Recently county commissioners Joseph Parnell and Shannon Welch presented an update on the County to the Chilton County Chamber of Commerce. Parnell and Welch presented facts about the workforce in many of our large industries in Chilton County. They went on to explain that these industries were expanding and that the increase in their workforces account for much of the employment growth in the county.

In addition to this growth, small businesses are also thriving in Chilton County, and this is also good news.

With to economy improving slowly, people are feeling that entrepreneurial spirit again. Let’s look at a few examples in our county. Sanico moved into Clanton late in 2014, occupying one of the buildings sold by Stokes Automotive on Hwy 31. Sanico is a uniform, linens and mats rental business. Their main service is being a supplier to industry. This business moved to central Alabama through merging operations in Tuscaloosa and Birmingham. They employ seven people and look forward to expanding more.

Maplesville Tie & Timber Co. is located north of Maplesville about a mile from Maplesville High School . The four people working there cut and mill lumber used to make cross ties. Some of their products are sold to other outlets outside the county. In past time, this type business was plentiful. As home building slowed way down five years ago, this type small industry went out of business. As the home construction industry rebounds, tree-rich Chilton County will benefit from the expansion.

Another growth industry for Clanton is built around campers. One of a Kind Custom opened in January in the old Chilton Industrial Park in Lomax. Here the owner takes damaged campers and refits and remolds the damaged areas to look like new. The owner was working by himself in his garage until his move to Lomax; he now has two people working along with several part-time people. It looks like he has an off and running small business.

RV Heroes LLC had its Grand Opening in mid-2014 in Clanton. They looked at the problem of RVs malfunctioning and breaking down while camping and then looked for a solution. RV Heroes’ solution is to come to customer’s home or campsite and complete the needed repairs onsite. Their certified RV technician and onsite solution have made them another successful camper-related business in Chilton County.

At different places in the county people are starting retail and industrial small business. Their success will help all of us. No matter if they are large business such as JCI, South Coast Paper, or KMA, or small business like the ones mentioned above–people are working in Chilton County!

-Fred Crawford is the Chilton County Industrial Development Coordinator. Look for another installment of his column in a future edition of The Clanton Advertiser or online at www.clantonadvertiser.com.