Thomasville mayor depicts Golden Dragon project as model for rural approach to development

THOMASVILLE, Alabama -- Mayor Sheldon Day exudes the same enthusiasm about economic development whether he?s talking to a recruitment target or, as was the case this afternoon, to a Japanese news crew.

Representatives from the Japan Broadcasting Corp. came to see the 274-acre property in neighboring Wilcox County that soon will become home to the giant Golden Dragon Precise Copper Tube Group?plant. It is one of 7 projects that will bring some $300 million in investments to the greater Thomasville area over a 3-year period.

Yuichiro Hanazawa, chief correspondent in Japan Broadcasting Corp.?s Washington bureau, wanted to know how Thomasville landed the project and how it might change local perceptions to China, where the manufacturing company is based.

Day said state tax incentives, proximity to a rail line and access to the Port of Mobile each played a role in beating out 61 other communities that bid on the project.

But most importantly, he said, is improved cooperation among neighboring cities and counties that used to compete with one another, and a realization that rural Alabama could not beat out large metro areas on their terms. In so doing, he said, Thomasville and the surrounding areas have tried to turn a perceived weakness into a positive.

?We like to think there?s a new economic development theme that is starting to emerge,? he said. ?Many, many companies would prefer to locate in a rural area because of the wholesomeness of a rural area. You don?t get the traffic jams....

?We thought for years, we had to keep up with the Mobiles and the Birminghams and the Huntsvilles,? he added. ?We thought we had to do economic development their way.?

Secret weapon: banana pudding?

Day talked about setting up a reception for the Golden Dragon announcement. He said officials contacted a local Chinese restaurant, which prepared traditional Chinese fare alongside Southern comfort food.

The Golden Dragon executives especially loved the banana pudding, Day said.

?We say banana pudding is our secret weapon,? he said. ?Most big cities won?t serve banana pudding.?

Hanazawa asked the mayor about American attitudes toward China, saying he was particularly struck by the negative tone toward the country from the Republican presidential candidates.

?I feel more than ever that business partnerships can bridge the gap and bridge the differences of our governments,? Day responded.

Hanazawa said in an interview that he felt the energy and enthusiasm of the local officials he talked to.

?Now is a very good time for China to invest,? he said. ?This is a good thing for China and the local area.... This is very similar to what Japan did (in America) 20 to 30 years ago.?

The area certainly could use the jobs. Unemployment in Wilcox County, 15.1 percent, is the state?s highest. Clarke County, where Thomasville is, also is above the state average.

Fighting Alabama?s highest unemployment rate?

Tree-clearing work already has begun on the Wilcox County site. Golden Dragon will take ownership of about 140 acres within the next 30 days, and construction should take 18 months to 2 years. Day said he anticipates about 1,000 temporary construction jobs and 300 to 500 permanent jobs at the precision copper plant.

George Alford Jr., of the Wilcox County Industrial Development Authority, said the rest of the property hopefully will become the home to future businesses in what will be known as the Thomasville-West Wilcox Industrial Park.

Alford and Day said their communities have worked hard to forge an alliance in economic development. Although Thomasville has only about 4,200 residents, it is a regional retail hub, and Day counts a population of some 80,000 people who shop and eat in his city.

As a result, a big industrial project benefits Thomasville whether it is in the city limits or not, he said.

Originally, in fact, Golden Dragon had settled on a Thomasville site but then concluded it was too small to meet future expansion needs. As it happened, Day was meeting in his office with Alford the day he learned about Golden Dragon?s concerns.

Day said he walked back into his office, where he and Alford were talking about the Wilcox site as the possible location for a different project, and went back to the Golden Dragon representative with a conceptual drawing.

?Sheldon pulled a plat out of his pocket that we were meeting about and said, ?How about this one??? Alford said.

More Chinese investment to come?

Economic development officials said they foresee a possible avalanche of investment from China, and they are doing everything they can to court it.

Gov. Robert Bentley and other officials will meet with Hong Kong?s top official, Donald Tong, at a reception in Montgomery on Tuesday. The following day, officials leave for a 10-day mission to China and Taiwan in an effort to teach companies how to do business in Alabama.

Day said the local high school has installed a college-level welding program to prepare gradates to work for steel and metals manufacturers. He said he is working on a number of high-profile prospects, some of them even larger than Golden Dragon.

Monroe County officials want a piece of that action, as well. Pete Black, president of the Southeast Regional Development Center, said a Chinese-language instructor this fall will teach Mandarin at Monroe County High School and Monroeville Elementary School.

Black said he will join the group headed to China next week and hopes to further efforts to attract Chinese investment to Monroe County.

?It?s a work in progress,? he said. ?We don?t have anything imminent.?

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