Hadrian has opened its first round of hiring at its submarine components plant in Barton, with a goal of more than 100 employees by the end of the year and 900 by the end of 2029.
The first openings are for upper management and engineers, and the company is building out a $360 million production facility on the site, WAFF reported.
The plant is the former FreightCar America railcar factory, which closed in 2021.
Hadrian is putting $1.5 billion of its own money and $900 million from the Navy into the 2.2 million-square-foot building to make components for Virginia-class attack submarines and Columbia-class ballistic missile submarines, and the Navy expects up to 1,000 manufacturing jobs when it is fully running.
The Shoals Economic Development Authority’s estimate is 888 jobs at an average wage of $35.24 an hour, and SEDA President Kevin Jackson said the count could top 1,000 before the first phase is finished. He called the project a “game changer” for northwest Alabama, according to the Franklin County Times.
Cherokee, the nearest town, has about 1,000 residents, and many of them drive to Decatur or Huntsville for work.
Sean Deason, who has lived in Cherokee for eight years with his wife and three children, brought his résumé to the March announcement after talking it over with his father, a Navy submariner who told him to go for it.
The plant opened March 20 with Navy Secretary John Phelan, U.S. Sens. Katie Britt (R-Montgomery) and Tommy Tuberville (R-Auburn), U.S. Reps. Robert Aderholt (R-Haleyville) and Mike Rogers (R-Saks), and U.S. Sen. Roger Wicker (R-Miss.) at the ribbon-cutting. Hadrian founder and CEO Chris Power told the crowd the project was “about that kick-ass Alabama spirit.”
Grayson Everett is the editor in chief of Yellowhammer News. You can follow him on X @Grayson270.
