$150M petrochemical products facility to be built in Baton Rouge

Katoen Natie USA announced plans today to build a $150 million plastics storage, custom packaging and distribution facility for producers of petrochemical products in Baton Rouge. To announce the project, Gov. Bobby Jindal joined company officials, who say it will create 210 new direct jobs and 561 indirect jobs. Another 150 jobs in construction are forecast to be created by the development of the complex, whose 2 million square feet will be situated on a 127-acre site off Scenic Highway, just north of the Capital City. CRA Engineering Group of Baton Rouge is designing the complex, which will include an extensive rail yard and 6-acre detention pond, officials say. Katoen Natie—which is headquartered in Belgium but bases its U.S. operations out of Houston—expects to complete the first phase of construction by the end of the year. The entire facility, however, is not expected to be complete until 2018. “This state-of-the-art facility will help absorb the increasing production capacity of our customers, which is in relation to the shale gas growth in the U.S.,” says Frank Vingerhoets, Katoen Natie’s president of petrochemicals in North America. “The cooperation with the local authorities has been great, and their efforts have contributed to our decision to invest in the Baton Rouge area.” State officials say they began working with Katoen Natie on the new project in February 2012. The company is expected to utilize Louisiana’s Quality Jobs and Industrial Tax Exemption incentives, as well as the LED FastStart workforce development program. You can find more details on today’s announcement at the governor’s website here.