Fuji Vegetable Oil, a producer of ingredients for the commercial food industry, plans to build a $70 million processing facility adjacent to the former Avondale Shipyard in Jefferson Parish.
The facility will import and refine palm oil from sources in the Pacific, according to a news release. The Georgia-based company is slated to break ground on the facility later this year and begin hiring in 2019.
“After searching along the Gulf Coast and the Eastern seaboard, we felt Jefferson Parish provided the best location and, more importantly, (the) best partners and future employees for the continued success of our business in the U.S,” says Andrew Bunger, president of Fuji Vegetable Oil.
The company expects to complete construction in early 2020, with commercial operations starting soon after. The project will result in 39 new direct jobs, with an average annual salary of $77,000 plus benefits. Louisiana Economic Development also estimates the project will create another 48 new indirect jobs.
Fuji Vegetable Oil is the U.S. arm of Osaka, Japan-based Fuji Oil Group. The company’s fats and oils are used in a variety of products like desserts, infant formula, frying fats, and soaps.
LED began discussions with Fuji Vegetable Oil in August 2016. The state is providing the company an incentive package that includes a $250,000 award through the state’s Economic Development Award Program for infrastructure improvements at the site. Fuji also is expected to utilize workforce training through LED FastStart in addition to the Louisiana Quality Jobs and the Industrial Tax Exemption programs.
