Governor Ivey Announces Eli Lilly, Space Command and Other State Economic Growth Help Earn Alabama a Silver Shovel Award

MONTGOMERY – Governor Kay Ivey on Tuesday announced that growth in Alabama’s defense presence and a major pharmaceutical facility announcement helped the state earn a 2026 Silver Shovel Award from the business publication Area Development.

The awards are presented annually to states that have achieved noteworthy success in job creation and economic impact. For 21 years, the publication has determined winners based on the number of high value-added jobs per capita, the amount of investment, the number of new facilities and the industry diversity of the projects.

“Alabama saw a record-breaking amount of industry investment in 2025 as more companies recognize we have the space, prime locations, infrastructure and skilled workforce that will make them successful,” said Governor Ivey. “That investment – and this latest Silver Shovel Award – is further proof that the economic development policies developed in Montgomery and the work by local community leaders are creating quality jobs and opportunities for our citizens.”

Alabama’s Silver Shovel year is anchored by the defense and aerospace sectors, with a project portfolio that reflects the state’s long-standing strengths while pointing toward new industrial frontiers, the publication said in its announcement.

“U.S. Space Command brings 1,312 defense jobs to Huntsville at no reported capital cost — a federal presence that reinforces the region’s role as a national hub for space and defense operations,” it said. “Eli Lilly’s $6 billion pharmaceutical investment in Huntsville — a manufacturing project of the year — adds 450 jobs and signals that Alabama’s life sciences ambitions are serious.”

The news that Redstone Arsenal will be a permanent home of Space Command came in September of last year, followed by the major Eli Lilly announcement in December.

They helped drive Alabama’s all-time-high investments in 2025, $14.6 billion and 9,388 new jobs across 234 projects, according to the Department of Commerce’s annual New and Expanding Industry Announcement report.

“The Alabama Department of Commerce’s paramount goals are to attract quality jobs for Alabamians and better the state’s communities through long-term investments,” said Commerce Secretary Ellen McNair. “To be recognized by Area Development for the results of that work is always appreciated.”

Area Development regularly honors Alabama with its accolades. The state received Gold Shovel Awards in 2006, 2013, 2019 and 2021, and Silver Shovel Awards for 2007–2012, 2014–2018, 2022 and 2024.

The magazine this year also gave a nod to the state’s still-growing automotive and raw materials sectors, citing CPT America’s $163 million investment and 187 jobs in automotive manufacturing in Tuskegee and Samkwang’s 114 new jobs, also in Tuskegee. ArcelorMittal Calvert invested $1.2 billion and 205 jobs in raw materials and mining in Calvert, and Alabama River Cellulose, a Georgia Pacific company, committed $800 million to raw materials in Monroeville.

Other major projects included Northrop Grumman’s $72 million investment in Huntsville, Diageo North America’s $415 million project in Montgomery, Owens Corning Corporation’s $325 million investment in Prattville, Pilgrim’s expansion in Russellville, Butting’s 100 new stainless steel processing jobs in Loxley and AGS America’s automotive facility in Opelika.

This year’s other Silver Shovel winners in the 5 million to 8 million population range are Tennessee and South Carolina. 

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