Moving Forward

At the midpoint of 2016, the year promises to be even busier for St. Landry Parish Economic Development than last year—and last year was a record year.

At the beginning of July, Bill Rodier, SLED executive director, reported 24 industrial or business prospects actively looking at what St. Landry has to offer. That compares to an average of 17 in 2015. The current number includes five new prospects and three that may be ready to announce new or expanded facilities in the near future.

Rodier thinks that number will grow still higher as SLED works to develop attractive industrial sites that offer everything a company needs to get to work quickly.

“We hope to begin an active recruiting campaign on a 500-acre heavy industrial site in the next thirty days,” Rodier told the SLED board of directors at its July meeting. “Our goal is to work towards two ‘shovel-ready’ sites in St. Landry Parish this year.”

SLED does not release specific details about new prospects until the companies involved are ready to do so, but the five newest companies to take a harder look at St. Landry would continue to diversify the parish economy.

Rodier describes one of them as “a cooperative effort between a local employer and SLED to try to bring a supplier into an existing manufacturing facility.” The project could create up to 100 jobs, he said. Another one with the potential of 85 good-paying production jobs “deals with light fabrication and assembly.”

Other potential businesses would bring a chemical manufacturing facility and another 100 permanent jobs to St. Landry Parish, process chemicals for the oil and gas industry, 

and create an aerospace component manufacturing facility.

“There is a great deal of competition for companies of this caliber, and there is no sure guarantee that they will come to St. Landry,” Rodier cautioned, “but we are a particularly good fit for several of these companies, and it is encouraging that they and others like them are beginning to see the potential that St. Landry offers.

“Decision makers are beginning to notice us,” he said. “That’s important. We are getting the opportunity to actively discuss investment in St. Landry Parish with a growing range of business leaders that would not have looked at us several years ago.”

Rodier is also quick to point out that recruiting new businesses is only a part of SLED’s job.

“With many of the challenges facing the regional economy it is important that we do everything we can to take care of our existing employers,” he said. “These remain the backbone of our economy, the core that we will build on.”

In addition, he said, SLED has been working aggressively with St. Landry Parish communities to help them identify and realize development opportunities, as well as to collaborate with parish government and other agencies such as the St. Landry Parish Tourist Commission on “regional and state priorities that are important to our cultural economy.”

“This year continues to be packed with challenges for our region, for our state and for our nation,” he said, “but there is lot to be proud of in St. Landry Parish and a lot more good things are coming.”