AEROSPACE
Situated right below Huntsville, the Etowah County region is ideally located near the Space Center, Boeing, and over 80 other aerospace industries and service providers. With an average of 350% more aerospace companies than the US average and 650% more aerospace engineers, the Etowah area is the perfect place to base aerospace operations. The market has grown by approximately 50% in the past ten years, and with the University of Alabama’s mechanical and aerospace programs growing quickly as well, the aerospace industry in Etowah County is ready to take off.
OUR WORKFORCE
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AEROSPACE COMPANIES IN OUR LABORSHED
- 289 Machine Shops
- 84 Fabricated Structural Metal Manufacturing
- 21 Paint and Coating Manufacturing
- 13 Metal Crown, Closure, and Other Metal Stamping (except Automotive)
- 11 Other Fabricated Wire Product Manufacturing
- 143 R&D in Physical, Engineering, Life Sciences (except Nano/Biotech)
- 26 Plate Work Manufacturing
- 18 Electroplating, Plating, Polishing, Anodizing, and Coloring
- 12 Transport Equipment/Supplies (except Motor Vehicle) Merchant Wholesalers
- 9 Plastics Material and Resin Manufacturing
AEROSPACE COMPANIES VS U.S. AVERAGE
- 508% more Carbon and Graphite Product Manufacturing
- 269% more Fabricated Structural Metal Manufacturing
- 133% more Plastics Pipe and Pipe Fitting Manufacturing
- 13 Metal Crown, Closure, and Other Metal Stamping (except Automotive)
- 96% more Machine Shops
- 384% more All Other Transportation Equipment Manufacturing
- 187% more Plastics Material and Resin Manufacturing
- 104% more All Other Plastics Product Manufacturing
- 72% more Metal Crown, Closure, and Other Metal Stamping (except Automotive)
- 52% more Other Aluminum Rolling, Drawing, and Extruding
SKILLED LABOR IN OUR LABORSHED
- 24,069 Laborers and Freight, Stock, and Material Movers, Hand
- 18,771 Heavy and Tractor-Trailer Truck Drivers
- 9,390 Maintenance and Repair Workers, General
- 7,782 First-Line Supervisors of Production and Operating Workers
- 5,751 Industrial Truck and Tractor Operators
- 20,212 Team Assemblers
- 17,046 General and Operations Managers
- 9,040 Helpers- Production Workers
- 6,071 Inspectors, Testers, Sorters, Samplers, and Weighers
- 5,464 Business Operations Specialists, All Other
SKILLED LABOR VS U.S. AVERAGE
- 650% more Aerospace Engineers
- 209% more Engineers, All Other
- 162% more Grinding and Polishing Workers, Hand
- 142% more Engine and Other Machine Assemblers
- 134% more Team Assemblers
- 270% more Layout Workers, Metal and Plastic
- 177% more Helpers- Production Workers
- 147% more Logisticians
- 140% more Welding, Soldering, and Brazing Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders
- 118% more Computer Hardware Engineers
GROWTH OCCUPATIONS
- 41% more Fiberglass Laminators and Fabricators
- 33% more Computer Numerically Controlled Machine Tool Programmers, Metal and Plastic
- 32% more Engine and Other Machine Assemblers
- 31% more Team Assemblers
- 21% more Helpers- Production Workers
- 36% more Assemblers and Fabricators, All Other
- 32% more Welding, Soldering, and Brazing Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders
- 31% more Computer-Controlled Machine Tool Operators, Metal and Plastic
- 27% more Production Workers, All Other
- 20% more Adhesive Bonding Machine Operators and Tenders
REDSTONE ARSENAL
Redstone Arsenal is located along the Tennessee river and spans 38,248 acres. It has served as the Army's center for missile and rocket programs for over 50 years. Some of the programs in the garrison include the United States Army Materiel Command, the Army's Aviation and Missile Command, the Missile Defense Agency of the Department of Defense, the Tactical UAV Project Office, Redstone Test Center (RTC), the Missile Defense Agency, the Missile and Space Intelligence Center, and other operations.
