For several years, the Cullman area has been stacking superlatives when it’s time to take annual stock of industrial growth.
Fresh from moving up a notch for 2024 to the No. 2 spot on Site Selection Magazine’s yearly ranking of the nation’s top micropolitan areas, Cullman is reaping the rewards of another major milestone: In 2023, the city of Cullman, for the first time, surpassed the $1 billion mark in total retail sales.
Last year yielded record-breaking growth in both the industrial and retail sectors for the area. According to data provided by the Cullman Economic Development Agency, single-year capital expenditures throughout Cullman County for new and expanding industry tallied $488,997,600, while the city collected sales taxes on $1,075,192,308 of in-town spending.
Both numbers reflect a steady and mostly unhindered climb in the area’s industrial growth, as well as in retail spending. Last year’s $1 billion retail figure marks a 12 percent increase over the previous year’s sales, and is nearly double the amount of sales the city enjoyed only ten years ago: In 2013, taxable sales in the city of Cullman were reported at $515,123,000.
Last year’s $488,997,600 in industrial investment also set a countywide record, topping a string of record-setting years for local capital investment punctuated by the $447 million in local capital expenditures previously reported for 2022. In all, last year’s industrial spending yielded the creation of 643 local jobs, all distributed among the 28 projects that received fresh private-sector funding to either establish a first-time presence in the Cullman area or expand on an existing industry.
First among last year’s biggest industrial spenders in Cullman County was Walmart, which announced a $350 million overhaul to its local distribution center that marks the single largest capital investment in the area’s history.
Two other established Cullman industries also planned big expansions in 2023, including Rehau’s $66 million commitment for a new paint line specifically tailored to the production of parts for the Mercedes EQ (Electric Vehicles) segment; and Topre America’s $17 million addition of an in-house distribution facility, which will replace the manufacturer’s reliance on leased off-site warehouse space while reducing the transportation stress caused by delivery trucks traversing local roads.
Passing the $1 billion retail-sales milestone means the City of Cullman will enjoy a far larger pool of retail tax revenue to share among the legislatively-prescribed areas where city sales tax dollars go. CEDA reports that the City of Cullman will receive $13.4 million in revenues from last year’s sales tax collections, while the Cullman County Commission is on track to receive $11 million.
“When you look at the county as a whole, these numbers are impressive for everyone, because when the city’s sales tax revenues go up, so do the revenues that get distributed to all of our county’s municipalities,” said CEDA Retail & Workforce Development Manager Susan Eller. “Even though that money is collected in the city, it benefits volunteer fire departments, schools, road funding and more.”
CEDA director Dale Greer recently told The Times that the area’s recent climb to the No. 2 spot on Site Selection Magazine’s annual best-micropolitan list reflects years of growth momentum; gains that depend on a web of good-faith local cooperation and teamwork that transcend municipal boundaries.
“Momentum is everything in development. If you aren’t growing you are falling behind. There is no status quo,” said Greer. “One of the top ways to maintain momentum is to prove you are the best of the best, and this ranking shows prospective companies that Cullman is a place people succeed. Maintaining Cullman’s momentum is how we ensure there will be promising opportunities for the children we are raising right now and the generations that follow.”