Source: AL.com
As sure as the Alabama Crimson Tide wins NCAA championships, more and more representatives of the global automotive industry are finding the state of Alabama an appealing location for expansion of manufacturing operations. In 2017, Mercedes announced plans to build a new electric battery plant at its facility in Tuscaloosa, and Honda began expansion of its Lincoln factory near Birmingham.
Last month, Toyota and Mazda announced a joint venture, named Project New World, to invest $1.6 billion in a new plant in Huntsville, Alabama, where Mazda will produce a crossover model new to North American car buyers and Toyota will produce the Corolla, not far from the company’s existing engine plant.
With new automakers come automotive suppliers and industry support, therefore, the question is whether the good news of auto industry growth in Alabama will spell good news for heat treaters in the state. Dave Sullivan, product analysis manager at AutoPacific Inc., an automotive research company, said the Toyota-Mazda factory itself is a huge asset for the state, but it will also cause economic ripples by bringing spinoff jobs at suppliers and service companies in the area.
Read more: “It’s Official: Toyota-Mazda Announce Alabama Factory”
That sounds like good news. We asked a commercial heat treater in Alabama.
Don Hendry, president of Pinson Valley Heat Treating, outside of Birmingham, notes that most major automakers do captive heat-treating or depend upon processing at established overseas locations, and posits that heat treaters who serve automotive support and parts suppliers will likely see improved business, especially since most commercial heat treating companies have already begun adjusting their equipment and facilities in response to the upward trend in the use of light-weight aluminum alloy for sheeting and structural applications. Pinson Valley added a drop bottom furnace in 2001 to solution treat and age aluminum parts due to the increase in automotive manufacturing.
