Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey joined AGCO employees in boosting the “Made in Alabama” initiative Wednesday, as AGCO showed off its newly-expanded production facility at Bremen.

BREMEN — Fifty seemed to be the magic number Wednesday as agricultural equipment manufacturer AGCO cut the ribbon on a new $50 million, 50,000 square-foot expansion — a new step in the locally-operated facility’s growth that’s expected to create 50 local jobs.

A well-attended press conference at the company’s Bremen production plant drew out all the local economic partners who helped orchestrate incentives for the expansion, including Gov. Kay Ivey.

Through a cooperative effort between the local Industrial Development Authority, the Cullman Economic Development Agency, and Cullman County Economic Development, state grant funds will help pay for a repaving and improvement project along County Road 68, which leads to the rurally-situated AGCO headquarters near Cold Springs.

The expansion is part of a larger strategic move for the company; one that will see its production line for cage-free poultry enclosures move from Germany to Cullman County.

Plant Manager Eddie Harris said the expansion will increase by 50 percent its current production staff of 100 people, with equipment and assembly moving into the new, still-empty production facility over the course of the next year.

Ivey cut the ribbon on the new facility Wednesday, and boosted her office’s focus on rural economic development in brief remarks. 

“When we talk about building for our successes and building for our momentum, this is what it’s all about,” Ivey said. 

State Sen. Garlan Gudger, R-Cullman, who introduced Ivey, recognized the dozens of AGCO employees in attendance, most of whom sported “Made in Alabama” T-shirts that, said Gudger, tell the story of the Cullman area’s work ethic.

“The people in Cullman County are not afraid to dream big — and then work tirelessly to achieve those goals,” he said. “This is why Cullman is one of the most progressive counties in Alabama.”

Harris said AGCO’s expanded facility was built to situate the company at the leading edge of the cage-free trend in poultry raising, which appeals to food retailers for its consumer appeal compared with conventional growing practices.

Benjamin Bullard can be reached by phone at 256-734-2131 ext. 145.