Press Release

(Editor’s Note: Due to confidentiality agreements with the companies, Parish officials cannot disclose the names of each business until a later date.)

HAHNVILLE – A world renowned light-manufacturer and a regional wholesaler recently executed agreements to purchase St. Charles Parish land to build new facilities for their operations. The two projects, expected to total $15-18 million, will result in over 150 new jobs added to the local economy.

As part of one project, a famous, light-manufacturer of “local” products will build a new 700,000- square foot production facility on the East Bank. The operation will employ approximately 60 people at start-up, and then add 15-20 new jobs in the first few years of operation.

The total cost for the new East Bank project is expected to be $6-8 million. The company selected St. Charles Parish over other Metro New Orleans areas and Mississippi.

“This particular company has name recognition all over the world. In addition to the employment opportunities and tax revenues, they will provide us with another marketing asset that we will emphasize in our promotional efforts,” said St. Charles Parish President Albert Laque. “This is definitely another ‘feather in our cap’ that will help us attract even more business to St. Charles Parish.”

The second project involves a wholesale and distribution company that will build an 80,000-100,000-square foot, $8-10 million distribution center on the West Bank of St. Charles Parish.

The facility will employ nearly 100 workers at its West Bank location. Of the approximately 100 employees, 20-40 will be hired at the new facility. The company chose St. Charles Parish over neighboring New Orleans area parishes. Company officials indicated that construction of the new facility will begin in the latter part of 2004.

“This is a very important project because we convinced this particular company to locate on the West Bank of the Parish. We will use this economic development victory as a catalyst for further business development projects on our West Bank, and bring additional job opportunities a little bit closer to our West Bank residents,” said Parish President Laque.