Superior Air Parts and Chart Industries will invest a combined $98 million into Mobile County, Alabama. The two companies are launching growth projects in the Mobile area, bringing a combined almost 240 jobs, according to the Mobile Chamber.
Georgia-based Chart Industries plans to invest $73.7 million to open a second production site in Mobile County to increase the manufacturing capacity of its cryogenic containers. The project will create 59 jobs.
Superior Air Parts, which produces FAA-approved replacement parts for piston-engine aircraft, plans to invest $24.2 million to relocate its manufacturing operation and corporate headquarters from Texas to Creola in Mobile County. The project will create 180 jobs over five years.
“The transportation system that is in place and expanding in the Mobile area is very impressive. The area has invested heavily in education including high school programs, technical schools with the recent addition of manufacturing programs at Bishop State and the extensive growth at the University of South Alabama,” Keith Chatten, CEO of Superior Air Parts, said. “All of that certainly helps us find the various skill sets needed, such as machinists, operators, test technicians, engineers, and various other professionals.”
Superior Air’s Mobile County facility will host research and development, engineering, a test cell, machining, and manufacturing. The company plans to break ground by the end of 2023. Operations for phase one are set to begin in 2024, according to the Mobile Chamber.
“As a leading manufacturer of FAA-approved aftermarket parts for piston-engine aircraft, Superior Air Parts will be a strong addition to the growing aviation cluster in the Mobile region,” said Greg Canfield, Secretary of the Alabama Department of Commerce. “Superior’s decision to relocate its manufacturing operation and headquarters to Mobile County clearly reflects the company’s confidence in the area’s workforce.”
GROWTH PLANS
As part of its new project, Chart purchased the former Standard Concrete manufacturing facility, located along the Theodore Industrial Canal.
The cryogenic containers that will be manufactured at the new facility will be up to 30 feet in diameter, 100-200 feet long, and weigh close to one million pounds. This location will allow the company to directly load the containers, which are too heavy to transport on roadways, directly onto barges.
Chart’s expansion project builds on its Alabama presence, which began in 2020 when it acquired the cryogenic and hydrogen trailer business of Worthington Industries, which operated the Theodore site.
In March 2021, Chart announced a $2.5 million expansion project, which tripled its employee roster at the Mobile County facility. It currently employs 165 people at the existing facility.