Our legislative, advocacy and lobbying efforts
will continue build the necessary partnerships to secure specific
infrastructure needs.
In that regard ..Over the past two years…Transportation coalition --
businesses…individuals..associations -- build better relationship
with ALDOT and increase return of state gas taxes we pay. It’s
worked…to the community’s benefit.
((Let me begin to wrap up by mentioning two critical challenges
before our community
First….tied to infrastructure. We must address the growing
congestion along I-10, specifically near the Wallace Tunnels.
Federal government identified this area as THE bottleneck between
San Diego and Jacksonville.
Given continued growth …plus our Mobile Container Terminal coming
online… we must address the congestion….If not, we run the risk of
choking on our own progress. (66k a day; 130 blocked during 2006 –
grows every year. Five years to build – once you say “go”))
So… in a nutshell.. that’s a brief overview of the Chamber, a
glimpse of what’s happening in our community and a look at our ED
program.
In closing…. hope the picture I’ve attempted to sketch simply says
…these are the good old days…with even better days to come.
I also hope in these few minutes I’ve provided an overview of an
organization that’s worked to grow and improve Mobile area for many
years. That our work is professional, strategic, well-planned,
efficient and well-run.
It’s been my pleasure to be with you. Chamber member … thank you. If
not… welcome the opportunity to be of service to you and have you as
a member.
Be happy to answer any questions you might have. Thank you!
TK Notes – Project Compass
- TK had six different teams that visited Mobile 17 times. Often
gave us only two days notice.
- These six teams were not sharing information with each other.
Multiple requests.
- Secrets to Success
o Partnership. All seemed to be and stay on the same page
o Responsiveness from Alabama. LA – excuses, delay
o Gov. Riley
o Incentives – not considered until the end. Used to mitigate for
weaknesses
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