National Steal Car?

National Alabama Corporation, AKA Bronner's Folly, after a half billion (billion with a B) dollars spent and just a teacup of employees, is about to become Barton Alabama's biggest chicken house.

A check of the National Alabama website gives a 404 message (nobody home?) and a check of the company's parent website refers questions to the Canadian office. One observer asked over a hamburger at the local eatery “why not set the plant up to refurbish older cars if the economy is too lax for rail companies to buy new ones?”. Somehow that makes sense to me. There was talk of converting the plant to wind turbine manufacturing.

Sunday morning while driving into Alabama from my morning meal at Jacks in Iuka Mississippi I couldn't can't help but envision a string of windmills hooked into that TVA transmission line from Roosters Ridge at the State line all the way to the Coon Dog cemetery.

Maybe while the FBI is in town investigating the Bingo Bill they could look into how many local dollars went to Ontario and just how much the Hamilton Ontario Parent Company National Steel Car actually has at risk in the Barton Plant. The plant, which should be putting $150,000 a day into the North Alabama economy, is spending most of its piddling economic impact on utilities to keep the field mice warm.

I think maybe it is time to turn over some rocks and take a look around out there.

Maybe some offshore accounts?

Maybe they just built that one rail car to carry the money home?

Maybe something even more sinister?

Meanwhile, union officials in Canada say the Hamilton Ontario plant will recall a total of 1,100 workers, ending a temporary shutdown that began last summer. The rail car maker landed a contract to build 750 iron ore cars. That is is ten million dollars in lost salaries for Alabama workers. That ten million dollars spent in the west end of Colbert County would certainly make a difference at J.J's and the Cherokee Piggley Wiggley. It would seem that National Rail Car could show 750 rail cars of appreciation for the confidence (and money) the people of North Alabama have bestowed upon them by trying out their shiny new plant to build some CSX Coal Cars.

I suspect that another big contract will come in while those 750 cars are being constructed and the plant with workers already on the job will get the work. If true that 750 car order built in Canada is the death knell for the Barton facility. It is time, Time to either make some rail cars, refurbish some rail cars, make some windmills, or have our elected officials raise a whirlwind of stinky in Hamilton Ontario.

I don't know what auditors might find under those limestone rocks at Barton. I can't imagine.

But all y'all North Alabama residents try not think about it when you pay that economic development tax that has turned out to be funding jobs for a Canadian Employer.

Jim Bonner