Twenty-five years ago, Tuscaloosa County and Alabama faced an economic crossroads.

In 1993, some of the Tuscaloosa area’s biggest industries were Peco Foods, which deals with poultry, and JVC America, which dealt mainly with electronics. Across the state, apparel and textiles were seen as the leading industries. However, having a robust automotive manufacturing industry in Alabama seemed out of reach.

On Sept. 30, 1993, that all changed when Mercedes-Benz announced it would build a plant in Alabama with the state’s help, nearly $250 million in incentives. The announcement meant that the Tuscaloosa County town of Vance would become the site for Mercedes’ first passenger vehicle assembly plant outside of Germany.

Through the years, Mercedes-Benz U.S. International has contributed nearly $6 billion in investment across Tuscaloosa County. Economic leaders believe, however, that the Vance plant has meant much more for Alabama, becoming a catalyst to attract a burgeoning automotive industry that would not likely be here if not for the German carmaker's commitment to the state.

"This was one of the most consequential news stories in Alabama history," said Jo Bonner, now interim executive director of the Tuscaloosa County Industrial Development Authority.

Bonner, who was a U.S. congressman in Washington, D.C., in 1993, said there had been efforts in the past to bring a sizable automotive presence to the state, but none ever materialized until Mercedes.

"You look back in life and seeing that they didn’t get them, it was the best thing that ever happened to us," he said.

Steve Sewell, executive vice president of the Economic Development Partnership of Alabama, said that leading up to the Mercedes announcement, there was a need to find new revenue since textile jobs were either shutting down or moving overseas. Since 1993, around 82,000 textile jobs across Alabama have been lost, according to a recent report by "The World" on Public Radio International.

"It was a combination of what it meant practically to the economy and what you can measure in terms of the automotive industry," Sewell said. "It gave them a foothold at a time when the state was losing tens of thousands of jobs in the textile industry."

Making a pitch to Mercedes

In 1993, a team of economic leaders and professionals, code named Project Rosewood, was formed with the task of bringing Mercedes to Alabama. Despite competing with 49 other states for the company's attention and seemingly impossible odds, the team was able to get Mercedes’ representatives on their side.

"I’ve said it for many years: The decision came down to head and heart. In the head, you’ve got all the quantifiable reasons to make a decision like this," said Linda Paulmeno Sewell, longtime Mercedes employee who was part of the company’s selection committee, in an interview with The Tuscaloosa News in 2017. "But when you make a big decision, pick a home, the person you marry, it’s gotta be about heart.

"More and more as we got to see and know Alabama, it became clearer. For the folks that were going to be making their homes in Alabama, they thought it would be a great."

The results from MBUSI would take time with the first M-Class rolling off the Vance plant production line in 1997. By the end of the first year, the company had produced 68,800 cars. By the beginning of 2018, the company turned out its 3 millionth vehicle.

In the years since MBUSI's arrival, both Tuscaloosa and Alabama have drastically changed. The Mercedes plant supports about 3,700 jobs in Tuscaloosa County. Across Alabama, around 40,000 people work in the automotive industry.

MBUSI has also brought in other vendors and suppliers to the area over the years, contributing millions more to the area. In Tuscaloosa County, there are 20 Mercedes suppliers.

Alabama Secretary of Commerce Greg Canfield said Mercedes coming to Alabama had a major effect on how international companies viewed Alabama, especially German ones. By his estimate, there are now about 70 German companies operating in the state.

"By locating its first U.S. manufacturing facility in Tuscaloosa County, Mercedes raised Alabama’s profile for foreign direct investment, particularly from Germany," Canfield said in an email. "Since 1999, German companies have invested nearly $9 billion in Alabama operations, creating 15,500 direct jobs."

Canfield also believes Mercedes was the company that led others into the state, such as Hyundai, Honda and Toyota, to do business in Alabama. Hyundai Motor Manufacturing Alabama in Montgomery, which was founded in 2002 and employs 3,000 people, is the only company plant in North America. Honda Manufacturing Alabama in Lincoln was founded in 1999 and employees 4,000. Toyota Motor Manufacturing Alabama in Huntsville, which makes engines for different Toyota models, was founded in 2001 and employs 1,100 people.

Like Canfield, Bonner believes Mercedes’ worldwide reputation for quality encouraged others to come Alabama.

"There’s no way you can prove that had Mercedes not come, we wouldn’t have been in play for other companies, but you can make a strong case that by landing Mercedes, we were not only landing the best, but we were on an international map of recognition," he said.

State's top export

In 2017, motor vehicles ranked as Alabama’s top export with nearly $8 billion. That number has potential to grow over the next few years with the announcement earlier this year that Toyota and Mazda would build a $1.6 billion plant in Huntsville, bringing in about 4,000 jobs to the area. The plant is set to open sometime in 2021.

According to the Center for Automotive Research, Alabama was tied with Tennessee as the fifth-largest producer of vehicles in the U.S. in 2017. During that time, roughly 9 percent of all the cars and trucks made in the country were produced in Alabama.

"Mercedes helped pave the way for the rapid auto industry growth that has taken place in the state," Canfield said. "In a little more than 20 years, Mercedes, Honda, Hyundai, and Toyota alone have invested a combined $10 billion in Alabama."

Those who worked at the Vance plant have also gone on to different leadership roles around the world. Ola Kaellenius, the plant’s third president from 2009 to 2010, was recently named as chief executive officer of Mercedes’ parent company, Daimler, leading the company during a shift toward more electric cars.

MBUSI’s continued involvement in Alabama is also a sign of hope for the future. In 2015, the company announced a $1.3 billion expansion, adding a new 1.3 million-square-foot body shop and a 140,000 square-foot expansion to the plant’s SUV assembly shop. The expansion also includes work on a battery plant at the Vance plant and a Global Logistics Center and a North American hub for after-sales in Bibb County.

"It just helps if you’re talking to a global company, you’re making a case out here," Sewell said. "It certainly helps to be able to point to a marquee company like Mercedes."

For Bonner, Mercedes and other automotive manufacturers in Alabama are continuing to do good things for the people of Alabama.

"For Alabama, this had a monumental impact on our whole psyche," he said. "We can compete with the very best and if we are successful getting them, we can help them be more successful than they imagined."

Reach Drew Taylor at drew.taylor@tuscaloosanews.com or 205-722-0204.