ACIPCO Expansion in Focus

In this episode, we break down the key decisions and discussions from the March 10 Birmingham City Council meeting. Council President Pro‑Tem LaTonya Tate sits down with Coreata Houser, Director of the City’s Department of Innovation and Economic Opportunity (IEO), for an in‑depth conversation about the recent ACIPCO expansion and what it means for Birmingham’s growth. Plus, we share updates on upcoming events and other important information you’ll want to know.

Transcript

SPEAKER_05 0:04

Welcome to Motion to Adjourn, the podcast about the work that continues with the Birmingham City Council. Beyond what happens on Tuesdays during council meeting. All in favor, let it be known by saying aye. Or in the committee meeting. After the official motion to adjourn, the council's continue work on behalf of the city and its residents. Welcome to the Motion to Adjourn podcast. I am your host, Anaya Kenyon. I serve as project manager for the Birmingham City Council. On today's episode, we've got a full lineup for you from key council highlights to a one-on-one conversation with Pro Tim Latanya Tate, featuring Coriante Hauser, about the recent Asipico expansion, plus updates on upcoming events and important things you need to know. Let's get started. Today we are diving into some of the most significant items that were mentioned during Tuesday's council meeting. On Tuesday, the council approved an ordinance authorizing a one-year agreement between the Alabama Department of Transportation and the City of Birmingham. This agreement will support the installation, operation, and maintenance of lighting in the Bush Hills neighborhood, specifically along Bush Boulevard beneath I-20 and Alabama 120. Here's Counselor Sonia Smith explaining how this project will enhance safety for residents in District 8.

SPEAKER_04 1:34

So, yes, lighting is important because it's really a public safety issue. So we know that when you have greater lighting, then you usually have less crime and people feel safer. So if there were to be an accident or someone needed to pull over, they would be less inclined to do so if you didn't have great lighting. So having that lighting there just provides more comfort to the community.

SPEAKER_05 1:55

This investment marks an important step in improving visibility, strengthening neighborhood safety, and supporting ongoing improvements across District 8. The council approved an agreement with the Southwestern Athletic Conference, also known as SWAC, to bring two conference matchups to Legion Field during the 2026 and 2027 football seasons. Here's Councillor Hanna Williams sharing more about the significant impact this will have on our city.

SPEAKER_01 2:38

So initially, we're going to have both Alabama State and Southern University here in Birmingham. We think that with our conversations with each of those schools respectively, we will have roughly 35,000 attendees with an estimated economic impact between five and seven million dollars per game for the next two years of that contract. So when we talk about what we continue to have a larger ecoscape and economic development and tourism, which is a cornerstone of that, anytime that we can get heads and beds in our hotels, in our restaurants, and in the city of Birmingham, it is an economic win to both the city and our hospitality industry within the city. So we're always excited to be able to support events and make sure that they come to the city of Birmingham. There's a very comprehensive and competitive bid process. We partner with the Convention and Visitors Bureau as well as the BJCC in many of these bids to make sure that Birmingham ends up on the winning ticket of those bids. And these are two great examples of the City of Birmingham winning those bids and having those people come into the city of Birmingham, staying in our hotels, populating our restaurants in our city for those respective events.

SPEAKER_05 4:02

The first game kicks off on August 26th. Stay tuned for more updates. The council has also approved an agreement to launch a community-wide brown field assessment. A brownfield is a property previously used for industrial purposes that may be polluted or abandoned. This assessment will take place in phases to identify these sites, evaluate potential contamination, and determine the best path forward for cleanup. Here's Counselor Clinton Woods explaining how these properties can be transformed into new opportunities.

