​
Business
in Birmingham
Birmingham has been developing into a major metropolitan city since the late 1800’s, and for the past hundred years, the city has been at a standstill of business growth due to the centering around mines and mills that produced iron. However, more than a century later, in 2017, business in the Magic City is bursting at the seams with new opportunities around every corner.
Much of the history surrounding the development of Birmingham can be attributed to the mines and mills formed for the production of steel. Those industries brought blue-collar families and immigrants alike to northern Alabama in an effort to make an impact in the iron industry.
Nestled in the Jones Valley, Birmingham is one of the few cities that contains the three ingredients needed to harvest iron and steel: coal, limestone and iron ore. What began as a workshop town centered around extracting and refining minerals quickly became hom​e to tens of thousands of workers who relocated their families to employ these factories, instituting Birmingham's first major boom of population and business development.
Now, commonly known as the “Iron City,” Birmingham is seeing success as a major metropolis forged off the backs of workers who, over a century ago, yielded the very iron that gave the city its name.
The Birmingham Business Alliance produces a regional growth report each year that reflects the industries that control the economy in the city. The report itself details the fall of iron production and its replacement with other major corporations.
While the iron and steel industry has decreased significantly, a new industry has begun to take root, producing the second largest increase in population since the turn of the 20th century, detailed in the Birmingham Business Alliance’s demographic and population report. Among these industries, the creation of a medical hub, hinging on the establishment of the University of Alabama at Birmingham's medical center.
An influx of immigrants have flocked to a relatively unknown town to aid in the expansion of the medical and research development culture in the city. The UAB Medical Center employs over 23,000 people and is the 10th highest funded research facility among public universities.
The medical center, coupled with the arrival of local businesses have likely attributed to the steep increase in population in the last ten years. As the city continues to grow and diversify its industries, this trend may continue, providing Birmingham a metropolitan business hub that it has been seeking since 1871.
A look at how the growth and development of industries in Birmigham have shaped the city.
Industrial expansion: the tool that created a multi-generational family of Birmingham residents
The successful economic industry that Birmingham has now was built on the backs of workers like O.C. Dyer, who moved to town to create the plot of land that houses one of the largest cities in Alabama.
Before the city of Birmingham became what it is today, it was known as Jones Valley, a piece of land not conducive to farming and commonly referred to as a “terrifying place” by the Native Americans who once inhabited the area, according to “Diamonds in the Rough: A History of Alabama's Cahaba Coal Field.” Those two characteristics delayed the development of the land and when the town finally began to grow, the end of the Civil War brought with it the destruction of the small villages and the railroads that brought people to Birmingham.
With the railroad system in the South decimated, further expansion was halted until the early 1900s. The discovery of steel and the materials needed to create it vaulted Birmingham into national attention. Families from across the country backed up their belongings and moved to Northern Alabama for work; among them, O.C. Dyer.
Dyer moved his wife and children to Birmingham in 1929 to work for a mine that was opened to harvest iron ore. Dyer, now deceased, still has roots in the city as his family still resides in Birmingham and have been a part of the production of the city in nearly every stage.
Red Mountain was home to the largest iron ore company, run by U.S. Steel up until it was closed in 1962. For forty years, Dyer worked and operated machinery in the mines of Red Mountain as an employee.
Dyer’s great granddaughter, Jennifer Compre, currently lives in Birmingham, just down the road from Red Mountain.
“My family originally moved to Birmingham for the steel boom in the ‘20s and my great grandfather began work immediately in the mines and remained there until his retirement,” said Compre.
In describing the city before her family moved to Birmingham, Compre referred to a family book that had pictures and details regarding the lack of development and economic stability.
“The land was desolate, never rebuilt following the Civil War,” said Compre. “It was workers like my great grandfather who worked to create an economy that could sustain the citizens moving to town.”
Following the steel craze of the early 1900s, Birmingham grew dramatically in population, but still lacked diversity in the job force. This changed with the relocation of the University of Alabama’s Medical School.
In 1951, Judy Wallace moved to Birmingham and began work as a receptionist for the University of Alabama at Birmingham Medical School and Hospital. The center opened in 1945 and Wallace was seeking a fresh start, following the loss of both her parents. Having recently met a man, Robert Dyer, son of O.C. Dyer, Wallace moved to Birmingham to be with him.
“Originally I moved to Birmingham to be with Robert,” said Wallace. “but after our relationship failed I was stuck with a child and no money. The university was hiring various jobs to staff the hospital and other than working in the mills, it seemed like the most stable job at the time.”
Wallace described the hospital as an influence of new blood in the city, a breath of fresh air in an area suffocating by smoke.
“Before the hospital, the entire city was mines and mills. Birmingham was one giant steel production company,” said Wallace. “The citizens all worked in the mines and mills and their families lived in villages adjacent to the work sites. But with the addition of the medical school and hospital, the city began to attract a new type of individual, one with an academic background, yearning to learn and teach.”
The medical school and hospital brought with it doctors and nurses from across the country to produce a top performing facility and now it is the largest employer in Birmingham and the second largest in Alabama.
The economy in a metropolitan city is much like a musical symphony, with many parts and people, but just as there is a conductor that dictates the direction of the sound, an economy often times has an industry that become a common thread, a pulsing heartbeat that governs how money is spent.
For Birmingham, that common thread in today’s economic field is an increase in technology, a multi-billion dollar industry that has an influence in nearly every other trade.
The proof of technology’s impact in Birmingham can be seen through the success of Innovation Depot, a startup company that aids in the production of small business. Devon Laney, president and chief executive officer, was recruited directly out of college to one of the country's largest technology firms in Atlanta, but ultimately left to begin what would eventually become Innovation Depot.
“I came to Birmingham to help found Innovation Depot from the ground up, and in the last five years the companies in our program have generated 1.4 billion dollars in revenue, created thousands of jobs and real investments that in turn produces economic growth,” said Laney.
With cities like San Francisco, New York City and Atlanta, it is a wonder why technology moguls would move to Birmingham to create startups, but for Laney that seems to be the very reason why it is so successful.
“Entrepreneurs are moving here (to Birmingham) each day,” said Laney. “As long as there is internet, it doesn't matter where one is working. What matters is the amount of workforce, quality of life, the value of money and the ability to build relationships, and all of those qualities are highly rated here in Birmingham.”
The tech industry seems to be seeping into daily life here in Birmingham, bringing with it more jobs, more businesses and an undeniable economic change. Companies that once required an individual to interact face-to-face now can be handled with a tap of the finger through an app. It is these types of corporations that are moving to Birmingham for a chance to be part of the billions in revenue each year.
“Birmingham is continuing to be influenced through technology,” said Laney. “Buildings downtown that once were inhabited by banks and hospitals are home to technology-based companies that offer a service, literally changing the skyline of downtown.”
The expansion of this trade is one that is projected to continue to gross more money than the last four years combined. The tech field does not require a college degree in order to find a job which will continue to staff companies in Birmingham for many years to come, further supporting the economy and growing a historically production-minded city into an innovation destination.
The influence of technology in launching Birmingham into a national hub for innovation.
