CULLMAN, Ala. – City and county industrial development leaders, local government officials and local industry representatives were celebrated on Thursday, Feb. 9, for their investments in business development and the fiscal growth in Cullman County and the state.
Cullman County Industrial Development Authority and the City of Cullman Industrial Development Board, along with the Cullman Area Chamber of Commerce brought together the directors and CEOs of the city and county’s industry, both big and small, at The Venue at Cotton Creek for an evening to recognize their tenacity in bringing prosperity to Cullman and its residents.
The announcement from Governor Kay Ivey is scheduled to happen in the coming days, but the word was already out that Cullman had a record breaking year.
“The numbers that the State will release later for capital investment in Cullman is a new record,” Cullman Economic Development Director Dale Greer said. “It’s $287 million plus. I think 25 companies or so are involved in that expansion. Most of them were expanding companies, and we have small new companies.”
The capital investment shows industries are investing more money into their local businesses, creating and/or upgrading employment opportunities and, in turn, creating more prosperous employees. It’s also indicative of the bigger picture statewide.
“The State is on a roll like I have never seen and I think that is driven by industrial development,” Greer continued. “I think the companies come in initially and they create the jobs and then you have goods and services that follow them. Then you get the professional projects, the doctors, the lawyers, the engineers and architects, that follow them. I think the way you get a community to grow is through retail development, activities and events and then you attract more people altogether. I think that industry deserves a lot of credit for where we are in Cullman with that.”
