Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal and Benteler Steel/Tube marked the beginning of construction on the company's new hot rolling seamless steel tube mill in Caddo Parish, LA, its first manufacturing facility in the United States.
The Northwest Louisiana site was chosen from more than 100 possible locations in 13 states due to its proximity to the North American oil and gas production market and the existence of a skilled local workforce.
"Benteler has seen the quality of Louisiana's workforce, and the state's growing role in the expanding U.S. domestic oil and natural gas production industry," said Governor Jindal. "Investments like Benteler's bring high-paying, skilled jobs to our state, as well as continuing education and training programs that will ensure our ability to continue attracting world-class companies to Louisiana."
Governor Jindal also noted the strong local effort by such groups as The Port of Caddo-Bossier, The Red River Waterway Commission, the North Louisiana Economic Partnership and others to bring the Benteler project to Caddo Parish.
The Benteler facility will create more than 1,000 construction jobs, numerous indirect jobs with suppliers and service providers to the plant, and an estimated 675 full-time jobs at full production capacity.
An economic-impact analysis performed by Louisiana State University indicates that approximately 1,540 new indirect jobs will be created by the project, resulting in a total of more than 2,200 new, permanent jobs. Additionally, the project could result in total new earnings of $2.7 billion (approximately $150 million per year at full employment) in North Louisiana and a total, cumulative economic impact of $16.2 billion in the region.
"This new manufacturing facility - our first in the United States - is an important part of our global growth strategy," said Matthias Jaeger, President and CEO, Benteler Steel/Tube GmbH. "With more than 25 percent of our steel/tube products already flowing into the United States, and demand expected to increase, this new Caddo Parish plant is poised to play a critical role in supporting the U.S. domestic energy industry."
Jaeger said the construction is on track to be completed in late 2014, with manufacturing operations beginning in the second half of 2015.
The facility - a total investment of approximately $975 million - will be built in two phases. The first phase is a hot rolling tube mill, along with several finishing lines, for the production of seamless tubes. Phase 2 includes building an electric arc furnace for producing high-quality steel on-site. The final finished facility will encompass more than 1.35 million square feet and be capable of producing up to 320,000 tons of steel tubes annually.
A new, state-of-the-art training facility is also being built on the campus of Bossier Parish Community College, featuring specialized manufacturing technology equipment and programs designed initially to meet Benteler's manufacturing skills needs. Once the Benteler plant is operational, the facility will be become a regional hub for providing advanced manufacturing support and training for other companies.
For more information contact:
Benteler Steel/Tube GmbH
www.benteler.com
http://bentelerjobsinlouisiana.com