NAVISTAR Celebrates 75th Anniversary with Dedication of Big Bore Facility

Navistar – originally International Harvester – recently celebrated the 75th year it has been building diesel engines with the dedication of the company’s second Huntsville plant in the Jetplex Industrial Park, which will assemble the company's new "big bore" diesel engines for heavy-duty commercial trucks. Alabama Governor Bob Riley and Jack Allen, President of Navistar Engine Group, were joined by hundreds of attendees from all across the world to mark the beginning of production at the plant.

The 300,000-square-foot facility will produce two new engines – MaxxForce 11 and MaxxForce 13 – which are designed for International Class 8 trucks. According to Allen, production will start ramping up with the assembly of 300 engines weekly. He expects the plant to assemble about 15,000 engines in 2009 – approximately half its capacity. AnotherNavistar plant, a700,000-square-foot building nearby, has built V6 and V8 diesel engines for pickups and vans, commercial trucks, school buses and RVs since 2002. The two plants have a total of 361 employees with 36 at the new plant.

Airport's New Wing to Open in November

Earlier this year construction began on second floor “core” improvements, which will add two wings near the current connector walkway and security checkpoint. The west wing will be home to security checkpoint while the east wing will serve as public waiting. Each wing will feature 30-foot high panoramic windows that overlook airfield operations. This renovation will also significantly widen the walkway toward the new wings – adding four times more space than the current public areas. The west wing is scheduled to open in November, and passengers flying into and out of the airport will be diverted to that space. Both public waiting and security screening will be temporarily housed in the central location. View the full article.

New Air Cargo Facility Takes Shape

Nearing capacity at its existing intermodal location, the Port of Huntsville is currently building a new 93,000-square-foot air cargo facility at the International Intermodal Center. Decatur-based Fite Building Co. Inc. was awarded the design/build contract for the project with an estimated cost of $7.5 million. Construction of the project to expand air cargo facilities at the Intermodal Center began in April with the building ready for occupants by spring 2009. The building will have office and warehouse space. View the full article.

TRIAD Properties Initiates Second Phase of Jetplex Tradeport

TRIAD Properties has begun construction of the second phase of its Jetplex Tradeport facilities. This phase of the project, which should be completed by the end of the year, includes construction of a second 102,100-square-foot speculative building. The first speculative building was completed earlier this year and is under occupancy.

Paradies Opens New Venue at HSV

Huntsville International Airport recently announced the opening of Paradies’ new airside location, Rocket City News. The all-new 1,600-square-foot location celebrates Huntsville as the home of US Space Camp and NASA with a rocket and astronaut theme, including a life-size astronaut as the store’s central focal point. Adding to the theme, Rocket City News has a section dedicated to children that offers astronaut suits, helmets, backpacks, and toys. The store also has space food and ice cream – just add water! Space-themed books and videos are also available. View the full article.

HSV Receives $6.3 Million Grant for Overlay Project

Huntsville International Airport received a federal grant in the amount of $6,342,288 to help fund refurbishment of the east runway. The overlay project is currently underway and should be completed by March 2009. The general contractor for the project is Wiregrass Construction in Ariton.