DAPHNE, Ala. — The local economy has experienced steady growth thanks to a thriving manufacturing industry that has created thousands of jobs and should continue to expand its work force, Baldwin County Economic Development Alliance Vice President Bob Higgins said Thursday at “Coffee with the Mayor.”

Higgins attributed part of the increase to the Port of Mobile’s expansion of its container facilities. The port increased its capacity from 80,000 containers per year  to 800,000 per year.

With a rise in port activity, Higgins expects more distribution centers to be built.

“You’ve got to have somewhere to put the containers once you take them out of the port,” he said.

The recent widening of the Panama Canal, which will allow ships traveling from the Far East to dock in Mobile, is another contributing factor.

Higgins said the Austal and ThyssenKrupp plants in Mobile have steadily increased their work force and will continue to do so as the port expands its operations.

The economic alliance has designated a 3,000-acre site east of Bay Minette as a prime location for an auto manufacturing plant.A Korean manufacturer, HybridKinetic Motors, has expressed interest but has been slow to organize its funding, Higgins said.

“If they don’t come, someone else will be there,” he said, adding that the location is attractive due to its proximity to interstate highways and railways.

“We expect that to be a huge impact on the whole region,” he said of the future auto plant.

Segers Aero Corporation, of Florida, has moved its operations to Fairhope. Segers provides aviation services to fixed-wing and rotary-wing aircraft and will employ approximately 100 people at its Fairhope location.

The alliance rep also cited growth in the area’s health care industry.

But not everything Higgins had to say on Thursday was optimistic. He said the county has seen a dramatic slide in residential construction.

“People in construction-related jobs — the bottom fell out of that,” he said, regarding the housing market. Around 230 homes are currently under construction throughout the entire county, Higgins said.

“That industry is at a fraction of where it was a couple of years ago and the challenge is keeping those people in their jobs,” he said.

The alliance’s purpose is twofold: create well-paying jobs and diversify the economy. It does so by recruiting, working with existing businesses and helping new businesses get started as well as working collaboratively on issues affecting economic development.

Higgins said recruiting businesses to Baldwin County — which accounts for 20 percent of job growth —  is not a challenge. The area’s most alluring feature is its quality of life, highlighted by beaches, shopping and public amenities.

“It’s not hard to show off the area to executives to get them to move here,” he said.

During industrial recruiting, the alliance will often work with site-selection consultants, essentially real estate agents for corporations.

Maintaining good working relationships with site-selection consultants is invaluable in recruiting new businesses, Higgins said. Working with existing businesses accounts for the remaining 80 percent of job growth.

The alliance can offer local business tools like identifying new revenue streams and providing access to capital and consultants, often former chief financial officers living in Baldwin County.

“Our goal is to create good-paying jobs so our kids have something to come back to,” he said.

For more information, visit the Baldwin County Economic Alliance’s Web site, baldwineda.com.