AE Industrial Pays $190M for 2 MSF Facility

Rocket Shoals LLC, an affiliate of AE Industrial Partners LP, a Boca Raton, Fla.,-based private equity firm specializing in the aerospace, national security and industrial services, has acquired a 2.3 million-square-foot industrial facility in Cherokee, Ala., from the Retirement Systems of Alabama, to create an aerospace hub.

The firm paid $190 million for the facility located on 638 acres at 1200 Haley Drive in the Shoals area, according to al.com. The media company website reported renovations have already begun at the site and AEI officials expect to have up to two clients in the massive facility by the end of the year. The space is currently vacant but previous tenants included National Steel Car, Navistar and FreightCar America, which closed its manufacturing facility at the Shoals property in 2020.

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The space is well suited for aerospace manufacturing and will become the new headquarters for select AE Industrial portfolio companies as well as other aerospace suppliers, manufacturers and innovators. The greater Shoals area, as well as the corridor that extends east to Huntsville, Ala., is home to a well-educated workforce and a growing cohort of aerospace industry engineers and technology professionals.

AEI will also be partnering with Poarch Band of Creek Indians, a federally recognized tribe of Native Americans with reservation lands in lower Alabama, to provide joint capabilities and bring innovative solutions to federal customers.

Growing aerospace industry

David Rowe, co-CEO & managing partner at AE Industrial, said in a prepared statement the company is a highly focused investment firm aiming to create value at the nexus of the aerospace, space and defense markets—all sectors that are currently thriving in Alabama.

Chris Emerson, senior partner at AE Industrial, said in a prepared statement the firm has experience with past projects, including Mercedes-Benz and the Airbus final assembly line in Mobile, Ala., which gives them confidence in their regional relationships and ability to engage with local partners to establish north Alabama as an “aerospace corridor.”

There are more than 300 aerospace companies from more than 30 countries with operations in Alabama, including industry giants such as Boeing, Lockheed Martin, GE Aviation and Raytheon, according to data from the Alabama Department of Commerce.

Redstone Arsenal in Huntsville is a major research, engineering and test center housing the U.S. Army’s critical missile defense and aviation programs. It is also home to the Marshall Space Flight Center, one of NASA’s largest and most historic facilities.

Airbus produces A320 Family and A220 passenger jets at its only U.S.  manufacturing facility in Mobile.