36 Hours Add to Economy in Mobile the Business View JULY 2016 1 with YOU on the FRONT LINES the Battle in Every Market Is Unique
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Mobile Area Chamber of Commerce JULY 2016 the Trade and Export in Mobile Movies Made in Mobile 36 Hours Add to Economy in Mobile the business view JULY 2016 1 WITH YOU ON THE FRONT LINES The battle in every market is unique. Ally yourself to a technology leader that knows a truly e ective solution comes from keeping people at the center of technology. Our dedicated Client Account Executives provide an unmatched level of agility and responsiveness as they work in person to fi ne-tune our powerful arsenal of communication solutions for your specifi c business. Four solutions. One goal. A proven way to get there— Personal service. We’re here to help you win. cspire.com/business | 855.277.4732 | [email protected] 2 the business view JULY 2016 10623 CSpire CSBS PersonalService 9.25x12.indd 1 6/25/15 1:08 PM the Mobile Area Chamber of Commerce JULY 2016 | In this issue ON THE COVER When you only have 36 hours in Mobile, From the Publisher - Bill Sisson there’s a great chance superb food and cocktails will be included. Here a group of Airbus Delivers local young professionals enjoy happy hour at Dauphin’s. Read the story on pages 15-17. Huge congratulations to of Alabama and, most Photo by Jeff Tesney. Airbus on delivering its specifically, in the Mobile first A321 to JetBlue from its region. brand-new facility at Mobile As production ramps up 4 News You Can Use Aeroplex at Brookley. The to four aircraft per month world has been waiting, and in this phase, Mobile can 7 Small Business of the Month: Mobile delivered. There were look forward to many more Professional Electrical Services Inc. so many who thought it might first deliveries to various 9 The Local Impact of Imports never happen, but it absolutely airline customers. I know I and Exports did on a picture-perfect will get a thrill every single “chamber of commerce” time another plane takes off 11 Made in Mobile: Mobile Film Office weather day in late April. from Brookley. 15 Thirty-Six Hours in Mobile Within three years of breaking ground, Perhaps the best news is that we’ve the first Airbus airplane was flown and only just scratched the surface of what is 19 CEO Profile: Matthew Wilson, delivered to JetBlue, and several others to come in the development of our region’s Mitsubishi Polysilicon will fly out of Mobile to a new home with aviation sector – unprecedented growth 20 Small Business Corner: It’s American Airlines. Assembling and that will occur for decades to come. And Summertime – Make Time for Time Off delivering aircraft from its only site in that’s a lot to look forward to. North America says a great deal about Mobile has officially entered a new era 21 Investor Focus: Norton Lilly International Airbus’s strength as a globally competitive of commercial airplane production, and 22 Chamber@Work company, and the company’s working a new chapter of our region’s economic relationship with partners across the state story. A chamber of commerce day indeed. 24 Ambassador of the Month: Kristyn Robinson 25 Board of Advisors Profiles 26 Stephen Potts Elected to Chamber Board of Directors 11 27 Calendar 28 Member News 30 Anniversaries 31 New Members the business view is published monthly, except for the combined issue of December/January, 7 by the Mobile Area Chamber of Commerce 451 Government St., Mobile, AL 36602 251-433-6951 www.mobilechamber.com ©2016 Publisher William B. Sisson Executive Editor Leigh Perry-Herndon Managing Editor Jennifer Jenkins 15 Copy Editor Michelle Irvin Additional Writers and Editors Mike Herndon, Ashley Horn, Susan Rak-Blanchard and Carolyn Wilson Printing Services: Interstate Printing/Direct Mail Graphic Design: Wise Design Inc. Advertising Account Executive: René Eiland 18 251-431-8635 [email protected] the business view JULY 2016 3 NEWS you can use TekLinks and Mobile Chamber Form Partnership Most things dealing with “When visiting our members, IT, including cyber security, we consistently hear their cloud-based services, computer concerns with maintaining a servers, etc., cause business robust and secure operating owners and managers to system,” said Carolyn Golson, hyperventilate – or avoid the vice president of membership issue altogether. Thankfully, for the Chamber. “Our through a new partnership partnership with TekLinks with the Mobile Area Chamber, gives us a chance to provide a TekLinks can offer reliable, key benefit to them for being a secure options to businesses, member of the Mobile Area from a one-person operation to work to make their technology offsite hosted email and voice, Chamber.” Mobile’s largest employers. infrastructure a little stronger virtual (cloud) servers and spam To learn more about TekLinks “(Network) security