Well...Florence is Getting Some Bigger

 

Here's a population snapshot of nine Alabama cities over the past 75  years. We honestly didn't know Huntsville was that small in 1950.

Only Birmingham and Gadsden have lost population, but the remaining seven cities have grown at much different rates. Florence is considered "rural" due to it's being over 50 miles from a metropolitan area and not having at least 100K residents.

Combine that with the fact it's so far from an Interstate, chances of a substantial new industry are extremely slim. If SEDA really wanted to help, the board would be out each day digging for gold or uranium.

He Brags of Being on the SEDA Board

Is SEDA a Failure?

 

Applying for New Chicken Plucker Position

From an observant reader:

Why consult the Shoals Chamber of Commerce and/or the team at the Shoals Economic Development Authority (a Jivin' Jackie Hendrix pet project) when they have had decades to provide meaningful jobs for the area? They have failed miserably. They have stood by on the sidelines and collected huge allotments from the different city councils of taxpayer dollars and in return built "spec" buildings in industrial areas that were occupied like they had revolving doors. 

Florence has a 20% poverty level. The Shoals Chamber of Commerce eats tea cakes while taxpayers eat Spam. Most of who were able to get because of having EBT cards. It doesn't take much talent for a "job recruitment" organization to get low wage service and fast food jobs to come to an area. 

Yes the contributions of the Shoals Chamber of Commerce and SEDA can be summed up with two examples. You can apply at WHATABURGER or SLIM CHICKENS in Florence. It speaks well of a candidate with vision that they would want to see all allotments to both SEDA and the Shoals Chamber be discontinued and taxpayers money be spent in a more productive manner to bring the area out of poverty.

One Glaring SEDA Error!

SEDA has been around for decades, and many think the Shoals Economic Development Authority has outlived its usefulness. Some merely think the organization shoots too low in its recruiting targets. No matter all the problems that may or may not affect SEDA, things are certainly coming to a head rapidly. The Lauderdale County Commission has made what appears to be a hollow threat to leave the organization. Should Lauderdale actually follow through?

There are probably 30 days of blogs that could be written on this subject, and we're sure we will be returning to it shortly, but for now we have one strong criticism. We will assume that those in charge are experts in many fields and do a great job, but after looking at the organization's website, we couldn't help but notice what we consider to be a huge mistake in marketing. 

Let's imagine that a new company is making uber waves in X-ray technology. We're talking new paradigm type innovations, and this company is looking for a home in which to flourish. It will be the biggest thing in the country since Amazon, and it's up to one or two individuals to make a list of prospective cities that might be just perfect for the company.

There are 50 states, and assuming these states have an average of 10 recruitment entities each, the new company would have an initial list of 500 sites at which to look. It might be easy to eliminate some which weren't near a major transportation artery or which were deemed undesirable due to extreme weather conditions, but what about the rest? Perhaps that leaves 400 areas in the U.S. that this new company would need to assess.

What does this new company see when it looks at the SEDA site?

It's hard not to miss the word "Targets" in the top menu. Click on the drop down icon and you'll see "Automotive Suppliers" and "Computer Software Designers." This would be fine if these two endeavors were the only ones we wished to reach. Except, these two are not the only ones...and we've just lost the huge new X-ray manufacturer. We were eliminated before the company execs could even look the site over properly.

However, if automotive suppliers and software designers are the only two industries the Shoals is seeking out, so be it. Then do we really need SEDA to help with this limited recruiting?

You Wouldn't Want to Locate in the Shoals by Any Strange Chance, Would You?

Who's the Colbert County Leaker?

There's been some intrigue recently in Colbert County. In case you missed it, a story was leaked to Russ Corey at the TimesDaily concerning removing Colbert County from SEDA, the local industrial recruitment board. The tale presented to the media was that Tommy Barnes, a county commission member, had written a formal proposal to be voted on. This wasn't true.

To some, this seemed like a minor distinction, while to others it seemed like a major smear campaign against Mr. Barnes. Would anyone want to lie about the good commissioner? Supposedly, David Black has accused Jimmy Gardiner, and Gardiner has accused Black.

Isn't it nice to know that these guys work so well together?

Have some ideas on the SEDA situation? If you think it should be disbanded or if you think it's the greatest thing since pimple cream, tell us how you feel.

The Truth About National Steel Car Ltd.

National Steel Car Ltd. was to be the savior of the economy in Northwest Alabama. The Hamilton, Ontario, company promised a minimum of 1,500 jobs paying at least $16.00 an hour. Interestingly, the unionized Hamilton plant pays its workers the US equivalent of $26.00 an hour. Now the new plant, dubbed National Alabama, has seemingly returned to the genie's bottle from which it sprang--the same one holding the convoluted financial machinations of NSC's Greg Aziz.

According to Canadian sources, Aziz is not only president and chief executive officer of NSC, he owns 100% of the rail car manufacturing facility. Aziz is said to own only 10% of its Alabama counterpart. In 2007, Aziz announced the Hamilton plant was landlocked, a statement many in the Ontario manufacturing hub questioned. Aziz further declared that by 2012, the 100th anniversary of the manufacturing concern, the Hamilton plant would no longer be able to keep up with orders for new rail cars and hoppers.

Greg Aziz was looking for land at a cheap price and his quest soon brought him to the Shoals; obviously we were only too glad to be the recipient of his attentions. Just how closely did the powers that be look at Aziz's National Steel Car Ltd.? Seemingly most local and state industrial recruiters were viewing Aziz and his grandiose plans through a gauze covered lens.

As early as 2006, the Hamilton plant had begun laying off workers due to a slow down in orders. By 2009, NSC had sent 1,700 workers packing, leaving only 660 fully employed. NSC soon asked that those remaining take a 25% pay cut, and a strike ensued. Hamilton workers are members of the Teamsters Rail Union, while the prospective workers at Barton are not unionized--a fact that was not lost on Aziz.

While Greg Aziz told Shoals industrial leaders that the Barton plant would begin full operations as soon as the economy rallied, he failed to mention that at least one of NSC's chief competitors had already relocated to Mexico, siphoning away many of NSC's customers with a lower bottom line.

On July 19th, the TimesDaily reported that National Alabama had a total work force of 120 and had not yet received its first order for rail cars. On August 15th, the same newspaper offhandedly threw out the line:

When asked about the future of the railcar facility, Wright would only comment, “We're talking with companies that could operate in that facility.”

It may sound trite, but we have to ask: Just what do Forrest Wright and SEDA know and how long have they known it?

*****

Shoalanda



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