SPEAKER_00 4:38

So we really are targeting just new industries and business. We want to bring manufacturing, we want to uh really build Birmingham into a tech hub, medical hub, and so having these large sprawling sites put us in place to attract larger opportunities. And so we've seen uh other cities in the region be able to go out and attract uh really large developments, and so we've got to identify and prepare sites that are clean and shovel ready, and so this is just moving towards that direction. So, what we're talking about currently is the larger sites, and so we're trying to develop as many like large-scale uh 25 plus acre sites as possible that really put us in contention for uh major projects like brownfields or uh all around the city due to just the types of industries that we're here, the steel production process, and uh just a lot of that contaminated soils. Uh so we want to one uh develop the city going forward, but we've got to do it safely and in line with environmental standards. So Ansley Works is a site that uh we've been looking at uh pretty closely and are very interested in getting something done there. I think uh a major success story though is going to be the Coca-Cola development. So that was a brown field. Uh, we were able to kind of uh coordinate with them, and and some new state laws made it a little bit more palatable to do some research. And uh, you know, long story short, we're able to have a really great development that adds a lot of value to our city.

SPEAKER_05 5:58

This marks a meaningful step towards revitalizing and reimagining development across our city. Stay tuned. Coming up next, we'll have our one-on-one conversation with Pro Tim Latanya Tay, featuring Coriante Hauser about the recent Asipco expansion.

SPEAKER_04 6:18

Women's History Month is a reminder of the power of women's voices, past, present, and rising. Birmingham honors the women who lead with vision, courage, and commitment. This month and every month, we celebrate their impact. Happy Women's History Month from the Motion to Adjourn podcast.

SPEAKER_03 6:43

Hello, and welcome to Motion to Adjourn. It's Council President Pro Tim Latanya Tate. Today we're discussing one of the city's most significant economic developments, the major expansion of Asipico, a Birmingham-based employee-owned manufacturing company that's been a part of our community since 1905. Imagine that. With a $790 million investment, 80 new high-paying jobs, and millions in projected revenue for schools and city services, this project is a game changer. Joining us today is Director Coriante Hauser, who serves as the Director of Economic Development for the City of Birmingham. We'll explore what this means for local residents with economic growth and the city's long-term vision. Let's get started. Welcome, Coriante. Can you please tell the listening audience who you are, how long you've been working for the city, and what's your role with the economic development department?

SPEAKER_02 7:50

Yeah, so I'm Coriante. Uh happy to be here, proudly serve as the director. I've been with the city about six years. I started uh about two months, two weeks before COVID in 2020. And so I've been here through all of that, and now on this side. So our office, Department of Innovation, Economic Opportunity, includes the classic economic development armor of the city, workforce and talent development, small business support, real estate management, and then we have a data intelligence team that looks at how we market Birmingham.

SPEAKER_03 8:21

Oh, thank you for that introduction. That's a lot of information and a lot of robust information that people know who Coriante is and you know the role that you take uh on as being a director of IEL. Let's start with some questions. Asipico is an employee on, which is rare in manufacturing. How does this model benefit workers in the community and what does it mean for long-term stability?

SPEAKER_02 8:48

Yeah, I mean, Asipco is a major uh employer in the area. Um, they have invested over the years uh millions of dollars into their production facility and their employees. And I think uniquely for a manufacturing, employer to be employee-owned uh is another example of how you invest in your employees. And so you see how they treat their employees, uh their pay, uh, how they serve the community as well. And so I think all uh employer partners uh can mimic something relative to what a CIPCO is doing. So this addition of 80 new jobs at $55 an hour uh is massive. Uh the livable wage in Birmingham is about $23 an hour. That's double uh what they're gonna be paid, and so that's gonna be uh crazy incentives for folks to live, work, and invest in Birmingham.

SPEAKER_03 9:36

Oh, that's awesome. I can re I remember a Cipico, very familiar with Asipico pipe shop as we call it. My grandfather worked for Sipico for about 40 years. Oh, wow. So they were a major, you know, milestone in my family. Um they have had a credit union, so we enjoyed the benefits of what my grandfather was able to, you know, provide for his family while working there. So we remember, you know, can remember going to the Eagles Cafe, which my grandmother was a very great part of that, um, because the current the former owner, Mr. Joe Rooker, uh also worked at Asipico pipe shop, and my grandmother ran a cafe for him when she um when he was working. So let's move to our next question. Asipico products support water, wastewater, and energy infrastructure nationwide. Why is this expansion critical for maintaining that role?

