Wednesday welcomed Dallas County’s first annual Hanil E Hwa Day as leaders of Selma and Dallas County gathered with team leaders from Hanil E Hwa Alabama at the John W. Jones Jr. Airport Terminal Building at Craig Airport for the special celebration.

The industry has been in Selma and Dallas County for seven years now and employs more than 300 individuals.

“When it started off, we announced [the industry] was going to [provide] 120 jobs in the first year — so that’s how far they’ve come since they’ve been here,” Wayne Vardaman, executive director of the Selma and Dallas County Economic Development Authority, said of Hanil E Hwa’s growth in size and developemnt. “They’ve been really good corporate citizens, and they’ve spent a lot of money in the community.”

The reason Hanil E Hwa has a day honoring their industry, Vardaman said, is because last year Hanil E Hwa Alabama was awarded Quality 5-Star Certification by Hyundai-KIA. The Quality 5-Star Certification is an honor that’s only given to a handful of Hyundai suppliers worldwide who demonstrate best practices in new product development and continuous improvement.

The industry was honored with a plaque at a Selma City Council meeting one year ago for their achievements, and the Dallas County Commission declared April 24 as Hanil E Hwa Day.

“It’s really an honor to have April 24 named as Hanil E Hwa Day,” Kyong Hu Woo, president of Hanil E Hwa Alabama said Wednesday.

Ryan Price, manager of human resources and administration for Hanil E Hwa Alabama said the whole company is excited to be celebrating Hanil E Hwa Day, noting there will be a plant-wide barbecue celebration Friday.

“The fact that we can be involved in the community, and the fact that we have so much support from the leadership and the residents of Selma makes our job so much easier,” Price said. “We’re excited to be a part of this community, and we enjoy doing business here and we hope to have a successful future.”

At the council meeting honoring Hanil E Hwa’s achievements last year, Selma Mayor George Evans said the industry is a tremendous contributor to the economy of Selma-Dallas County.

“The 5-Star Quality Certification they got, does not go to just any supplier,” he said. “You have to be exceptional. It’s a testament to the administrators, the staff and the employees that work there. It’s really just another piece to the puzzle as we try to establish notoriety in our city and the quality of work and work relationships we have.”