Services

• Twelve Counties - Our organization represents the Tennessee Valley Authority power distribution region of North Alabama. The counties included in our coverage area are: Colbert, Cullman, DeKalb, Franklin, Jackson, Lauderdale, Lawrence, Limestone, Madison, Marshall, Morgan and a portion of Winston.

• Available Buildings - There are over 100 buildings available in North Alabama that range in size from 2,000 sq. ft. to 691,000 sq. ft. These buildings are suitable for manufacturing, distribution or research and development. Specification sheets and photographs are available upon request.

• Available Sites - North Alabama has available industrial sites ranging in size from 5 acres to over 2,000 acres. Specification sheets and photographs are available upon request.

• Demographics - North Alabama Industrial Development Association can provide complete community demographic information for each county within the North Alabama region.

• Visit Coordination - If you would like to visit sites or buildings in our region, we can make all the local arrangements. During your visits we can also provide information on financing, environmental permitting, incentives and free labor training.

• Confidentiality - All inquiries and correspondence are held in strict confidence. All of our services are provided free of charge without obligation.

• Valuable Relationships - That’s what we do—build relationships that last. Your organization might not be ready to expand or relocate. When you are, we’re ready to help.

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History

On March 1, 1949, a focused effort for industrial development began in North Alabama when the North Alabama Associates was founded.

Barret Shelton, Sr., publisher of the Decatur Daily and Karl Woltersdorf, Manager of the Huntsville Utilities had the vision of industrializing the entire North Alabama area. Messers. Shelton and Woltersdorf were concerned about the many young people who were moving away from North Alabama to find work.

The purpose of the North Alabama Associates was to promote the sale of electric energy. This purpose may be accomplished by expansion of existing industries and businesses, and by the development of new industries and businesses in the area. The increased sales of electricity and the prosperity of the region may be improved by providing work opportunities for the young people of the area

At the time, North Alabama was fundamentally an agricultural area. The soils were among the most fertile in the South. In 1945, 51% of the population lived on a farm. In seven out of twelve counties in North Alabama the farm population was in excess of 60% of the total county population. Only Colbert, Madison and Morgan had any industrial work opportunities.

Most of the first eleven months of operation of the North Alabama Associates was devoted to enticing the Air Force in establishing its Air Engineering Development Center (wind tunnel) on the Huntsville Redstone Arsenal. North Alabama lost this project to Tullahoma, Tennessee. Instead, as a consolation prize, the Army decided to make Huntsville the guided missile center of the United States. This was when the German Rocket scientists led by Wernher Von Braun came to North Alabama. It was anticipated that by 1951 more than 2000 people would be employed at Redstone Arsenal. The “consolation prize” has grown into NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center and the Army Missile Command which impacts the entire region. Today there are over 30,000 people employed at the Arsenal.

In 1963, the North Alabama Associates was re-organized as the North Alabama Industrial Development Association. The organization still has the same purpose, but now represents the entire North Alabama area. It receives its support from the TVA electric power distributors and indirectly from TVA.

The vision of the founders has now become a reality. North Alabama is a thriving region providing jobs for its young people.

In 2000 the population of North Alabama was 48% urban and 52% rural as compared to 29% urban and 71% rural in 1950. From 1990 - 2000, North Alabama had 29% of the population growth in the State of Alabama. The U.S. grew at a rate of 13.2%, Alabama at 10.1% and North Alabama at 14%.

The young people of North Alabama now find jobs in chemical, plastics, metal working, aerospace, automotive and many other types of facilities located throughout the area.

Some might ask how this success was achieved. The answer is found in visionary leaders, and long-term commitments to the industrial development effort. In 1950 Thomas Johnson, the first Executive Director of NAIDA, made the following statement “The expansion of industry into new plants and new locations is a slow process. There is keen competition from all over the U. S. It is going to take a lot of hard digging, research, patience and understanding, to accomplish the job ahead. It is a tough job. It requires the close cooperation of all agencies.”

This philosophy has not changed in the past fifty years. The North Alabama Industrial Development Association works with the local economic development agencies throughout North Alabama, the Alabama Development Office and many other agencies to recruit industry for North Alabama.

Looking around the region, one has to wonder if even our visionary founders would be astonished at the North Alabama they helped create. The 2005 New and Expanded Industry Report from the Alabama Development Office shows that North Alabama received 41% of the new and expanding manufacturing projects and 38% of all new manufacturing jobs created in the State. During the past five years, North Alabama announced 34,572 new manufacturing jobs with an investment of $4.6 billion.

As we celebrate these past accomplishments, we cannot be content to stop here. We must continue on the course laid out by our leaders; to continually strive to improve the employment opportunities for our young people and in doing so, improve the quality of life for the residents of North Alabama.

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