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Above: A look inside the Mercedes-Benz plant in Vance, Alabama (image courtesy of the Alabama Department of Commerce)
With strongholds in the automotive, aerospace, and food processing sectors, not to mention competitive labor costs and a business-friendly climate, it’s no wonder companies are investing heavily in the state of Alabama.
In this post, we’ll take a look at the latest manufacturing statistics for Alabama and introduce you to the state’s ten largest manufacturing employers. Whether you're looking to sell into this market or build strategic partnerships, knowing who’s who in Alabama manufacturing can give you a powerful edge.
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 4,088 manufacturers employing 281,430. 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 25,303 workers. This is followed by Huntsville with 23,559 workers.
Read more: Top Manufacturing Cities in the U.S.
Other top cities in Alabama include
• Montgomery (15,430 jobs)
• Mobile (11,893 jobs)
• Decatur (10,449 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 |
Looking to make contact with industrial decision makers in Alabama? Reach 5,400+ companies and 13,800+ executives in this powerful state with the Alabama Manufacturing Industry Database, only from MNI. Need a different state? Explore all of our databases by state, industry, executive, niche market, and more. Want to take our data for a test drive first? Sign up for a free demo account, loaded with 500 real company profiles (see a sample profile).
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.
For those looking to do business with manufacturers, IndustrySelect’s database of 360,000 U.S. manufacturers is a top resource for both developing and researching sales leads in the manufacturing sector. Subscribers can select up to 30 data points on any manufacturing company in the U.S. to help identify or pre-qualify leads. Company profiles also include the contact information for hard-to-find executive decision-makers. Try a free demo today!
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.
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