Federal and state infrastructure programs available. Section 108 loan guarantee provides communities with an efficient source of financing for economic development and large-scale physical development projects. Tennessee Valley Authority's economic development loan fund is a multi-million dollar revolving loan program that provides financing for new industrial plants, plant expansions, plant retention, and infrastructure development such as speculative industrial buildings and industrial parks. The center of the Southeastern U.S., the fastest-growing economic region in the country. More than 200 foreign-based manufacturers from 25 countries, representing approximately seven billion dollars in capital investment.
Forest products make up the largest single category of Alabama exports.
Alabama Development Office representative offices, located in Hannover, Germany and Tokyo, Japan, are available to lend assistance whenever possible to Alabama manufacturers. Located on the Gulf of Mexico, Alabama is a gateway to the rapidly growing markets in Mexico, Central America and South America. Organizations with offices at the Business Center include the Alabama Development Office, the Alabama International Trade Center, the U.S. Department of Commerce, the Alabama State Docks and the Japan-America Society of Alabama. Additional export assistance available through a number of non-profit trade associations, chambers of commerce, customhouse brokers, foreign freight forwarders and honorary consulates. Four Alabama banks provide complete international banking services for companies located in Alabama and throughout the Southeast.