Another fixture in the Shreveport area is Libbey Glass, a leading manufacturer of glass tableware used extensively in the food service industry. Based in Toledo, Ohio, Libbey operates facilities in California and Ohio as well as the Shreveport facility, which was built in 1922, originally to produce sheet glass. The plant was expanded recently when glass-decorating operations at the Toledo plant were brought to Shreveport, where such operations were also in place.
      "The choice was either Louisiana or Ohio for that consolidation, and I thought it would probably be Ohio, because that's the location of the corporate headquarters," relates Bob Dunton, plant manager at the Shreveport facility. "But the choice was Shreveport, and the reason had to do with the state and the city and some of the incentives they offered for us to expand in Shreveport. So we won." The expansion resulted in the addition of 100 jobs, bringing the total payroll to approximately 1,100 employees.
      Dunton gives high marks to the local economic development community and the Blanco administration's efforts to improve the state's business climate. "There is no doubt the Shreveport area — and the state — are interested in attracting industry," he says. "They are willing to assist in education and training and in helping with tax abatement. And they are trying to improve the community colleges around here to offer more education. They are attuned to realizing that with technology changing like it is, business needs an educated work force that is more technical than was necessary years ago. They are making that a priority."
      Among the Shreveport mayor's priorities is making sure the city's economy is diverse enough

Libbey Glass's Shreveport plant was expanded recently to absorb glass-decoration operations formerly done at the company's Toledo, Ohio, facility. At right is Bob Dunton, plant manager, who credits state and local economic development officials' efforts with keeping those operations in Shreveport.

to absorb a downturn in a
given sector.
      "This area was one of those caught up in the oil bust of the 1970s and '80s, and we learned our lesson," says Mayor Keith Hightower. "Since then we have focused on diversification, and it has worked. There is still some oil business here, but if energy prices go up or down, you don't see the same effect."
      One of the biggest industries to take root in the Shreveport/Bossier City area is gaming, with casinos drawing tourists to the area from throughout the ArkLaTex region. Tourism and a new convention center "will take us to a whole different level than we have ever been able to compete at before," says Hightower. "For a second-tier city, we will have a top-notch, first-class facility that will do a lot for us in terms of economic development."
      Employers in the area identify availability of labor at all skill levels as a strong attribute. In nearby Bossier City, for example, Cellxion employs 400 people in jobs as varied as carpentry, engineering and telecom systems installation. Cellxion manufactures concrete and lightweight shelters for cellular telephone equipment located at the base of cell phone towers; it manufactures the towers, too. Customers include Cingular Wireless, Verizon and other national cell-phone service providers.
      "We go from semi-skilled labor all the way to highly skilled labor," says Gary F. Todd, vice president. "We have a fully staffed engineering department and there's accounting and administration. Then there is the technical group — the radio certification team and radio installers. They all have to be certified in the various types of equipment, be it Motorola or Nortel or what have you. Finding that labor has been a blessing."