Selling Walker County:
Industrial development has been the key to growth over the last few decades. Here’s our outlook for the future.
Words by David Knight | Images by Al Blanton and courtesy David Knight
Economic development is about improving quality of life, enhancing opportunities for area residents, and creating a place where companies can thrive. The Walker County Development Authority plays a leading role in the economic development process and serves as a catalyst to accelerate growth, which contributes to job creation, greater payroll, and increased investment.
A key part of this process is recognizing things that make Walker County a special place and translating those things into a message that makes sense, reduces risk, and creates value for new and expanding industries.
How do we recruit new industry, how do we support existing industry, and how do we grow the local economy? One project at a time.
For the past 25 years, the Walker County Development Authority has coordinated economic development efforts throughout the community that have promoted growth, improved job opportunities, and enhanced the quality of life—one company, one investment, one job, and one project at a time.
One of the biggest single factors that has contributed to the recent industrial growth and expansion is the completion of Interstate 22 in June 2016. While it didn’t happen overnight, this was a game changer for Walker County. It cut commute times in half and provided enhanced access to the South’s booming automotive sector. Interstate access by itself won’t win a project but it certainly enhances the area’s marketability.
Designated as a stand-alone micropolitan area by the federal agency Office of Management and Budget (OMB) in 2019, Walker County quickly surpassed all expectations in 2020 by being ranked 11th out of 546 micropolitan areas nationally for new industrial projects by Site Selection Magazine.
Why stop there? In the current “New and Expanding Industry Report” published by the Alabama Department of Commerce, Walker County ranked 6th out of 67 counties for new industrial investment, with over $129 million in 2020 alone. This ranking is a big deal, when you consider that the first five counties represent the growth areas around Birmingham, Mobile, Tuscaloosa, Huntsville, and Auburn.
The results are impressive. A snapshot over the past ten years alone shows major new industrial growth, significant capital investment, and diversification of the industrial base that will help insulate the county from major downturns in any one sector. During this ten-year period, the Development Authority has successfully worked with over 17 projects that are new or have expanded to Walker County. These projects have invested over $338 million, created over 1,100 direct new jobs and increased local payroll by $51 million. Projects include multiple automotive suppliers, wood products, metal fabrication, distribution, chemicals, and mining.
The most recent, and fifth automotive company to call Walker County home, Heiche US Surface Technologies, has already started hiring and is nearing completion on their new 103,000 square foot facility on Whitehouse Road.
While the Development Authority works hard for these types of outcomes, none of this would be possible without the cooperation and partnerships the Authority maintains with local, regional, and statewide groups integral to the economic development process. Local cities and industrial boards, county government, regional development allies, utility partners, and state agencies all play a vital role in producing these results. Economic development is, and always will be, a team effort that is built around a vision and executed with communication and collaboration.
While a new industry moving into a community often grabs the lion’s share of attention, it’s the existing business and industry that can be counted on year after year, to grow and strengthen the local economy. The Development Authority regularly meets with existing companies to discuss business operations, needs and future plans. These meetings are a great way to build relationships, provide assistance. and identify future opportunities.
This approach positioned the Development Authority to provide support for the current Jasper Lumber/Tolko expansion and the recent Nelson Brothers expansion of their chemical plant in Parrish. These existing industry projects represent an investment of over $55 million and will create at least 75 new jobs within Walker County.
Recognizing and enjoying recent success is important, but economic development is a forward-looking process. It’s all about how we prepare for the next opportunity. In the economic development process, the adage “Location, Location, Location” definitely plays a role, but “Product, Product, Product” is what generates interest and brings projects to town.
To that end, the Development Authority is continuously searching to identify properties that can be developed into quality industrial sites that provide some type of competitive advantage, whether it is rail access, barge access, flat property (not likely in Walker County) or interstate access.
The Authority is currently marketing multiple sites and buildings across Walker County, from Carbon Hill in the west to Cordova and Dora in the east. In addition to these existing properties, the Authority is also working with several major landowners to secure or purchase significant sites that could provide over a thousand acres of land, ensuring the product availability that will be critical for future economic development success. 78