Manufacturing jobs on the rise in county
New plant to recycle and make plastic and steel
containers announced for Robertsdale
By GUY BUSBY,
Mobile Press
Register, Staff Reporter
7/19/04
ROBERTSDALE Recent announcements have Baldwin officials
hoping that increases in manufacturing jobs could provide higher paying jobs
and a more diverse economy for residents.
On Friday, Clawson Container of Clarkstown, Mich., announced that it would
build a 50,000 square foot plant in Robertsdale to recycle, and later to
make, plastic bulk containers for industrial liquids.
Company officials said the plant, which will employ 50 people within three
years, could expand and provide more jobs in the future. Such jobs are a key
to helping produce a healthy economy in the area, said Lance LaCour,
director of the Baldwin County Economic Development Alliance.
"Manufacturing jobs are at a premium in the U.S.," he said. "So many have
left, we really need to be thankful that Baldwin County is now attracting so
many manufacturing jobs. They diversify the economy and help provide a
better quality of life.
LaCour said Baldwin County now has about 7,000 manufacturing jobs.
LaCour said industries such as plastics can provide well paying, high tech
jobs for local residents. In addition to the Clawson announcement, another
industry that opened in the last year, Pro Cell in Foley, is also helping
Baldwin develop a core of companies that could attract other manufacturers.
Pro Cell, which opened in 2003, makes a synthetic composite that is used in
place of wood for outdoor products such as decks.
He said officials with two other plastics companies are looking at the area
as a site for new plants.
The new plant in Robertsdale which will become a division of Clawson to be
known as Clean Tide will at first recycle used tanks made by the company,
said Mike Handing, corporation vice president who will be directing the
Baldwin operation. The tanks, which are made of plastic and metal, will be
sent to the facility on McAuliffe Road in the Robertsdale Industrial Park.
At the new facility, the tanks will be taken apart and the materials used
for other purposes. In about a year, company officials hope to begin
manufacturing tanks in Robertsdale.
The first jobs in the recycling center will pay between $7 and $10 an hour.
As the plant expands and manufacturing jobs are added, the pay scale will
increase, said Handing.
Handing said the company plans to invest $3 million in the Robertsdale
facility and that Clawson wants to be in the area for a long time. He said
the company, which has been family owned since being started by his
grandfather in 1946, was looking for a growing area with opportunities for
workers and their children.
"If I move to an area that's a rural area with no opportunities for kids, my
kids are not going to stay here," he said. "I'll never get to see my
grandchildren."
Harding said that while the company has projected that it will have 50
workers in its Robertsdale operation within three years, the plant could
have as many as the other Clawson facility, which employees 250 in
Mancelona, Mich.
He said the Michigan plant is now operating at capacity and company owners
wanted to find an additional location close to markets in the Southeast.
After considering locations in Georgia, Mississippi and Alabama, Clawson
chose Robertsdale.
Pete Schaum, industrial development representative for the Alabama
Development Office, said the jobs and new plant will be a boon for the
state.
"Manufacturers like Clawson Container are the lifeblood of the economy,"
Schaum said.
Clawson will expand an existing 18,000 square foot building into a 50,000
square foot facility on a 10 acre site the company is leasing from the city.
Harding said the central Baldwin location's proximity to Southeastern
markets was one reason that the site was selected. Transportation costs are
a key factor in being competitive in the bulk container market and the
Robertsdale plant will be within economical range of markets from Texas to
Florida.
Others participating in the announcement included: the Robertsdale City
Council, the Baldwin County Legislative Delegation, Members of the
Robertsdale Industrial Development .Board, Baldwin County Economic
Development Alliance Board Members, Central Baldwin Chamber of Commerce
Board Members and John Hand representing Congressman Jo Bonner's office.
Clean Tide is currently taking applications. Anyone interested is asked to
contact the State Employment Service at 943-2327 or go to
http://www.baldwinjobs.org for more
information.
