From staff reports
L’Observateur

ST. ROSE — Service department growth and the addition of a training facility are leading Kongsberg Maritime to break ground on a new 82,980 square foot facility in St. Charles Parish.

Construction on the James Business Park property located on James Drive East in St. Rose is scheduled to begin this spring, company officials said last week.

Kongsberg Maritime, a leading international technology company, announced its investment news Thursday, touting the purchase of approximately 5.2 acres for new construction on an 82,980 square foot office and training facility.

Norwegian conglomerate Kongsberg Gruppen, parent company of Kongsberg Maritime, has manufacturing facilities and offices in more than 25 countries. Company officials said Kongsberg Maritime is the world’s leading supplier of dynamic positioning systems, marine automation and control systems, subsea navigation systems and surveillance systems for all vessels and offshore facilities.

“I am extremely excited with Kongsberg’s decision to continue to be a member of our business community,” St. Charles Parish President V.J. St. Pierre Jr. said. “The company is the perfect example of the type of business we aspire to attract to St. Charles Parish. It was my top priority to retain (Kongsberg) in order to ensure that our residents have the opportunity to gain access to high-paying jobs that add to the diversification of our local economy.”

Kongsberg Maritime moved its service department from Houston to Louisiana in 2003, establishing a small office in James Business Park with nine full-time employees.

The Louisiana office now has 110 employees occupying 35,000 square feet of leased office space. Kongsberg will still have its headquarters for the U.S. in Houston.

The company determined a need to expand its space to accommodate future growth of the service department, as well as a new training facility to better serve its growing number of regional customers traveling to Houston for technical training and licensing.

“Despite a low oil price and a downturn in the offshore markets, we believe the market will bounce back as it always does,” Kongsberg Maritime Inc. President Jon Holvik said. “We believe in the future of the GOM offshore market, which is why we are now investing in a large Louisiana technical support center and a new training facility.

“Our regional customer base has grown significantly, and it is important to continue to offer them the world’s best service facilities, close to their operation.”

In early 2014, Kongsberg assembled a team of commercial real estate specialists, including David Buescher and Jeff Venghaus of Houston-based Jones Lang LaSalle and Richard Juge, president of locally owned RE/MAX Commercial Brokers to assist with the expansion plans.

“It became apparent that building a new office from the ground up to facilitate Kongsberg Maritime’s needs offered the most favorable long-term financial solution,” saud John Roberts, JLL executive vice president for project and development services.

Kongsberg closed on the property in mid-December 2014.

The three-story Class A building will be built on approximately three acres. The remaining acreage will be reserved for future expansion. The facility will include a state-of-the-art training center, expansive office space to accommodate the company’s growing staff to service vessels and offshore facilities in the region, a project department including a lab for factory acceptance testing and a large lab area for internal training of Kongsberg service personnel.