Exploring North Alabama Exploring North Alabama - Huntsville ...

Economy At-A-GlanceHuntsville/Madison County, Alabama, islocated in the middle of the southeasternUnited States with more than fourmillion people within a 100-mile radius.The Huntsville community serves asthe primary economic hub of thenorth Alabama and southern Tennesseeregions. The counties adjoiningMadison County combine to form aneight-county regional market with apopulation totaling 700,000 people.The Huntsville/Madison Countyeconomy is known as one of the strongesteconomies in the South, with low unemployment,strong job growth andincome levels leading the region.Business growth and investment fromU.S. and international companies havemade Huntsville/Madison County one ofthe country’s top “hot spots” forgrowing a business and raising a family.LEADING EMPLOYERSU.S. Army/Redstone Arsenal . . . . . . . . . . .11,141Huntsville Hospital System . . . . . . . . . . . . .4,355Huntsville City Schools . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .3,000The Boeing Company . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .2,800CINRAM . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .2,800NASA Marshall Space Flight Center . . . . . .2,754Siemens VDO Automotive Corp. . . . . . . . . .2,300City of Huntsville . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .2,186Madison County Schools . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1,936Intergraph Corporation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1,750ADTRAN, Inc. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1,700Sanmina-SCI . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1,700Walmart/Sam s Stores . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1,581Northrop Grumman . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1,350Teledyne Brown Engineering . . . . . . . . . . . .1,338Lockheed Martin . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1,250Computer Sciences Corporation . . . . . . . . .1,200University of Alabama in Huntsville . . . . . . .1,112West Corporation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1,100SAIC . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1,080Madison County . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1,073Benchmark Electronics, Inc. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 921Alabama A&M University . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 890Jacobs Sverdrup Technology . . . . . . . . . . . . 800Target Distribution Center . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 750Crestwood Medical Center . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 668Madison City Schools . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 644Engelhard Corporation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 600Dynetics, Inc. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 600Redstone Federal Credit Union . . . . . . . . . . . 575PPG Industries, Inc. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 550CAS, Inc. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 502Source: Chamber of CommerceAerospaceHuntsville/Madison County is home tothe NASA Marshall Space Flight Centerand has representation from nearlyevery major U.S. aerospace corporation,with more than 90 companies employingmore than 11,000 people in thelocal aerospace industry.DefenseHuntsville/Madison County plays a keyrole in the U.S. Army’s technologydevelopment programs. More than halfof the Army’s weapons procurementbudget is managed by Huntsville-basedoperations as are more than half of theArmy’s foreign weapons sales. More than25,000 people are directly employed bythe military and support contracts.ElectronicsMore than 300 international and domesticcorporations in Huntsville/MadisonCounty are involved in the design andproduction of electronics and computerrelatedtechnology, includingCINRAM, one of the world’s largestmanufacturers of DVD products.Research & TechnologyHuntsville’s Cummings Research Parkis the country’s second largest researchand technology park, containing220+ companies employing22,000 people involved in technologyresearch and development.ManufacturingHuntsville/Madison County’smanufacturing industry represents adiverse mix of technology assembly andproduction operations from bothdomestic and international corporations,comprising one-fourth of the localemployment base.Initiatives October 200425