Posted on 05/19/2017 8:12:15 PM PDT by 2ndDivisionVet
A Gramercy chemical manufacturing plant’s $35 million expansion will bring 250 new jobs to the area, officials said Friday.
The announcement was made by Gov. John Bel Edwards and Noranda Bauxite & Alumina CEO David D’Addario.
Noranda will expand and upgrade its alumina refinery in St. James Parish and will also establish its company headquarters at the site, a 40-minute drive northeast from Thibodaux and another 30 minutes from Houma.
The project will create 65 new direct jobs, including 15 corporate headquarters jobs, at an average annual salary of $90,000, plus benefits, officials said.
Louisiana Economic Development estimates the project will result in 185 new indirect jobs, for a total of 250 new jobs.
In addition, the project will retain 395 existing jobs at the refinery. The plant, built by Kaiser Aluminum & Chemical Corp., has operated in St. James Parish since 1958. It is on the east bank of the Mississippi River, less than a mile downriver from the Veterans Memorial Bridge.
“This is a great opportunity to create new good-paying jobs and to secure hundreds of existing jobs at an industrial mainstay in our river parishes,” Edwards said in a news release. “Noranda’s new ownership team is committed to the success of its business, and we are pleased to provide strategic assistance to their efforts to modernize and expand their operation in Gramercy.”
The project will include the design and installation of equipment to increase the production, storage and shipping capabilities of chemical-grade alumina. Known as CGA; the product is used in many industrial applications; including water treatment; flame retardants; catalysts for oil, gas and petrochemical refining; building materials and insulation.
“These capital improvements represent the largest capital expenditure at Gramercy in more than a decade,” D’Addario said. “The projects will not only expand the production capacity for our valued CGA customers and create new jobs for our community, they will help ensure the continuation of this business and its 400-plus jobs by enabling us to operate more efficiently and effectively and with even greater environmental responsibility.”
LED officials began working with Noranda in May 2015. The state agency offered the company an incentive package that includes workforce training, a performance-based, forgivable loan of $1 million and a Modernization Tax Credit of $200,000 a year for five years on investment for upgrades and equipment.
Noranda is a subsidiary of New Day Aluminum, which acquired the refinery from its previous owner in bankruptcy proceedings in Missouri in 2016. New Day Aluminum is affiliated with DADA Holdings, an investment and management company based in Fort Lauderdale, Fla.
“To hear an announcement of a $35 million investment is good news to begin with, but to learn that this company wants to locate its corporate offices in St. James Parish brings it to another level,” said St. James Parish President Timmy Roussel.
Looks well located for business.
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