Selma officials celebrate
auto parts suppliers coming to town

By Janet Gresham

SELMA -- Selma's Craig Industrial Park has been chosen as the site for multiple automotive suppliers producing parts for Hyundai vehicle interiors.

The announcement -- made by Team Selma and Lear Corp. -- has been heralded as an "icebreaker" for Hyundai spin-offs in the heart of the Black Belt. "It's a great day for us," said Wayne Vardaman, president of the Selma/Dallas County Centre for Commerce, "and it gives us the opportunity to get more suppliers."

The suppliers are expected to create between 100 and 400 jobs, and the timetable for startup is consistent with the March 2005 opening of the $1 billion Hyundai manufacturing plant in Hope Hull. Lear Corp. is the world's leading supplier of automotive interiors and earlier this year announced plans to locate a facility in Montgomery.

Selma Mayor James Perkins Jr. credited a decision by state officials to reinstate plans for an industrial access road as a key to the successful negotiations. "They have helped bridge an economic divide that has separated the Black Belt from the rest of our neighbors," the mayor said, adding that he "has always known this to be a regional initiative."

The $2.5 million access road project was put on hold after the change in state administration but was renewed late last spring with a unanimous vote of the Alabama Industrial Access Road and Bridge Corporation. Menzo Driskell, executive director of the Craig Field Airport and Industrial Authority, said the project will connect two new access roads from Craig Industrial Park and South Dallas Industrial Park to a county road that will be paved and widened. It will cut travel time from the suppliers to both Hope Hull and Montgomery by 15 minutes.

Craig Industrial Park is located four miles southeast of Selma on U.S. Highway 80. Some 25 businesses are located there as well as the airport, which features an 8,000-foot runway that is capable of handling large jets. The park formerly served as Craig Air Force Base until its closure in 1978.

Details about the suppliers and their facilities will be announced later.