Alabama's Chemical Industry

Chemicals are Alabama's No. 3 export, generating more than $2 billion annually.

Alabama has a long history of supporting and investing in the chemical industry; as a result, chemicals are the state's second-largest export. More than 200 chemical companies employing over 11,000 workers are based in the state. Nearly $1.2 billion in new capital investments since 2019 have bolstered chemical manufacturing in Alabama. With dedicated investment initiatives to develop manufacturing facilities, top chemical engineering education programs and access to one of the largest deep-water ports in the U.S. reaching global markets, Alabama is the perfect place to do business.

Alabama Power, in collaboration with the Mobile Chamber of Commerce and leaders from the state's chemical sector, has launched the MAST Initiative—an ambitious strategy to drive industrial growth along Alabama's Gulf Coast Chemical Corridor. This 60-mile corridor, known as MAST (McIntosh, Axis, Saraland, Theodore), stretches from Mobile County to Washington County and includes the Port of Mobile, one of the nation's top-ranked ports by volume.

The MAST region is home to more than 25 chemical manufacturers and supports over 4,000 jobs. The corridor's operations span a wide range of chemical production, including chlor-alkali, resins and synthetic rubbers, adhesives and coatings, synthetic fibers and filaments, refinery operations, and specialty chemicals.

Five of Alabama's universities have top-ranking chemical engineering undergraduate and graduate programs. In 2020, Bishop State broke ground on an 80,000 square feet, state-of-the-art Advanced Manufacturing Technology Center that will utilize world-class equipment to train a world-class workforce. These nationally ranked programs have created a pipeline of specialized workers for the chemical industry's workforce here in Alabama. 

To learn more about locating and growing your chemical company in Alabama, please contact: