Fitz-Thors – which serves the manufacturing industry with expertise in areas like process automation, robotics, custom equipment, product design and development, and more – is leaning into a sweet spot of using product design to create what no one has created before.
Childcare a top priority for parents and employers during reopening
As many Birmingham companies prepare to return to work in the coming weeks and months, for those with children, childcare is top of mind. Many childcare centers in the region are still closed from COVID-19 – and some may remain shuttered forever. The Birmingham Business Alliance sat down with Joan Wright, executive director of Childcare Resources, a comprehensive childcare resource and referral center for Central Alabama, to talk through childcare currently and what employers can do to respond to employee needs.
Despite pandemic, higher education in Alabama continues to offer ‘quality instruction’
Though much of Alabama has been shut down for months because of COVID-19, higher education across the state has continued on, pivoting to an exclusively online format.
Dr. Jim Purcell, executive director for the Alabama Commission on Higher Education (ACHE), said that, despite 68 percent of college students never taking an online course before COVID-19 hit and 78 percent of faculty never teaching an online course before the pandemic, the remainder of the spring semester at colleges and universities across the state has gone smoother than expected.
Birmingham senior care app is caring for the elderly, especially during COVID-19
Dwell at Home – a Birmingham-based startup that uses an app to connect those who need in-home senior care to those who provide it – is going the extra mile to help the elderly during COVID-19, the segment of the population the company serves.
COVID-19's impact dire for Birmingham businesses, but not as bleak as some metros
The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic has been immediate and dire for Birmingham area businesses. That’s what companies reported in a recent economic impact survey conducted by the Birmingham Business Alliance (BBA) and the Birmingham Regional Economic Development Alliance, a partnership of economic developers across the seven-county region.
BBA on Governor Ivey's process for reopening businesses
Birmingham Business Alliance (BBA) Interim President and CEO Fred McCallum commented on Governor Kay Ivey’s plan to gradually reopen business in the state of Alabama.
Birmingham Business Alliance CEO search
The Birmingham Business Alliance is seeking a dynamic and transformational leader to serve as its next Chief Executive Officer. We are looking for someone who can work effectively with partners, key stakeholders, public officials and staff alike in a competitive marketplace. Birmingham has seen great success and momentum over the last 10 years and the community’s potential for growth in the next 10 is boundless.
If you are interested in leading this dynamic team, click here to learn more information about the BBA and CEO position.
If you are interested in applying, contact Martin Godwin at Cameron Carmichael.
BBA urges Birmingham small businesses to prepare for SBA loan programs
The Birmingham Business Alliance (BBA) is strongly urging its Investors and the small business community affected by COVID-19 to immediately prepare and apply for available U.S. Small Business Administration loans, as well as connect with their bankers.
“It is imperative that small businesses in Birmingham prepare now and seek out federal loan options available to them to stay in business and retain employees,” said Fred McCallum, interim president and CEO of the BBA. “Federal funds are limited, and Birmingham small businesses need to be properly prepared to apply for the crucial funds available right now.”
UAB's urgent need
A message from Birmingham Business Alliance Interim President and CEO Fred McCallum:
As an increasing number of Alabamians test positive for COVID-19, many of them are seeking care at the state’s largest hospital, the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB). As UAB is located right in the heart of downtown Birmingham, I wanted to make an ask to you, a valued member of the Birmingham business community, to help UAB with a major need it has.
There is currently an urgent need at UAB for more personal protection equipment (PPE). PPE includes face masks (including n95 respirator masks), eye and face guards, surgical and isolation gowns, and protective gloves, to name a few.
If you, your business or anyone in your network have access to these PPE items, please contact UAB as soon as possible at jkerby@uabmc.edu.
In so many ways this month, Birmingham has shown how united it is in the face of crisis. Let’s continue working together as UAB fights against coronavirus.
Thank you,
Fred McCallum
Interim President and CEO
Birmingham Business Alliance
Clarification on Shelter in Place Ordinance for businesses
A message from Birmingham Business Alliance Interim President and CEO Fred McCallum:
I write to you today hopefully to remove any confusion that exists on which businesses in Jefferson County and the City of Birmingham are required to be closed at this point and which are not. On Sunday, March 22, 2020, the Jefferson County Health Officer issued an Amended Order Suspending Certain Public Gatherings and Closing Nonessential Businesses and Services Due To Risk of Infection by COVID-19. Click here to see this message. In the first paragraph of that order, the Chief Health Officer required that all “Nonessential” businesses be closed effective Monday, March 23, 2020, at 5 p.m.
Attached to the order is a detailed list of the types of services that are considered “Nonessential.” If your business does not fall into one of those “Nonessential” categories, you are not required to close your business at this time. That said, all businesses at this point should be adjusting operations as much as possible in order to slow the spread of the COVID-19 virus. The County Health Officer logically approached this order by listing the “Nonessential” businesses, leaving all other businesses to make their own determination as to whether they need to be open or closed.
Click here to read the Shelter in Place Ordinance that the Birmingham City Council adopted on Tuesday, March 24, 2020. During his explanation of the Ordinance, Mayor Woodfin made clear that the Ordinance does not close any businesses not already closed by the Chief Health Officer. The Mayor said that any businesses that are not on the Jefferson County Department of Health’s “Nonessential” list can continue operating and employees can continue coming to work as directed by their employers.
Importantly, there is no City or County list of “Essential” businesses to which your business or industry can be added. To our knowledge, neither the City nor the County are issuing certifications of individual businesses as “Essential.”
Hopefully you can easily determine that your business does or does not come within the type of services described in the “Nonessential” list attached to the Jefferson County Health Officer’s order of March 22, 2020. If your business is “Nonessential,” it should be closed; otherwise, it is allowed to remain open.
The Birmingham Business Alliance’s Resource Page has additional information for businesses regarding COVID-19. And as always, the BBA staff stands ready to help local businesses affected by the impacts of the COVID-19 and connect them with resources available.
Thank you,
Fred McCallum
Interim President and CEO
Birmingham Business Alliance
Birmingham businesses respond to COVID-19
Drug delivery industry continues to thrive in Birmingham
The term “drug delivery” is used to describe the time and manner in which a drug reaches, or is “delivered” to, its desired target within the body after administration to an animal or human – all in an effort to achieve the desired therapeutic effect. Companies like Avanti Polar Lipids, DURECT Corp. and Evonik Industries all have a strong presence in Birmingham, and the region’s emergence as an epicenter for health care research thanks to hubs like Southern Research and the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB) have made the region a place where the drug delivery industry can thrive.
Five questions with EDAA's Jim Searcy
Jim Searcy, executive director of the Economic Development Association of Alabama (EDAA), recently spoke to the Birmingham Business Alliance’s (BBA) Governmental Affairs Committee about EDAA’s legislative priorities, workforce and the importance of the 2020 Census. After his visit to the BBA, we caught up with him to share further thoughts on these topics and more.
Collat shares advice, lessons learned at inaugural Switch Stories event
Charles Collat Sr. knows a thing or two about building a legacy.
In business, definitely, and also in philanthropy and being a champion of Birmingham business. As chairman emeritus and retired president and CEO of Mayer Electric Supply Co., Collat saw the firm he joined in 1953 grow from 15 employees to 1,500. Today, Mayer has grown from locations in two states with under $10 million in annual revenue to 79 locations in 14 states, with annual revenue topping $1 billion.