P&G, GM Counter Louisiana Trend

"We follow 48 companies in Louisiana, and the general theme is weathering the storm," says Tulane economist Ricchiuti. "There's no aggressive expansion and people are paring down debt."
        But expansion does continue to occur in select niches. Procter & Gamble lathered up several scenarios before electing to expand its Alexandria plant in Pineville to add capacity to produce heavy-duty liquid laundry detergent.
        The company expects to begin construction sometime during the second half of 2003 on the $125-million project. While heavy on investment, the product diversification project will add just 20 jobs to the plant's payroll.
        A change in consumer washing habits in favor of liquid detergent prompted the effort to diversify the plant's product line. But the expansion could have gone elsewhere, perhaps to a greenfield site, says Todd Huffman, plant manager.
        "We did a year-long study that looked at dozens of options," Huffman says.

GM has a target opening of October for its expanded Shreveport, La., facility. It will produce Chevrolet Colorado and GMC Canyon pickup trucks.

        The $800-million expansion of General Motors' Shreveport facility is in the homestretch. Practice runs will begin soon as the company ramps up for October production of the new Chevrolet Colorado and GMC Canyon pickup trucks. The plant will phase out its production of Chevy S-10 and GMC Sonoma trucks.
        There will be little change in employment at the operation, which now employs 2,500, says GM spokesman Dan Flores.
        The expansion is drawing the typical array of suppliers to the region. These include Ai-Shreveport, which is building a $15-million, 206,000-sq.-ft. (19,100-sq.-m.) assembly center and warehouse to provide engine, powertrain and chassis parts. The facility will eventually employ 200.
        Bollinger Shipyards is combing the Gulf shore from Brownsville, Texas, to Tampa, Fla., in search of the right site for its new shipyard. Based in Lockport, La., the company currently operates 14 shipyards in Louisiana and Texas. The new facility will cost $35 million to $50 million to build and will eventually employ about 3,000. It will build high-speed aluminum catamarans for the military.
        "We've identified sites with the physical characteristics we need and are evaluating work force, facility costs and incentives," says Walter Berry, program manager for Bollinger. Berry expects the site search to be complete this spring, with construction taking about a year.
        Without naming particular states, Berry says some have been more aggressive than others in their pitch to Bollinger.
        "Each state has their own published standard incentive programs, but I also find each state on a case-by-case basis is willing to do things above and beyond that," Berry says.