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Area anxiously awaits news of mega steel mill At long last we will soon know whether Alabama's or Louisiana's super selling jobs and millions of incentives and other enticements were the most effective on the German steel manufacturer ThyssenKrupp. The company's board will meet in Dusseldorf, Germany Friday to decide between a site at Calvert in south Alabama and one in south Louisiana. The board will meet at 9 a.m. their time but that's 3 a.m. here in south Alabama. Unless you are really involved in the project and want to be up early, you can probably find out what site was picked when you get up at a more decent hour. We don't want to count our chickens before they are hatched but most people who have knowledge of the project say Alabama is best positioned to get the nod. We hope so. The mega mill is so big it is hard to comprehend. Initially a $2.9 billion project, Neal Wade of the Alabama Development Office, said last week in Thomasville that the value has increased to $3.5 billion to $4 billion. "That's with a 'B' as in billions," stressed Wade, who along with Gov. Bob Riley and others has worked long and hard on this project. The construction alone will require an estimated 29,000 workers- more than the total population of Clarke County. Once the mill starts up in 2010, 2,900 permanent workers will be employed. We have seen figures that show up to 50,000 potential spin-off jobs in the region to support the plant. The winning state will not only get a multi-billion steel mill but an unimaginable boost to the state's and region's economy too. Jackson is sitting in a perfect spot to feel not only strong economic ripples from the plant but may even see some surfingsized waves too. If Alabama is selected the plant will be on the Tombigbee River at Calvert, on the Mobile-Washington counties line. It will be only a short 35-mile drive down a four-laned Highway 43 to the mill. The mill will not only provide employment opportunities to people in our reading area but we should see supplier businesses and more too. The overall economy of Jackson and the region will benefit greatly. Mayor Richard Long and city leaders are already working to best position Jackson for the growth that will come in business and industry, healthcare, residential needs and more. And- perish the thought- if the mill does not come here, the Calvert site and Alabama's willingness to do what it takes to secure business will be well known on the international scene. The loss of ThyssenKrupp will not be the end of the world. Only good can eventually come from all of the hard work that has been done to promote the site and the state. If we were of a betting nature, however, we'd put our money on Alabama.
Set your alarm clocks early Friday so you can wake up to the good news!
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