Louisiana -- Site Selection magazine, March 2002

The analysis, while marking the state's shortcomings, also highlighted areas where Louisiana excels. For example, Louisiana is a strategic location in which to do national and global business. Four of the top 10 tonnage ports in the world are in Louisiana, and the top tonnage port in the nation is near New Orleans. State officials have invested in port expansion and upgrades at the Port of New Orleans. According to Timothy P. Ryan of the University of New Orleans, "The economic impact of the ports constitutes 22.5 percent of total Louisiana gross state product. The economic activities of port-related firms support approximately one out of every eight jobs in the state."

From Streetcars to GM
Cars, Shreveport Goes High-Tech

Shreveport-Bossier City was the first city in Louisiana to have electric streetcars. Today, Shreveport is continuing the high-tech tradition with the opening of the InterTech Research and Technology Park located one block from the Louisiana State University (LSU) Health Sciences Center. The park is part of a community strategy to develop inner city Shreveport into an advanced technology center with an emphasis on biomedical industries.

BTi's new facility in Shreveport will produce medical diagnostic kits.

    Bio-Tech Imaging (BTI) of Fredrick, Md. will lease 30,000 sq. ft. (2,787 sq.m.) of cleanroom manufacturing space in the park. The $15 million plant will produce diagnostic monitoring kits and will employ 90 workers. "This plant is a symbol of what can be accomplished by people when they put words into action," said BTI president Chet King at the plant opening. "Without vision and action from your city, this plant would never have been built."
    Plans for the InterTech Park are ambitious and could positively impact Shreveport in the future. The project calls for $500 million in construction, 6,000 jobs and $225 million in payroll over the next 20 years. "Brick and mortar are confidence builders. This vision will now encourage other companies to come to Shreveport," says Dennis Lower, director of the InterTech Science Park.
    Good news for the Shreveport-Bossier City area also comes from General Motors. The automaker is expanding its current plant to produce midsize Chevrolet pickup trucks. The $700 million expansion is nearing completion and officials anticipate added investment with GM suppliers locating in the community to service the new 1.5 million-sq.-ft. plant (139,350-sq.-m.).
    Although automakers across the country have cut or postponed production on some models, GM appears to be on-track with the new facility. The Louisiana Dept. of Labor awarded GM a $2.25 million training grant, and instruction for skilled workers has already begun. "We are in the midst of the company's most extensive new product plan in our history," says GM truck plants spokesman, Dan Flores. "Shreveport remains an important piece of the overall strategy."

-- Ginny Deal

Louisiana is also making strides in producing an educated workforce. The TOPS program, a state-funded tuition plan, allows students to attend state universities, and in 2001 the state invested $25 million to attract top-notch professors in engineering and computer sciences.
It may take some time before Louisiana's cluster programs yield fruit, and state officials must prepare for long-term investment. There are some positive signs. The Corporation for Enterprise Development (www.drc.cfed.org) in its Development Report Card for the States 2001, ranked Louisiana 3rd in the nation for state investment in manufacturing capital. It also ranked the state as having the lowest urban housing costs in the country and better-than-average energy costs.
Site consultants note that Louisiana has the capability of exposing their new programs to the large amount of tourists that visit each year due to the convention business. Wegfahrt thinks state and local economic development officials should use convention opportunities to tell the Louisiana cluster story. He proposes taking business leaders to view expanding and emerging industries. "That's how you get yourself on the radar," he adds, "by really exposing yourself to all those people and saying here are some things that are successful."