Mercedes Announces Major Expansion
DaimlerChrysler AG has announced a major expansion at its Mercedes-Benz plant in Tuscaloosa. DaimlerChrysler will invest $600 million at the Tuscaloosa site to double production for the next generation of the Mercedes-Benz M-Class sport utility vehicle. The expansion will generate 2,000 new jobs and double production capacity from 80,000 units to 160,000 units at that facility.

Call Center Chooses Muscle Shoals
Convergys Corporation has selected Muscle Shoals as the site for a $6.4 million customer contact center that will employ 700. The company will occupy a 47,000 square foot facility in Southgate Mall. Ohio-based Convergys provides billing, customer care and employee care services to companies in a range of industries, including telecommunications, Internet, cable and broadband services, technology and financial services.

Pemco Aviation Group to Add 500 Jobs at its Dothan Plant
Birmingham-based Pemco Aviation Group will centralize commercial aircraft maintenance at its Dothan plant, adding 500 jobs over five years and continuing its Alabama expansion. Pemco will spend $5 million to add equipment and hangar space for repairing and maintaining commercial airliners. The Dothan plant, which employs 400 people, will also increase space for converting passenger aircraft to carry cargo.

Mobile Aerospace Company Expanding
Mobile Aerospace Engineering has begun construction on a $7.3 million expansion that will add 200 jobs at its Brookley Industrial Complex headquarters. The 54,000 square foot hangar, the company’s seventh, will be able to house two Boeing 757s. Construction will be completed by first quarter 2001. The expansion is necessary because of a new contract with Boeing to convert passenger jets into freight carriers.

New Era Cap Company Expands in Jackson
New Era Cap Company, a manufacturer and marketer of the official cap of Major League Baseball, will open a new production facility in Jackson. The plant, located in Clarke County, will be New Era’s second production facility in the Southeast. The expansion will create 200 jobs in Jackson.

New GKN Montgomery Plant Opens with 140 New Jobs
GKN Westland Aerospace has opened a new 140-job assembly facility in Montgomery at the Antioch Plains Industrial Park. GKN Westland Aerospace is a division of GKN plc, London, a global industrial company.

Fourth Honda Supplier Announces in Alabama
Kumi Manufacturing Alabama, a new company formed by Kamco Industries, will spend $10 million and create 77 jobs in Clanton to build a plastics factory to supply Honda’s minivan plant. Construction on the 105,000 square foot plant has already begun, with production to begin in July 2001. Ohio-based Kamco makes parts such as plastic grip handles for Honda vehicles and acts as a supplier to Detroit’s Big Three automakers.

Bessemer Gains Freight Handling Firm, 75 New Jobs
Con-Way Southern Express, a component of Con-Way Transportation Services, has broken ground on a new $6.8 million service center facility in Bessemer’s Perimeter Industrial Park. The 62,000 square foot facility will enable the company to increase its freight handling capacity to 12 million pounds per week. The new facility will employ 75 people.