Letter from the President

Wow, 2011 just flew by!

Thanks to wonderful support from our public and private sector partners, the Alliance celebrated another great year. The final tally is not in, but we anticipate that over a dozen industrial type companies will have located or expanded in Baldwin County during 2011.

We have two new announcements featured in this month's newsletter: SafePact,LLC, a high tech data/information processing and escrow facilitation operation, and Aero-mark MRO, a new aerospace maintenance, repair and manufacturing business. We anticipate several new companies making location or expansion announcements in the first quarter of 2012.

The Alliance is blessed with great friends, like you, and we certainly hope that this holiday season is your best ever.              

BCEDA welcomes SafePact, LLC

SafePact.com LLC, a startup company that provides an online portal for planning, managing and paying for home improvement projects, has secured initial funding and relocated its offices from Carmel, Indiana to Gulf Shores Alabama. The company’s new headquarters are located at 191 Northshore Circle, Suite 100, in Gulf Shores.

The move is part of SafePact’s two-phase growth strategy, during which—via already-secured Phase 1 funding it will be making an initial capital investment of $245,000—the company will launch its proprietary financial services website and create 18 jobs within 24 months. In Phase 2, which will span an additional 12 months, the company anticipates creating an additional 13 jobs and $1.855M in incremental capital investment.

SafePact.com is an online transaction and data management service that benefits homeowners and contractors by holding the payments for a home improvement project in escrow. When both parties are satisfied that the terms of the project have been met, SafePact.com releases payment. Through its website, SafePact.com will offer both homeowners and contractors a safer, more secure method for paying for and managing home improvement projects.

For more information, contact Doug McCright, at SafePact.com, LLC, 191 Northshore Circle, Suite 100, Gulf Shores, Alabama 36542-2822. Phone: (251) 517-3311, Toll Free: (855) 723-3722, Fax: (855) 723-3721, Cell: (317) 753-1956. Email: doug.mccright@safepact.com.

Aero-Mark Announces Fairhope, AL Facility

Aero-mark MRO has announced its plans to start a new maintenance, repair and manufacturing business in Fairhope, AL. Aero-mark MRO will be moving into the Fokker Airinc building which was vacated by Fokker in October, 2011. The company plans to invest $2.3 million and hire up to 60 employees over a 3 year period. The project investment and job numbers will be broken up into three different phases. The Fairhope Industrial Development Board granted Aero-mark MRO a 10 year property tax abatement and a onetime sales & use tax abatement that will go towards construction related material and equipment. The total incentive package that Aero-mark MRO received was valued at $250,000.

“This is not only great for the city of Fairhope but Baldwin County as well. It’s always a good feeling to know that we can partner together with great groups of people such as the Fairhope Industrial Development Board, City of Fairhope, Eastern Shore Chamber, Baldwin County Commission and the State of Alabama to provide jobs for the people of this county and city”, said Joshua Thornton, VP of BCEDA.

“Aero-mark is excited about the opportunity to once again be in South Alabama, one of the strongest talent pools for commercial aviation employees in the US. The quality and dedication of the local workforce makes it easy to compete in the US and International aviation markets. It’s also hard to find Local, and State representatives and elected officials who are as committed to helping small businesses grow as we find in Alabama, said Brad Caban, COO of Aero-mark MRO.”

Charlie Bassett, Chairman of the Fairhope Industrial Development Board said, “The great thing about the Aero-mark announcement during this Christmas season is that it provides hope for the employees that lost their jobs when Fokker moved away.”

“I have been on the ground since day one working with Mr. Lee and Brad to help make this project happen here in Baldwin County and to provide jobs and careers to a workforce like no other, said Mike Jones, Director of Sales Aero-mark MRO.” “We thank the city of Fairhope for providing such a business friendly environment, the state of Alabama, BCEDA and the members of the Fairhope Industrial Development Board for making this project happen in this great county and city.”

2012 BCEDA Sponsorship Opportunities

Each year the Alliance has a very small number of potential sponsorship opportunities available. These are usually related to the two Investors Receptions we hold, one in April and one in September. These events are attended by Alliance investors and special invited guests from our region and the state. Attendance is usually from 125 to 150. Sponsors may be partial sponsors who provide free meeting space, or food (heavy appetizers) or beverages or who help defray speaker costs. Most previous sponsors have done some combination of the above, and some have elected to be total event sponsors. These events and sponsorships are great opportunities to expose your business to Baldwin County’s political and business leaders.

If you are interested in participating in 2012, please call Amanda Selph at 251-970-4081 or by email at aselph@baldwineda.com and she will arrange to meet with you to discuss opportunities.