SPEAKER_02 10:28

I think for for us in Birmingham, being a logistics and advanced manufacturing hub, uh continued investment like this into current infrastructure helps us be more competitive, not only in the Southeast, but the U.S. and really the globe. Um, because as we travel talking about Birmingham, lifting Birmingham up, getting businesses to come, these are often the question of like who is your major employer? What investments have they made? So to see a story like this from what 1905, right? 1906, 1905, somewhere in there uh until today, and their continued investment over and over into that, um it it's amazing, right? It it puts us on a competitive market for current industry that is in Birmingham, that we can attract more uh to Birmingham as well.

SPEAKER_03 11:15

You know, Birmingham has seems to have be all over the map, the news, when you turn the TV on, you hear these great things about, you know, the history of Birmingham. When you read business journals, people are, you know, coming to Birmingham because of the rich history. Uh Birmingham is just coming a major game changer. Uh, you know, for the people who want to do business. So again, this is a game changer. And you hit on this a little bit, but I'm gonna lean into this next question. The project will create 80 new full-time jobs. What type of positions are we talking about and how will this impact employment opportunities in District 9?

SPEAKER_02 11:53

I think it's a combination of all, right? Um, obviously there'll be, I think, some promotions that'll happen because CIPCO invest in their employees. They have an apprenticeship model. If we didn't talk about that, but they have an apprenticeship model that is for their employees only. So I would imagine this is an opportunity for promotion as well. But I think uniquely for this opportunity, it's a headquarter expansion and also a manufacturing facility expansion. So I think we'll get sort of sort of both. So I think there's a variety of jobs that'll be available even from I think the corporate side and also the manufacturing side. Um, you know, part of what they do in their work is sort of advanced manufacturing and sort of highly specialized. So I would imagine that there are some skill sets that are needed in order to get these jobs. But I would encourage everybody who's listening to go to a SIPCO's website to find out more about these opportunities and others that they have too, because we're talking about a $790 million, I believe, CapEx investment. So I'm sure that there's going to be some uh opportunities on the construction of new facilities directly with the CIPCO, subcontractors, all kinds of things. So I would encourage everybody to get involved with this project, both from the expansion uh standpoint and also directly with the SIPCO.

SPEAKER_03 13:07

Thank you, uh Cloriante. So you also hit on this as well with the average salaries around $114,000 and hourly raised near $55 an hour. You talked about the livable wage, you know, in most companies about $23 hours. I would imagine that people that are looking to invest into Birmingham, this would have people to raise the bar a little bit. Yeah. And so these jobs are well above the industry norm, well above the industry norm. How does this affect Birmingham workforce development strategy?

SPEAKER_02 13:34

When we talk about high-paying quality jobs, this is what we're talking about, right? Uh a company that invests in their employees, not by just what they do day to day, but the how they pay. And so this puts us at a competitive advantage when we talk about recruiting businesses or businesses want to expand, we have a model that looks good to us, right? Workforce development is not just about getting a job, it's how you maintain, stay, and grow in that job. And this puts the level feel at a point for all of our residents to say, now we want them to stay at a CIPCO forever, right? And I'm sure a SIPCO do too. I mean they want them to retire. But let's say that there's another opportunity for someone who works five years at a CIPCO and they started at $55 an hour. In five years, where's that person gonna be, right? So when we're talking about living in Birmingham, working in Birmingham, now with this type of funding and an investment in as far as what they pay, they can also invest in Birmingham. I think that's the one that we often forget that workforce is not just about getting people paid, right? That's a big part of it. As a business owner, it's a big part of your operational cost as payroll. But when you think about how to grow a city, it's not just what we pay, but it's also what we invest in. These 80 jobs will be able to invest into Birmingham because they're paid way above the livable wage here in Birmingham. So I am sure that these 80 jobs are gonna uh yield a return and impact that we could not even imagine. And think about what's next, right? Their next expansion, if this is the floor, what's the next expansion gonna be? So this is a game changer for our residents to have access to these jobs, but not only access, training and sustaining these jobs uh for long term and hopefully into retirement.

