This week brought some bad news for the Capital Region business community.
On Tuesday, specialty chemical maker Albemarle—which in January completed its $6.2 billion acquisition of New Jersey-based Rockwood Holdings Inc.—confirmed what many locals have feared for months: the company is relocating its corporate headquarters from Baton Rouge to Charlotte, North Carolina. The company also announced it is relocating local employees from its Refining Solutions business to existing offices in Clear Lake, Texas. Some 120 employees will be affected by the relocation.
“As we look at the ever increasing demands for communication, collaboration and mobility for our employees and our customers, Charlotte is the best strategic location to base the new Albemarle,” company President and CEO Luke Kissam says in a prepared statement.
The Albemarle move was not unexpected. The company has been evaluating its sites around the world ever since the Rockwood acquisition, and local business and political leaders confirmed earlier this summer a move was in the offing.
Still, the news comes as a blow to the city and the state, especially as another major company—Amedisys—announced earlier this summer it is relocating its corporate executives to a satellite office in Nashville, Tennessee.
A day after the Albemarle story broke, West Baton Rouge Parish officials got word that Dallas-based Trinity Marine Products is planning to close its Brusly barge manufacturing plant on Nov. 30. The closure means 283 employees will be out of work.
“In the past it has occurred where they announced layoffs, received a contract before the layoffs and all is well,” says Scott Gaudin, chairman of the West Baton Rouge Chamber of Commerce, adding this scenario has emerged more than once.
Here’s a rundown of some of the other top stories making headlines in Daily Report this week:
- Representatives of South Carolina-based Windsor Aughtry Co. and their local partners—Gordon “Skeet” Leblanc and his sister, Moffett Leblanc Strain—are meeting individually with Metro Council members in hopes of convincing them to bring a previously-rejected tax increment financing district measure back up for a vote in the next few weeks.
- Visit Baton Rouge will not fork over a final $75,000 payment to the Miss USA pageant, the tourism promotion agency’s board of directors voted Thursday.
- A Florida-based firm plans to break ground on a new 120-unit senior care facility on Siegen Lane in February of next year, with completion expected the following spring.
- A local company that provides exclusive discounts on local products and services to its members via an online portal has rebranded and is expanding the types of deals it offers to its customers. Geaux City Savings is the new name of the former Homebuyer Discounts.
- The Planning Commission staff and Historic Preservation Commission are in the process of completing a rewrite of the city’s historic preservation ordinance. The changes, which will have to be approved by the Metro Council, seek to simplify and streamline the laws governing the city’s historic districts, of which there are just two—Drehr Place and Spanish Town.
- While the stock market is volatile at the moment, the local housing market appears strong, based on the latest numbers from the Greater Baton Rouge Association of Realtors. Home sales in July across the nine-parish Capital Region were up nearly 10% over the same period one year ago to 955, while pending sales rose nearly 16% to 984.
—Steve Sanoski
