Global automotive supplier Minth Group has announced plans to develop a $430 million automotive parts manufacturing facility in Gadsden, transforming the former Gulf States Steel site into a major new industrial operation. The project is expected to create more than 1,300 jobs and represents one of the largest economic development announcements in the city in decades.

The new facility will be constructed on a more than 400-acre brownfield site that has remained largely inactive since the steel plant closed in 2000. Plans call for nearly 1 million square feet of manufacturing space to produce plastic and aluminum components for automakers’ U.S. plants, including Hyundai Motor Company, Kia, Honda, Toyota, Mercedes-Benz, Ford Motor Company, General Motors, Mazda, and Volkswagen. 

Burr & Forman assisted Minth Group in connection with the project, advising on environmental and regulatory matters and supporting the acquisition and redevelopment of the former steelmaking site. The firm also worked with state and local stakeholders as the project advanced, including coordinating brownfield compliance with the Alabama Department of Environmental Management and economic development incentives with the Alabama Department of Commerce.

The Burr & Forman team included Greg Canfield, Warren Matthews, Schuyler Espy, Melinda Sellers, Chloe Champion, and Mary Kate Miranda, who contributed to various aspects of the project as it moved toward announcement and groundbreaking.