Alabama's Manufacturer of the Year Award winners announced

The Business Council of Alabama (BCA), in partnership with the Alabama Technology Network (ATN), recently named the 2020 Manufacturer of the Year Award winners. Three total winners were respectively named the Small, Medium and Large Manufacturers of the Year.

The awards program has occurred annually since 2000 to recognize the Yellowhammer State’s top manufacturers, celebrating the hard work and dedication of every employee and promoting the many accomplishments of some of Alabama’s best industry leaders.

The awards recognize those leading the way in leadership, performance, profitability and workforce relations, according to a BCA release. Winners are reportedly selected by an independent panel of judges based on demonstrations of superior performance in customer focus, employee commitment, operating excellence, continuous improvement, profitable growth, and investment in training and retraining.

The 2020 awards were announced last week at the conclusion of BCA’s highly successful virtual business summit, Engage Alabama.

“The annual Manufacturer of the Year Awards exist to highlight those who excel in the industry and contribute a great deal to Alabama’s economic development,” stated Katie Boyd Britt, president and CEO of BCA. “While this year’s ceremony was certainly different from previous years, the business community could not miss the opportunity to celebrate these incredible manufacturers.”

The following awards were presented (small with 99 or fewer employees, medium with 100-399 employees and large with 400 or greater employees):

Small Manufacturer of the Year: Adventech LLC, Florence, AL
Adventech LLC of Florence is quickly becoming recognized as a world leader in the industry by creating a complex electric motor generator, the Maxeff, that is setting the standard in efficiency. Adventech’s mission is to develop unique solutions that inspire, drive, and power the world through value-added technology.

Medium Manufacturer of the Year: Steel Dust Recycling, Millport, AL
Steel Dust Recycling of Millport, Alabama, is America’s newest facility dedicated to recovering zinc from the industrial waste stream. The SDR recycling facility can currently process more than 240,000 tons of Electric Arc Furnace steel dust annually. SDR is part of Zinc Nacional, a privately owned company dedicated to the production of zinc compounds and recycled paperboard founded in 1952.

Large Manufacturer of the Year: Constellium, Huntsville, AL
Constellium is a global leader designing and manufacturing innovative and high value-added aluminium products and solutions for a broad range of applications dedicated primarily to aerospace, automotive, and packaging markets. Constellium’s plant at Muscle Shoals is an aluminium manufacturing plant and a world-class can recycling center with the capacity to recycle nearly 20 billion cans per year.

Keith Phillips, executive director of ATN, added, “The companies acknowledged today represent the best of Alabama’s manufacturing industry. ATN is thrilled to continue our partnership with BCA to provide a platform for Alabama manufacturers and suppliers to share their stories of growth, hard work, and their economic impact to our state.”

Also announced during Engage Alabama were two Supplier of the Year award winners, sponsored by the Alabama Automotive Manufacturers Association (AAMA). This year, the awards went to Mercedes Benz US International and Toyota Motor Manufacturing Alabama for their incredible response throughout the COVID-19 pandemic.

“The two companies honored with the 2020 Supplier of the Year Awards went above and beyond to address the situation of being in the COVID-19 pandemic and address what needed to be done to adapt to the changes it brought about,” commented Ron Davis, president of AAMA. “These companies engaged in the issue at hand, they communicated with their peers, they were proactive, they were creative with their solutions to help solve the problem, and they were very transparent. We are thrilled to honor them with these awards.”

Sean Ross is the editor of Yellowhammer News. You can follow him on Twitter @sean_yhn