A Tasty Sampler

the Mobile Area Chamber of Commerce 2013 MARCH MARCH VIEW GOALS ALIGN A Tasty Alabama Power’s Sampler Mike Saxon of Alabama is 2013 Chairman Food The Business View – an easy and economical way to get your company in front of the Mobile area business community. Contact René Eiland to discover how advertising in The Business View can complete your marketing plan at 251.431.8635 or e-mail [email protected]. www.mobilechamber.com/view/media_kit.pdf 2 MARCH 2013 | THE BUSINEss VIEW March 2013 | CONTENTS the Mobile Area Chamber of Commerce VIEW Cover Mike Saxon, 2013 chairman of the Mobile Area Chamber is the top local executive of Alabama Power. Read about Saxon’s platform on Chamber efforts in 2013 on page 13. Cover photo by Ashley Horn. 13 4 Chamber President Win Hallett 4-6 News You Can Use 8 Year of Alabama Food 11 Small Business of the Month 13 Meet the 2013 Chamber Chair 15-20 Annual Meeting Award Winners and Wrap Up 21 Chamber Taking Group to Ireland in November 22 SCORE 23-24 CEO Profiles 26 Investor Focus 28 Chamber@Work 17 8-9 28 Business Spotlight of the Month 28 Ambassador of the Month 29 Board of Advisors 30 Economic Indicators 31 Calendar 21 11 32-34 Member News 35 New Members 35 Anniversaries the business VIEW is published monthly, except for the combined issue of December/January, by the Mobile Area Chamber of Commerce 451 Government Street, Mobile, AL 36602 (251) 433-6951 www.mobilechamber.com ©2013 Publisher......................................... Winthrop M. Hallett III Executive Editor ................................... Leigh Perry-Herndon Managing Editor............................................Jennifer Jenkins Copy Editor ............................................... Michelle Matthews Additional Writers and Editors Ashley Horn, Brandy Jones, Susan Rak-Blanchard, Carolyn Wilson Printing Services ................ Interstate Printing/Direct Mail Graphic Design ........................................Wise Design Inc. Advertising Account Executive ...................... René Eiland 431-8635 [email protected] THE BUSINEss VIEW | MARCH 2013 3 FROM THE PUBLISHER Outstanding Work will Continue Economic Activity at its Peak Two Mobile-Based his past November, I announced I T would be retiring during 2013. I am Projects so proud to be able to look back on what the Mobile Area Chamber has helped Receive accomplish, and thankful that I was able to participate in these successes with Prestigious our outstanding volunteers and staff. The Chamber’s programs and initiatives are fDi Awards driven by a strategic plan that supersedes personalities or tenures, and I am confident our first-class Chamber will continue to Win Hallett fDi – an international business magazine with do the outstanding work our members President, Mobile Area headquarters in London – presented Mobile with two and our community have come to expect. Chamber of Commerce awards during its annual “Projects of the Year” competition. The Port City was honored with: The work of the Chamber is broad, but well focused, and We are currently working 30 active projects. And we’ve • Runner-up in the global category “Best delivers on a number of fronts, including governmental and raised the bar on what we want to accomplish over the next Aerospace Projects” for Airbus’ first U.S.-based community development; small and minority business five years. production site; and development; and networking, training and discount Through 2017, this organization will set out to attract • Honorable Mention in the global category programs for our members. But by far, most people associate 4,000 jobs with an average annual salary of $40,000 or “Best Expansions” for Austal USA’s $5 million the Chamber with our economic development efforts. above and $1.5 billion in capital investment. A world-class project agreement. You may remember in 2008, the program has been put together to The awards were announced in fDi’s February/ Chamber set goals of creating surpass these goals, and 160-plus March 2013 issue with a special cover-story feature. 3,750 new jobs with a targeted “... the Chamber’s private investors, along with the city of Projects were judged by the magazine’s editorial average annual salary of $38,500 Mobile and Mobile County, are team and Mobile’s projects were up against all global and generating $1 billion in capital efforts are both providing the funding to make it greenfield projects recorded for 2012 in the investment over the ensuing five years. happen. progressive and magazine’s investment database. I’m happy to report we have far We recognize that Mobilians’ Elizabeth Holmenlund, business development exceeded those goals. responsible, quality of life and the region’s manager for fDi, said Mobile was one of only two Over the past five years, 8,027 economic growth