creates a every day, he added. filtering, among other services. services go to www.teklinks.com lot of inaction,” said David Through Chamber or call 205-314-6600. Powell, vice president of membership, local businesses marketing and strategic can take advantage of discounted development with TekLinks. TekLinks services, including When speaking recently to a group in Mobile about cyber Successful businesses must online/offsite server backup, security, Powell offered these seven areas to consider when thinking about your company’s technology plan: 1. Securing mission critical assets. Businesses must know what they need to protect. Consider this statement: “Without access to _______ my employees cannot do their job. 2. Perimeter security. There used to be a solid answer to what was/was not in the perimeter but with so many hand- held devices being used by employees, this is a moving target. 3. Network security. Give people and devices the access they need to do their jobs, but a ‘rogue’ device might have access to get in your network without approval. HEAVY HAULING 4. End point security. Lost and/or stolen devices account for 68 percent of all healthcare breaches. The key is to make devices and computers more secure and teach users FLATBED • HEAVY HAULING • BOAT HAULING • CONTAINER HAULING to understand why they too need to protect all devices with passwords that cannot be easily detected by hackers. Agent since 1993 Specializing in Tanks, Pipes, 5. Application security. Your company is only as secure Heavy Equipment and Machinery, as its weakest access point. Free applications are risky and they and Over-Dimensional Boats often go unrecognized by the user. Serving 48 States and Canada. 6. Data security. Data is the currency of cybercrime. Once someone gets behind your secure wall, all data must be encrypted and/or have a strong back up system in place if you need to “shake the etch-a-sketch” and start over. 7. Preventative security. Don’t accept free gifts such Call anytime! as a USB stick at events. You don’t know where they’ve come If you’re working, so are we. from. Ultimately, human error is 95 percent of all cyber security issues. 7040 McDonald Road Irvington, AL 36544 Phone: 800-242-9212 or 251-653-7348 Fax: 251-653-1199 E-Mail: [email protected] www.wonderlandexpressinc.com You’ll see this symbol with stories featuring Chamber initiatives. 4 the business view JULY 2016 NEWS you can use New Dashboard Provides Statistics to Better Understand Community-Based Needs What if you could about how I can utilize the data communicate neighborhood found within this site into my data in a way that tells a story work for the City of Mobile,” rather than a statistic, offering said Matthew Capps, the city’s organizations and individuals a senior director of parks and way to enable greater change to recreation. a region? “SHARE is an excellent tool A new web-based platform to evaluate where the real needs is a virtual “one-stop shop” exist in our region so we can providing a variety of tools to focus on the greatest challenges assist nonprofits, businesses, and collaborate with other local leaders and citizens alike organizations, “ said Chris Lee, in furthering their missions to executive director of The J.L. achieve change in the community Bedsole Foundation. in an efficient and effective The platform gives users the manner. Called SHARE ability to customize reports and Southwest Alabama (SHARE), combine the different data, as this effort was developed by well as easily drill down in the The Community Foundation of demographic and census data South Alabama. to the zip code level. Rebecca Byrne, president For nonprofits, this equates and CEO of The Community to stronger grant writing, Foundation, says SHARE offering a better understanding provides a new way to “connect of the issue being addressed as the dots from our area’s greatest well as underlying issues, an and long-term assessment of the indicator. Content is also needs to our area’s greatest examination of data over a issues facing the region. The provided, enabling users to difference-makers.” longer period of time and an website (www.shareswal.org) examine the cause of an issue The dashboard was launched avenue for long-term assessment. illustrates needs through a and better understand the after the foundation saw a need series of indicators, using either whole picture. to centralize data for more a state or national average “I have to say, it didn’t take informed decision-making comparison for the given long for me to start thinking UTC Aerospace Systems Expanding in Foley The ripple effect of the Conn.-based United Technologies Aerostructures business. the Mobile Area Chamber’s vice Airbus U.S. manufacturing Corp., UTC has a three-decade “The Airbus final assembly president of economic facility recently made waves in history as an A320 supplier.