Industrial Focus

MDB's Targeted Industry Groups

MDB and area leaders have identified several major business activities that match up exceptionally well with the Birmingham area's resources, and that have responded well to the area's location advantages.

These include Financial Services, Biotechnology, Automotive Parts Manufacturing and Distribution as well as Headquarters and Administrative Support Office Operations, Distribution Centers, Machinery and Fabricated Metals.

Financial Services
Birmingham serves as headquarters to two of the nation's top 40 banks in deposits and assets, positioning the city as a financial center

These two banks, Regions and Compass, have combined assets of over $70 billion and expand across the South from Texas to South Florida to the Carolina coast and points between.

A full range of financial services is readily available throughout the Birmingham metropolitan area. With a combination of twelve (12) commercial establishments, 10 holding companies and 11 credit unions, any of the larger banks and savings institutions can be presumed to offer full capitalization services and fully staffed international banking departments..

Biotechnology
Birmingham is ranked number 22 in top 100 cities for National Institutes for Health (NIH) funding, receiving $220 million in annual extramural research and development funding. UAB, a top tiered research university, ranks in the top 20 for NIH funding in research institutes. Birmingham also leads the nation in NIH funding for AIDS research and recognized world-wide for its advancements in cancer research.

www.bioa labama.com

The Biotechnology Association of Alabama (BAA) is a partner of MDB and represents 63 biotechnology/ biopharmaceutical companies promoting the growth and development of the state's biotech industry.

The Birmingham area is home to four centers for Research & Entrepreneurial Development:
UAB Research Foundation
Southern Research Institute (SRI)
Office for the Advancement of Developing Industries (OADI)
The Entrepreneurial Center

The University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB)
A combination of significant R&D dollars, clinical and preclinical capabilities, internationally-recognized medical programs and practioners; UAB provides a basis for successful growth and recruitment in the biotech industry. UAB scientific discoveries have yielded a significant number of private biotech companies, most notably the publicly-traded BioCryst Pharmaceuticals and Brookwood Pharmaceuticals.

The development of the UAB Biomedical Research Institute, a $90 million biomedical center that is expected to generate about 1,400 jobs, was awarded $30 million in state funding. The institute is part of the university's long-term goal of a total of four new research facilities to be built over the next decade. The second of these facilities was recently announced and construction is expected to begin soon.

Oxmoor Valley
In 2000, when Galenica Pharmaceuticals, a Maryland-based biopharmaceutical company, began looking to acquire its first physical headquarters and research facilities for their R&D operations, they found a 30,000 square foot home in the Oxmoor Valley Research Park.

Oxmoor, a planned community, is the only available site in the Southeast that offers the proximity of a metropolitan downtown area, two research institutions, an international airport, secondary and post-secondary schools, shopping, recreation and residential areas all within a 15-minute drive.

Galenica Pharmaceutical joins the neighborhood of other major research operations such as Southern Research Technologies, Advanced PCS, Brookwood Pharmaceuticals, and Diversified Scientific.

Oxmoor also is home to the Office for the Advancement of Developing Industries (OADI), a nationally recognized high-tech incubator.

Wachovia Bank has announced plans for a campus-style technical park within the Oxmoor Valley. This area will be anchored by the company's technical services facility.

Automotive Industry
Since the announcements of Mercedes-Benz US International and Honda Manufacturing of Alabama, more than 30 automotive-related companies have located to the Birmingham metro area.

The automotive industry and the interstate 20, 59, and 65 corridors serve as home to Mercedes, Honda, and over one hundred automotive related companies, positioning the Birmingham metropolitan area in the hub of the Alabama automotive corridor. MDB was a founding partner of the Alabama Automotive Corridor Alliance.

Mercedes-Benz US International
According to Mercedes, the task at hand was enormous: develop and produce a new vehicle, at a new plant, in a new country, with new people. And of course, it must be competitively priced and a true Mercedes-Benz. In 1995, Mercedes chose a 966-acre site to build a one-million square foot facility in Vance, located 12 miles east of Tuscaloosa and 32 miles west of Birmingham.

MBUSI validated their decision to be in Alabama in August, 2000 when they announced an $600 million expansion that created an additional 2,000 jobs in order to double their production capacity. The new model "Grand Sports Tourer" is manufactured there.

Honda Manufacturing of Alabama
Since the initial groundbreaking in April of 2000, Honda Manufacturing of Alabama has made a capital investment of $580 million, created 2,300 new jobs and developed a world-class site in Lincoln, Alabama, approximately 40 miles east of Birmingham.

The Honda facility exceeded expectations when the production plant opened in record time, almost 6 months ahead of schedule in December. The company recently began production in a major expansion of its facility which will more than double their capacity when full output is reached.