SPEAKER_03 15:15

I agree with you, uh Coriante, because workforce development, and as you stated, I think most companies should think about how do you model behind a company like Asipico where you offer in-house um transition where you can get more training to increase your skill set and to, you know, be a part of the workforce development. You talked a little bit about the investment back into, you know, the community. So, you know, the counter projections show about $11.4 million for the general fund and $25 million for local schools over the incentive term. How does this expansion strengthen our physical health and education system? That's super important.

SPEAKER_02 15:56

Yeah, I think that that's important. I think uh in 2024, uh CIPCO uh remitted about $300 million in payroll tax. So it had about $300 million in payroll taxes. So this will expand that sort of tax base in order for us to make sure that we're continually investing into not only people but our infrastructure. And so obviously, as a city, as Council Pro Tim uh well knows, uh infrastructure is very important for us, not just the physical, but the human side as well. And so jobs like this not only directly impact people with quality pain, but for the business, they have to pay taxes on that. And the city will receive those taxes and then utilize them through the approval of our city council on how that is used for infrastructure needs. So for our city, particularly for a CIPCO, but all jobs that we get like this, we take that tax funding that they remit back to the city and then try to make the best decision on where to invest that in physical infrastructure around the city. So we all see the growth and feel the growth and not just the people getting the jobs.

SPEAKER_03 16:58

Thank you for that, Coriante. That is super important. It that leads me to my final question. So looking ahead, how does Asipico Growth position Birmingham as a leader in advanced manufacturing and infrastructure solutions?

SPEAKER_02 17:11

Yeah, um, so I think again, it puts us in a more competitive uh advantage. They've been headquartered here, not just in Birmingham, they've been headquartered here for almost 100 years. So that is massive. Some people just come to Birmingham and operate a business, but to headquartered here makes a difference. And so I think for other employers, for those who are looking to invest in Birmingham, absolutely use this as a model, right? Now, because they've been in business for 100 years, they have a business model that works for them. If you're not that established and you're a little newer and you need to come to the city and seek support, we have support for that too. So don't just think um that we're doing big capital projects like this, but we have small businesses as well. And so I think there's learning points for everybody involved from small, medium, to even large-size businesses, that at the end of the day, if you take care of your people, the people will take care of your business. And I think that's the message that we want to send out. And obviously, we want to make Birmingham look better uh while we do that, but we offer the support needed just as with the CIPCO, we'll offer that to small businesses as well.

SPEAKER_03 18:14

This brings us to the end of today's discussion on the CIPICO historic expansion and what it means for Birmingham's future. A special thank you to Mr. Coriante Hauser for sharing valuable insights on how this project will drive job growth, strengthen education, and enhance community development for years to come. We appreciate you for tuning in, and we look forward to continuing these conversations about progress and opportunity in our city. Until next time, take care. I'm your host, Council President Pro Tem Latanya Tate, and let's stay connected.

SPEAKER_05 18:50

Here are some updates and upcoming events that you should know about. Due to the absence of a quorum during the week of March 16th through the 20th, the City Council meeting scheduled for Tuesday, March 17th, has been canceled. Most counselors will be in Washington, D.C. attending the National League of Cities Congressional City Conference, where local leaders from across the country gather to discuss policy, learn from experts, and connect with one another. The council will resume its regular meeting scheduled on Tuesday, March 24th. The Indy Car Series Grand Prix of Alabama returns to Barbara Motorsports Park from March 27th through March 29th. It's one of the premier motorsports events in our region, and tickets are available now. The 2026 American Athletic Conference basketball championships are now underway at Legacy Arena through March 15th, bringing top-tier college basketball talent to the Magic City. Tickets are on sale now. Counselor Crystal Smithman will host the Keep It in the Family Estate Planning, Heirs Property and Home Ownership event on Saturday, March 28th at 10 a.m. at the Grove Beham. This community education session brings together city leaders, real estate professionals, and legal experts to break down heirs property, wills, and estate planning in clear, accessible language, all with the goal of helping families build long-term stability and generational wealth. Thanks for listening to Motion to Adjourn. Make sure you subscribe to the podcast to learn more about your city and local government. Also, follow us on our socials on Instagram and Facebook at City CouncilBeham. Until next time, stay informed and stay engaged.