are interrelated cities to receive two awards in this year’s competition. new jobs were created – 212 percent attempting to rebuild in the most intimate way, and the The magazine is a special publication of the of our five-year goal. The average an economy that Chamber’s efforts are both progressive Financial Times. annual salary of these jobs also and responsible, attempting to build exceeded the $38,500 goal, averaging complements and an economy that complements and more than $48,000 annually. The enhances our enhances our coveted and unique companies creating these jobs are quality of life. investing $2.2 billion in capital coveted and unique It’s a little bittersweet that I You’ll see this symbol with investment in our area. During 2012 won’t be at the Chamber to see this stories featuring Chamber initiatives. alone, 2,116 new jobs were created with quality of life.” program to fruition, but the staff capital investment of $733 million. is in place and the volunteer In my 22 years with the Chamber, leadership working behind the I have never seen this volume of economic activity. Our scenes is committed and capable. Thank you for the organization continues to host prospects almost weekly, opportunity you have given me to serve this great representing a variety of industry sectors including organization over the past two decades. Godspeed. chemical, oil and gas, steel, aerospace, engineering and distribution. 4 MARCH 2013 | THE BUSINEss VIEW Port Reports Record Revenues he year 2012 proved to be a record Tone for the Alabama State Port Authority, as it earned revenues of $144.6 million for the fiscal year ending Sept. 30, 2012 according to Jimmy Lyons, port director and chief executive officer. Added to that, Lyons said expenses were down about $1.4 million from the proposed budget. The gains were principally attributed to increased volumes in steel, export coal and containers. General cargo ended the year with $34.2 million in revenues stemming from iron, steel and forest products moving through the public facilities. Steel posted the largest general cargo volumes at 3.9 million tons overall, marking a 26 percent increase over 2011. Another large increase in volume occurred in containerized moves with 196,965 TEUs (twenty foot equivalent units) in 2012, a 31 percent increase over 2011. Automotive components, refrigerated cargoes and forest products were the leading commodities imported and exported through the container terminal. “The port’s success is the result of a combination of things, including the outstanding diversity of Alabama’s industrial base, the increase in consumption of goods produced in Alabama and consumption of imported goods in all markets served by our port,” said Troy Wayman, vice president of economic development of the Mobile Area Chamber. While steel’s been the “belle of the ball” in Mobile since ThyssenKrupp began importing product from Brazil last year, McDuffie Terminal also reported $67.8 million in revenue and handled 9.9 million tons of export coal. Lyons says the 5 percent increase in export coal was attributed to increased demand for metallurgical coal globally. Alabama is a metallurgical coal producing state, and in 2012 to meet export coal service needs, the port authority invested nearly $10 million for a new ship loader and associated improvements at McDuffie, converting an existing import-only berth to an import/export berth. Another performing division included the terminal railway ending the year with just over $21.5 million in revenue and handling 133,105 rail cars through the short- line’s switch and terminal yards. That is an 11 percent gain over the previous year. Overall growth in the port authority’s general cargo, bulk and containerized cargo volumes are linked to capital investments and manufacturing output over the past decade. “The port authority’s $700 million investments in new warehouses, Post-Panamax cranes, intermodal and rail, along with expanding manufacturing in the region, have transformed the port authority’s business,” said Lyons. “With continued investment in intermodal and transportation infrastructure, I can see these figures only getting bigger.” THE BUSINEss VIEW | MARCH 2013 5 Airbus Announces Final Assembly Line Schedule As Airbus prepares to break ground next quarter on its Allan McArtor, chairman of Airbus Americas Inc., shared a How can your company participate? Local business final assembly line project at Brookley Aeroplex, the Mobile projected timeline for the site construction and delivery of owners need to make sure their company is registered Bay area continues to buzz with interest and excitement as aircraft to its customers. with Airbus to receive notification when bidding opens. local media reports on

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