Moving Forward

Groundbreaking for an 83,000-square-foot C & G Containers Scientific production facility in Grand Coteau in April adds to its list of new businesses and expansions that are helping to get St. Landry’s economy off to a good start for 2016, and brings diversity to the mix of parish businesses.

C & G was established in 1988 as a small family-owned business for general packaging and miscellaneous supplies for local industries. Today it makes sterile containers and other products for a wide variety of uses, including for scientific and pharmaceutical products.

Marion G. Breaux Sr. is chief executive officer.  His son, Lane Breaux is president of operations and sales and marketing.  Marion Breaux’s daughter, Windy Harris, is executive vice president of operations, and his son-in-law Mark Harris, is chief financial officer of purchasing and logistics.

The new building will be located at 2100 I-49 North. Lane Breaux said C & G operations are currently spread among six separate buildings near Easy Street in Lafayette and the new location will bring all of the employees together.

“We’ll be able to operate more efficiently under one roof,” he said. The company is expected to bring 100 jobs to St. Landry Parish initially and could expand to hire up to 175 workers. C&G hopes to move into the new building by next March.

Parish President Bill Fontenot said C & G’s move is “something great for the parish” that “keeps the economy diverse.” Bill Rodier, executive director of St. Landry Parish economic development, said the company coming to the parish is not only good for the St. Landry, but for Grand Coteau in particular.

“Taking care of our own Acadiana companies is a big priority,” he said.

“We received an incredible welcoming from the parish,” Lane Breaux said. “We were impressed. They made us feel at home.”

C & G operates three product divisions; The Pre-Clean Division; which provides certified pre-cleaned glass and plastic containers for environmental use; a Pharmaceutical Division that offers custom processing of vials, tubes and glass containers; and the General Packaging Division which makes an assortment of packaging supplies.

The company also provides hazardous material supplies, including shipping boxes and labels, specialized cartons and containment and spill products, and packaging supplies such as cardboard boxes, packaging tape, wraps, bags, banding materials and packing fillers, as well as an assortment of food and cosmetic containers.

This new facility will house all three of C & G’s divisions and will be designed to promote “Going Green” by recycling for waste reduction

The groundbreaking continues a string of openings and announcements of new projects in St. Landry in 2016.

A Walmart Neighborhood Market opened Jan. 20 at 2310 S. Union St. in Opelousas and a new Love’s Travel Stop broke ground in Port Barre Jan. 12. It should be open by the summer. Thibodaux-based Go-Bear’s Food Marts opened a 10,000 square-foot facility along the frontage road at Exit 11 in Grand Coteau in March.

The events come after a successful year in 2015 and are the first of several that Rodier anticipates will help maintain St. Landry Parish growth during coming months.

St. Landry Economic Development averaged a record 17 business/industrial recruitment projects in active consideration at any given time in 2015.  Currently, as of the end of April, 18 potential projects are considered active by St. Landry Economic Development.