3 Things To Consider This Friday

State, Airbus to build Aviation Education Center they say will ‘inspire young people’

 BY LAWRENCE SPECKER, AL.com
Updated on May 4, 2017 at 8:34 AM Posted on May 3, 2017 at 10:09 AM

Alabama and Airbus have joined forces to bring a new Aviation Education Center to Mobile, saying it will help “inspire young people to pursue careers in the state’s growing aerospace cluster.”

The plan was announced Wednesday morning by the office of Gov. Kay Ivey, which is,providing $5 million of the project’s $6.5 million budget. Airbus is contributing $1.5 million “from AIDT reimbursements for job training.

 For the rest of story, visit AL.com.


Tool and Dying: Auto Leaders, From Ford to FCA, Brainstorm on Saving the Shops that Sustain Them

By Laura Putre
Apr 27, 2017

 Blame it on NAFTA or lax trade enforcement, but the Made in the USA journey has domestic roadblocks, too. Here’s one: the skilled workers who make the molds and tools used in automotive parts manufacturing and assembly are on the fast track to extinction.

Nearly 75% of tool and die makers are over age 45, according to data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Only 2% are younger than 35. Two out of five are either already eligible to retire, or will be in the next 5 to 7 years.

 For the rest of story, visit IndustryWeek.


This Alabama product is making temperature-controlled shipping easier

By William Thornton, AL.com
on May 04, 2017 at 7:45 AM, updated May 04, 2017 at 7:56 AM

Arab’s Cold Box Express has been fully operational for about a year, and interest is growing in the company, which rents climate-controlled shipping containers from depot sites around the country.

Think of it as a U-Haul for a very sophisticated refrigerator. The Cold Box is a one-ton shipping container with about 60 cubic feet of space inside.

 For the rest of story, visit AL.com.


Editor’s Note: Does your Alabama company perform as a subcontractor or prime on a DoD contract?

 If so, your small or medium-sized business may be eligible for free market diversification services as part of the Alabama Defense Industry Diversification Analysis Project (ADIDAP). UAH CMER encourages those interested to follow through immediately due to a small window of acceptance for applications.

For more ADIDAP project details and eligibility requirements visit StrengthenMyCompany.