Issue link: http://alabamapower.uberflip.com/i/274792
E v e r y d a y, t h e H y u n d a i M o t o r M a n u f a c t u r i n g p l a n t s o u t h o f M o n t g o m e r y u s e s a s m u c h e l e c t r i c i t y a s a t o w n o f 3 , 0 0 0 — a n d A l a b a m a P o w e r k e e p s t h i n g s r u n n i n g . E C O N O M I C D E V E L O P M E N T Helping Hyundai, Honda and Mercedes 1 9 When the Hyundai Motor Co. of South Korea a n n o u n c e d p l a n s t o b u i l d t h e $ 1 . 4 b i l l i o n manufacturing plant in 2002, it partnered with Alabama Power to design and construct a dedicated substation on the site. Today, the substation provides power for a sprawling complex that covers 1,700 acres, employs more than 3,000 and turned out nearly 363,000 vehicles last year. The plant (Hyundai's only manufacturing facility in America) produces the Sonata sedan and Elantra compact, which experienced an increase in sales of 6.5 percent this year. And Hyundai is just part of a statewide automotive manufacturing success story that has included Alabama Power since the first chapter. It started with the opening of the Mercedes-Benz U.S. International plant near Tuscaloosa in 1997, and continued four years later when Honda Manufacturing of Alabama built a facility in Lincoln. Today, the Mercedes-Benz plant employs 3,000 people and makes the R-Class, M-Class, GL-Class and will begin production of the C-Class in 2014. Across the state, the Honda plant turns out the company's popular Odyssey, Ridgeline and Pilot models, and began production of the Acura MDX SUV this year. Helping to attract and aid companies such as Hyundai, Honda and Mercedes-Benz – and all the companies that come to Alabama with them — is part of an ongoing commitment to progress that Alabama Power made nearly a century ago when it set up the state's first economic development department. Since then, it has played a major role in bringing and expanding the textile, pulp and paper, automotive and aviation industries to Alabama. Working with organizations such as the Alabama Department of Commerce and the Economic Development Partnership of Alabama, the company helped create more than 17,000 jobs and about $5.4 billion in new and expanded businesses from 2008 to 2012.