Alabama Ranks in Top Five for Doing Business
By: Blake Deshazo
Updated: October 18, 2012
Alabama Ranks in Top Five for Doing Business
MONTGOMERY
- For the third consecutive year, Alabama is among the top five states
in the nation for doing business, according to the fall 2012 edition of
Area Development Magazine.
Alabama's
overall business environment, including the cost of doing business,
corporate tax environment, incentives programs, and cooperative state
government were also cited among the top
five by the responding consultants; and its certified sites and
competitive utility rates placed in the top five among the states as
well.
"As I
speak with companies all across the country and all across the world,
they tell me they like Alabama because we offer so much," Governor
Robert Bentley said. "We have an environment that
really makes companies want to locate and expand here. We offer the
best workforce you can find, and we have a world-class workforce
training program that helps companies succeed. Over the last 21 months,
we've announced more than 26,000 new jobs from companies
that are locating here or expanding here. Job creation remains my
number-one priority, and we stand ready to welcome additional business
here in Alabama."
The
report also listed Alabama first for competitive labor costs and near
the top of the list for workforce development programs.
"Alabama
consistently ranks as a great place to do business because we have
forged unique partnerships that give the state advantages," Alabama
Department of Commerce Secretary Greg Canfield
said. "Not only are we competing, but in many cases, we are winning
major projects with worldwide name recognition. The state is poised to
be third-largest automotive producer in the nation and will soon be part
of a major aerospace corridor."
Alabama's
overall labor ranking is a direct result of its innovative Alabama
Industrial Development Training (AIDT) program, which provides a
comprehensive workforce management system for employers
at no cost. Services include recruiting, screening, and training
potential employees; developing training materials; and delivering
customized training programs.
"Alabama's
competiveness in recruiting is due in great part to the tremendous
success that leading companies achieve once they locate here," said Bill
Taylor, president of the Economic Development
Partnership of Alabama. "The state and the communities work hard to
attract new investment. But everyone works even harder to support the
new companies once they locate."
For
example, this summer, Airbus announced it would locate a $600 million,
1,000-job assembly operation in Mobile to build the A320 commercial
aircraft. This new facility will place Airbus
in the middle of the Gulf Coast aerospace cluster.
A link to the full report can be found here: http://www.areadevelopment.com/Top-States-for-Doing-Business/Fall2012/top-states-consultants-survey-2012-landing-456337.shtml
