Mobile economy ready for its close-up

Mobile's booming economy is drawing national attention.

A two-part profile of the city appeared on cable network CNBC during prime time on Thursday and Friday, and a pair of fast-growing local companies are recognized in a popular business magazine on newstands this month.

CNBC's report, aired as part of its "On the Money" show, featured Mayor Sam Jones and other local business leaders talking about the city's economic growth in the two years since Hurricane Katrina. The network reaches about 340 million households worldwide, according to Nielsen Media Research.

"They wanted to know where this place called Mobile, Alabama, was coming from, and what was going on down here," Jones said. "It's good to be recognized for our success. We've never seen this kind of attention before."

Inc. magazine included two local firms, telecommunications provider Southern Light LLC and Hargrove & Associates Inc., an engineering and construction company, as part of its annual list of the 500 fastest growing private companies in America.

The 2007 rankings, based on annual sales growth, are published in Inc.'s September edition. The monthly magazine, billed as "The Daily Resource for Entrepreneurs," reaches about 1 million subscribers.

Mobile has been on a hot streak since the May 11 announcement that ThyssenKrupp AG had chosen a site north of the city for a proposed $3.7 billion steel mill. News about the massive project spanned the globe, earning references in more than 300 publications over the past three months, according to computer research firm LexisNexis.

"When you land the largest economic development project in America, that's news wherever you are," Jones said.

The city also drew an international spotlight at the Paris Air Show in June. Mobile is home to an Airbus engineering center and could add an aircraft assembly plant if it can win a lucrative contract to build aerial refueling tankers for the U.S. Air Force.

High-profile articles about Mobile's aerospace ambitions appeared in the New York Times and the International Herald Tribune, among other news outlets.

Southern Light and Hargrove returned Mobile to the Inc. 500 list for the first time since 2001, when local promotional products manufacturer Crown Products was included. The magazine said the companies on its 26th annual list are symbols of American ingenuity and ambition.

"If you want to find out which companies are going to change the world, look at the Inc. 500," said Editor Jane Berentson. "These are the most innovative, dynamic, fast-growing companies in the nation."

Southern Light, founded in Mobile in 1998, was ranked 151, the highest statewide. The ranking was based on 2006 revenue of

$13.6 million, a 1,303 percent increase over 2005, according to Inc.

The company, which employs 31, provides fiber optic communications to business and government customers along the Gulf Coast.

Southern Light's president, Andy Newton, told the magazine that his sales were boosted after hurricanes Ivan and Katrina, when the company bolstered its reputation by quickly resuming service.

"Nobody down here wants to hear the word 'hurricane,' but that's been real helpful to our business," Newton said.

Hargrove, founded in Mobile in 1995, ranked 453 based on 2006 revenue of $15.9 million, a 642 percent increase over 2005. The company, which employs 185 and also has offices in Atlanta and Savannah, Ga., designs and builds large industrial projects such as refineries, chemical plants and paper mills.

Ralph Hargrove, the company's founder and chief executive, attributed the growth to referrals and repeat business. Hargrove said he commonly takes on multiple projects for his 200 clients, including work for many of the Mobile area's major industrial tenants.

"We still do projects for Kimberly-Clark, one of the first two clients we started with 13 years ago," Hargrove told the magazine.

ON THE WEB

For more information about the Inc. 500, see the magazine's Web site at www.inc.com/magazine. To view the CNBC profile of Mobile, go to www.CNBC.com