By Brandon Moseley
Alabama Political Reporter
Alabama Governor Robert Bentley was in Bessemer Monday along with company, state and local representatives for a ribbon cutting to celebrate Dayjon Inc’s expansion. The $2.8 million expansion will create up to 50 new Alabama jobs over the next two years.
Governor Bentley said, “I am excited to join Dayjon in expanding its facilities in Bessemer and for the new jobs the expansion will create. Companies such as Dayjon are the foundation of our business community and I am proud that they found Alabama’s business climate is ripe for growth.”
Alabama Department of Commerce Secretary Greg Canfield said, “I am glad that we could play a role in helping Dayjon bring its vision to life. We also appreciate the leadership efforts of the Birmingham Business Alliance on this project. Our department stands ready to help the company continue its growth in the future.”
Bessemer Mayor Kenneth Gulley said, “We are proud that Dayjon has decided to grow its innovative company in Bessemer. These new jobs will further enhance Bessemer’s quality of life and the established manufacturing base here. We look forward to working with Dayjon for many years to come as it continues to grow its reach both nationally and globally.”
The incoming Chairman of the Birmingham Business Alliance, AT&T Alabama President Fred McCallum said, “The expansion of established companies like Dayjon is critical to our community and our local economy. Our region is committed at all levels – from Governor Bentley’s office to those working in each city – to helping innovative companies like Dayjon reach their full potential.”
The founder and President of Dayjon Inc. John Taylor came to Alabama from New Castle, Great Britain in 1988 as a mechanical engineer for US Steel. Taylor spent several years as a consultant and working for a small local fabricating company. He started Dayjon in 2004.
For most of the last nine years, the seventeen employee company’s core business was the refurbishment and refabricating of conveyor system primarily for the coal mining industry. The expansion will broaden the company’s core business to full conveyor manufacturing capabilities for a wide range of industries.
The company has just relocated its operations from a 5,000-square-foot shop in Bessemer to a 6 acre 35,000 square foot facility in the nearby Academy Business Park. The expansion includes equipment updates, modifications to the new building and the addition of a dedicated research, development and product improvement area within the building.
President Taylor said the company’s growth already has earned it a new contract with Kraft Foods to redesign and build a conveyor system for a plant in Norfolk, Va. Taylor said that Dayjon’s national reach and scope will allow it to increase revenue by $5 million a year.
The Bessemer Industrial Development Board (BIDB) leased the new building to Dayjon and provided statutory tax abatements. The Birmingham Business Alliance helped facilitate the tax abatements. The Alabama Department of Commerce, AIDT, and consultant B.T. Crowe are developing a program to help train new workers for Dayjon.
Dayjon holds a number of exclusive manufacturer’s rights to patents for products which keep the heavily regulated mining industry in compliance with the Mine Safety Health Administration.
Pres. Taylor said that Dayjon’s newest exclusive product, the Center Loading, minimizes spillage in materials handling and transfer points. This innovative new product will eliminate labor used for cleanup and will prevent damage to conveyor belts. The company also produces the Long Haul Idler and Roller, which has a bearing life that is three to four times longer than any on the market today.
Taylor said the new building in Bessemer presents endless opportunities for Dayjon, particularly with research, development and product improvement capabilities. The company is in talks with joint-venture partners to utilize these new capabilities and representatives from companies in China, Australia and Germany have already toured the company’s new facility.
