By Laura H. Corbin

Rolling into rural Chilton County, Ala., along Interstate 65 between Birmingham and Montgomery, you’re greeted by a sight that, while not unique, certainly is unusual.  A “Peachoid” water tank hovers over the highway, surrounded by peach and souvenir stands, celebrating the community’s still thriving peach industry.

If you looked no further than that peach-shaped tower, you might not see that Chilton, and the county seat of Clanton, are about much more than peaches these days.

As the 21st century approached, business and government leaders in rural Chilton County, Alabama, determined that they wanted better for their community.

Better didn’t mean throwing away their history or the agrarian foundation on which it was built.  It meant making certain that residents there were able to take full advantage of progress that other areas of the state were seeing with the influx of automotive-related industry, bringing millions of dollars in investments and creating large numbers of higher paying jobs.

Chilton had something that their more metropolitan neighbors – like Tuscaloosa, with more than twice the population of all of Chilton County, which in 1993 landed Mercedes-Benz’s manufacturing facility now employing more than 4,000 – didn’t necessarily have.  They had a strong workforce raised in the peach orchards, growing not only the sweet juicy fruit, but also growing a work ethic that makes it perfect for manufacturing.

They also had a down-home feel that in 1999 grabbed corporate officials with Germany-based CRH North America Inc., a tier 1 supplier of high-end seat structures for such automobile brands as BMW, Daimler-Chrysler, Ford and Hyundai.

Clanton wooed CRH as much with its Southern charm as it did with its more tangible multilayered incentives, including a lease-buy back deal on its building.  “CRH liked us because of our open spaces, and because of the friendliness of our people,” says Obie Littleton, director of economic development for Clanton.  “They liked us, and we liked them, and we let them know we wanted them here.”

Company officials had narrowed their site search from 50 potential U.S. locations, and visited some 30 of those, narrowing that down to three – Anderson, S.C.; Auburn, Ala.; and Clanton, Ala.  That’s when the wives and families were brought into the search, and Clanton managed to sell itself as a great place to live.

At the time, Alabama officials were aggressive in recruiting automotive suppliers and original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) to the state.  “They were very determined to turn an agrarian economy into a manufacturing economy, and they went and did it,” says Dean Leane, CEO of the U.S. operations of CRH.  In Chilton County, “the incentives were multilayered, with state, county and city incentives,” he adds.  “We got the land for a very good deal, and they paid $1 million for earth-moving,” in addition to a lease-buy back deal on their building.

CRH began with nine employees and a “green field operation that turned into 50,000 square feet in 1999,” notes Judy Benson, human resource manager for CRH North America.  “It quickly expanded to 230,000 square feet and currently 500 employees in Clanton,” making it the largest employer in Chilton County.

“The support of the local government, the workforce and location were the primary reasons we selected Clanton,” Benson says.  “Our first contact was with BMW (with its North American manufacturing facility in Spartanburg, S.C.), and we are in a good location to supply that company as well as seek business from Daimler-Chrysler.  Now, Hyundai is commutable from the location, and our current customers also include Ford and Volkswagen.”

All areas of government, business, chamber of commerce, banking and more have been “completely supportive” of the company and its employees, she adds.

In turn CRH has been completely supportive of the community.  “We’re thrilled with the success they have had in our community,” says Pennie Broussard, executive director of the Chilton County Chamber of Commerce.  “They have had a tremendous positive impact on the community.  Every other year, they give a $5,000 engineering scholarship to a high school student.  They provide hams and turkeys to their employees at the holidays through the local Habitat for Humanity project to raise funds.  They make their presence known in every positive way imaginable.  They do a lot, and it seems that to them, they can’t do enough.  They’re always looking for and finding ways to help the community.”

Of course, offering good jobs is the most important thing CRH provides.  “Agriculture is part of who we are,” Broussard says, “but we know that building our industrial base provides our workforce with good paying jobs, jobs right here, where they don’t have to commute.”  A drive to Birmingham, where many Clanton/Chilton County residents work, can be between 30 and 90 minutes, depending on the conditions of the interstate highways.

“We’re right in the middle of the state, right between Birmingham and Montgomery, so we’re in a great location,” she adds.  “We’re trying to find the sweet middle where our jobs are concerned as well – between agriculture and manufacturing.”  In addition to the interstate, Chilton County has good rail access, “and we can get you to the water, if you need it.

“We have location and labor,” Broussard says.  “The workforce has a good, strong work ethic.  This is an agricultural community, so people are not afraid of a day’s work.”

Landing CRH has allowed the area to attract other manufacturing facilities, including Kumi Manufacturing Alabama LLC, maker of interior and exterior plastic parts for Honda and other automotive companies, which employs 175 people and is poised for expansion.

Southeastern Anodizing, a local steel fabricator that supplies the automotive industry, recently signed a new contract with Nissan to supply parts for the undercarriage of all Titan trucks and has built a new facility in Chilton County.

“Having CRH helps us in recruiting other manufacturers, particularly automotive suppliers,” Clanton’s Littleton says.  “No doubt about that.”

The region now is ready to set its sights on more development, he adds, as local business and government leaders explore the idea of creating a new industrial park to help lure more business.  When they arrive, they’ll be paying more attention to what the area has to offer them than that peachy water tower.