Above: A look inside the Mercedes-Benz plant in Vance, Alabama (image courtesy of the Alabama Department of Commerce)
Looking to do business in Alabama? Having some insight into the state’s manufacturing climate can give you a big advantage when it comes to talking to Alabama manufacturers.
Today, we’re exploring the latest statistics on Alabama’s manufacturing sector and providing information on the ten largest manufacturing companies in the state.
With its competitive labor costs, abundance of project funding, and friendly business environment, Alabama is a huge draw for many companies. The state is home to a number of big names in the automotive and aerospace industries and has seen a remarkable amount of foreign investment over the past decade.
According to data collected by MNI, compiler of the industrial information that powers IndustrySelect, Alabama is currently home to 4,143 manufacturers employing 280,761. These include some leading companies in the transportation equipment, food processing and fabricated metal sectors.
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According to MNI, Birmingham is Alabama’s largest city based on industrial employment, home to 24,949 workers. This is followed by Huntsville with 22,883 workers.
Read more: Top Manufacturing Cities in the U.S.
Other top cities in Alabama include
• Montgomery (15,387 jobs)
• Mobile (12,632 jobs)
• Decatur (10,227 jobs)
Jefferson County is Alabama’s largest in terms of industrial jobs, home to 46,006 workers. This is followed by Madison County (29,608), Mobile (25,962), Montgomery (18,030) and Tuscaloosa (17,445).
Taking a look at the state’s top industries, transportation equipment manufacturing ranks as the state’s largest industrial sector based on number of jobs, employing 50,202. Second-ranked food processing ranks second with 37,342 jobs, while third-ranked fabricated metal products accounts for 29,656. This is followed by industrial machinery with 23,119 jobs and lumber/wood, with 20,084.
Alabama also holds the distinction as the top state in the U.S. for aerospace manufacturing employment. Employing more than 8,000 in the guided missiles, aerospace & parts industry, Alabama beats out aerospace giants like California and Arizona. This is largely due to a high concentration of aerospace companies in the city of Huntsville, otherwise known as "Rocket City" like Aerojet, Blue Origin, and Lockheed Martin.
Other facts to know about Alabama manufacturers, based on IndustrySelect’s advanced criteria available to subscribers, include ownership, distribution and other trends. Let’s take a look:
• 2% of Alabama manufacturers are women-owned
• 1% are minority-owned
• 11% are publicly-owned companies
• 10% import raw materials
• 20% distribute their products internationally.
Next, we’ll take a look at the state’s top companies.
Company | Employees | City | State |
---|---|---|---|
Honda Manufacturing of Alabama, LLC | 4,500 | Lincoln | AL |
Austal USA | 3,200 | Mobile | AL |
Dynetics, Inc. | 3,000 | Huntsville | AL |
Farm Fresh Foods, LLC | 3,000 | Guntersville | AL |
Hyundai Motor Manufacturing Alabama, LLC | 3,000 | Montgomery | AL |
Mercedes-Benz US International, Inc. | 3,000 | Vance | AL |
Northrop Grumman Systems Corp. | 2,500 | Huntsville | AL |
The Boeing Co. | 2,500 | Huntsville | AL |
Maples Industries, Inc. | 2,350 | Scottsboro | AL |
Buffalo Rock Co. | 2,200 | Birmingham | AL |
1. Honda Manufacturing of Alabama, LLC (Lincoln, AL)
With 4,500 employees at this facility, Honda Manufacturing of Alabama ranks as the state’s largest industrial company based on number of jobs. Here workers assemble Light-duty trucks and V-6 engines for minivans, SUVs and pickup trucks.
2. Austal USA (Mobile, AL)
Austal USA is a major shipbuilder in Mobile, with 4,000 employees assembling aluminum vessels for the defense and commercial markets. Austal is Alabama’s second-largest industrial employer based on number of employees.
3. Dynetics, Inc. (Huntsville, AL)
Dynetics is a major aerospace company that develops spacecraft and missile propulsion systems, hardware, software development as well as mechanical and electrical fabrication. 2,500 workers
4. Farm Fresh Foods, LLC (Guntersville, AL)
Farm Fresh Foods, LLC is a poultry processing plant located in Guntersville, Alabama and employs 3,000.
5. Hyundai Motor Manufacturing Alabama, LLC (Montgomery, AL)
Hyundai Motor Manufacturing Alabama employs 3,000 at this Montgomery campus, assembling the Sonata and Elantra sedans and the Santa Fe SUV, making it the third-largest industrial employer in the state. The Alabama site is Hyundai’s first U.S. manufacturing plant and ranks as the state’s third-largest industrial employer (tied with Merceds-Benz below).
6. Mercedes-Benz U.S. International, Inc. (Vance, AL)
With 3,000 employees, Mercedes-Benz is a major Alabama employer. Established in 1993 in Vance, workers at this plant assemble the Benz GLE and GLS Class, the GLE Coupe and the GLS Maybach.
7. Northrop Grumman Systems Corp. (Huntsville, AL)
Northrop Grumman Systems Corp. is a leading global aerospace and defense technology company. Located in Huntsville, Alabama, also known as the “Rocket City”, it has a rich history in U.S. space, missile defense, and national defense programs. The company is home to engineers, scientists, researchers, and program managers who work alongside the Army, Missile Defense Agency, NASA, and other customers.. In April 2023, Northrop Grumman expanded its launch and missile defense development capability by opening a new two-building campus just outside of Redstone Arsenal in Huntsville.
8. The Boeing Company (Huntsville, AL)
This Boeing location in Huntsville employs 2,500 and specializes in defense and space products.
9. Maples Industries, Inc. (Scottsboro, AL)
Alabama isn’t all about automotive and aeronautics but is also home to this major textile company. Maples Industries in Scottsboro makes bath mats, scatter rugs and other types of floor coverings and employs 2,350.
10. Buffalo Rock Co (Birmingham, AL)
Buffalo Rock Co is among the nation’s largest family-owned Pepsi-Cola bottlers. The company has a long history, starting in the late 1800s when Sidney W. Lee founded the Alabama Grocery Company. The company manufactures and sells nearly a billion containers of product annually.
Interested in other states? Browse all of our state news here.
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Sources
https://www.hmmausa.com/
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mercedes-Benz_U.S._International
https://www.buffalorock.com/about-us/
Note: This article was originally published in February of 2021. It is updated annually to reflect new trends and statistics in Alabama.