ALABAMA DEVELOPMENT OFFICE 

WINS 2006 COMPETITIVENESS AWARD

Site Selection magazine ranks AL #1

Opelika-Auburn News

Wednesday, May 2, 2007

MONTGOMERY, AL (AP)   For the second year in a row, Site Selection magazine has picked Alabama's industrial recruitment agency as the best in the nation.

The business magazine announced the selection of the Alabama Development Office on Wednesday for the 2006 Competitiveness Award.  ADO was also named the top state industrial recruitment agency for 2005.

To select the winner, the magazine weighs 10 factors involving new plant activity in each state, with the figures adjusted for population so small states can compete evenly with large states.

Alabama's selection was based on 586 companies locating or expanding in Alabama in 2006.  The industries, when completed, expect to create 24,780 jobs.

"This award is recognition of the professional staff we have employed at the Alabama Development Office and the depth of economic experience at the local, regional and corporate levels in America," Gov. Bob Riley said Wednesday.

Following Alabama in the magazine's top 10 states were: North Carolina, Indiana, Georgia, Ohio, Kentucky, Tennessee, Virginia, Iowa and Oklahoma.