State's economic developers move away from big projects

By Cosby Woodruff
cwoodruff@gannett.com

Alabama's economic development focus will shift away from luring mega-projects that create thousands of jobs toward companies that can supply big employers in neighboring states, according to the state's top corporate recruiter.

Neal Wade, head of the Alabama Development Office, told the Montgomery Advertiser that the state will try to take advantage of auto plants near Alabama that are either planned or already under construction.

He pointed to the Kia plant in Georgia, the Volkswagen plant in Tennessee and a Toyota plant in Mississippi as opportunities for Alabama to expand its automotive supplier network.

"It is going to be the year of the supplier," he said. "We are building on our strength."

When VW announced it was locating in Chattanooga, Tenn., rather than near Huntsville, it left the ADO with no 1,000-plus job projects in the pipeline for the first time in recent years.

Wade predicted it would stay that way through at least the end of 2009.

Those huge projects, he said, can jump start an area, but some simply are not worth the incentives needed to attract the company.

"I don't think we have to go out and get every project," he said. "We don't have to live and die off of mega-projects."

Incentives, he said, can be used to help companies already here rather than recruiting new companies.

"We need to ask, 'What we can do to help you grow?'" he said.

Alabama laws don't provide statutory incentives to recruit white-collar companies -- but Wade said that's an item that's on their legislative wish list.

"I think we can have more of a balance with more research and development and more corporate headquarters," he said.

Wade said Alabama must continue its political cooperation with businesses if it is going to remain a player in economic development, and it must upgrade its transportation options.

He said Alabama's congressional delegation has worked together to support economic development projects, and he pointed to city-county cooperation across the River Region.

Still, he said Alabama -- particularly the Black Belt -- would have a better chance of landing major projects if there were more four-lane highways to make transportation easier.

Air transport continues to be a headache for developers. He noted the state has no direct flight to the West Coast and Montgomery soon will have no flight west of the Mississippi River.

He took Alabama's loss in the VW race with a little philosophy.

"Playing is everything," he said.

"If you can't play, if you are not ready to play, you can't win. Economic development is a process of elimination. They get it down to three or four sites and the rest of them are not even going to get a visit."