It also hosts NASA's George C. Marshall Space Flight Center which focuses on propulsion analytics and development. With the development of the Saturn rockets in the 1960s and later the Space Shuttles, it is still one of the leading centers for space vehicle research and design.
REGIONAL AEROSPACE COMPANIES
BOEING
- Multinational aerospace and defense corporation
- Large presence in both defense and commercial manufacturing
- Designs and manufactures airplanes, rotocraft, rockets and satellites
NORTHROP GRUMMAN
- Worldwide defense contracting company
- Developer of aerospace and mission systems, and technology services
BAE SYSTEMS, INC.
- Aerospace and Defense company
- Top 10 supplier to the Pentagon
- Develops civilian and military aerospace equipment, guidance systems, and electronic warfare systems
LOCKHEED MARTIN
- Global aerospace, defense, securtity and technology company
- One of the largest companies in the aerospace industry, and largest defense company
- Develops aircraft, radar technologies, and other military systems
DYNETICS
- Applied science and information technology company, headquartered in Huntsville
- Handles contracts from the United States Department of Defense, the United States Intelligence Community and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA)
LOCKHEED MARTIN
- Concept development and planning, strategic and system architecture development
- Global clientele with contracting to the US Armed Forces.
CUMMINGS
- Aerospace system development company
- Model based systems engineering, modeling and simulation, software engeering, and advanced manufacturing
LOCKHEED MARTIN
- Global clientele with contracting to the US Armed Forces.
OUR COMPANIES
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0% MORE
CARBON & GRAPHITE PRODUCT MANUFACTURERS
Than the US National Average
0% MORE
TRANSPORTATION EQUIPMENT MANUFACTURERS
Than the US National Average
0% MORE
FABRICATED STRUCTURAL METAL MANUFACTURERS
Than the US National Average
EDUCATION
GADSDEN STATE
- Offers 3 Technical Engineering Degrees
- Offers training in welding, electrical technology, and other useful programs for the aerospace field
LOCKHEED MARTIN
- $2.4 million career-tech center on the main campus of Gadsden City High School
- Has electives for networking, engineering, and technology training
ETOWAH COUNTY CAREER TECHNICAL CENTER
- All programs at the Etowah County Career Tech Center are business/industry certified by the Alabama State Department of Education or by private certifying agencies. The trade and industry programs have articulation agreements with all community colleges in Alabama, in which program completers may receive free college credit toward a degree for skills they learned in high school. Many program completers receive scholarships to colleges or technical institutes for continued training and are assisted in future job placement.
- Programs at Etowah County Career Technical Center include Engineering Design, Electrical Technology, Electronics Technology, Automotive Technology, Precision Machining, Welding, Collision Repair, Construction Technology, Early Childhood Education, and Health Science.
WALLACE STATE
- Offers 2 Aerospace/Aviation Degrees
- An agreement with Embry-Riddle Aeronatical University allows sturdents to pursue a Bachelor of Science in Professional Aeronautics
- Wallace State is a recipient of the Military Friendly School Designation
- Offers training in welding, electrical technology, and other useful programs for the aerospace field
JACKSONVILLE STATE’S GADSDEN CENTER
- Applied Manufacturing Engineering
- Applied Electronics Engineering
WALLACE STATE
- 2 Aerospace Degree programs
- An average of 30 students graduate annually in Aerospace
UNIVERSITY OF ALABAMA
- 8 Mechanical and Aerospace degree programs
- 476 graduates of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering in 2016
UNIVERSITY OF ALABAMA IN HUNTSVILLE
- 5 Aerospace Degree programs
- An average of 165 students graduate annually in Aerospace
CALHOUN
- Offers 1 Aerospace Technology Degree
- Students may concentrate in structures and assembly or welding
- Features hands-on instruction in propulsion structures and assembly or specialized welding
- Offers Robotics and Engineering Degrees
TUSKEGEE UNIVERSITY
- 5 Mechanical and Aerospace degree programs
- 51 graduates of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering in 2015
- Access to several facilities such as wind tunnels and a satellite laboratory
AUBURN UNIVERSITY
- 6 Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering degree programs
- 297 graduates of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering in 2015
- Covers areas including aeroacoustics, aerospace structures, orbital mechanisms, rocket propulsion and more