No deal yet to share TK incentives

Southwest Alabama elected officials met Wednesday in Mobile to continue discussing the formation of a regional alliance that would help recruit and support large industrial projects.

The consortium, tentatively called the Lower Alabama Economic Development Authority, got its spark during the state’s recruitment of ThyssenKrupp AG, the German steelmaker that is building a $3.7 billion steel finishing complex in north Mobile County.

Organizers initially hoped the authority’s members, including city and county governments from Baldwin, Clarke, Escambia, Mobile and Washington counties, could share costs associated with the $811 million incentives package used to bring the 2,700-worker steel mill to Alabama.

“The bottom line is there’s strength in numbers. We can all benefit if we pool our resources,” said Baldwin County Commissioner Wayne Gruenloh.

No deal yet to share TK incentives