A Livingston-based company has purchased the old 84 Lumber building in Gonzales and plans to start fabricating petrochemical tanks there. Smith Tank & Steel, which paid $2 million for the building on La. Highway 30, says it will hire about 50 people at the facility. The plan is to invest another $3 million to outfit the building and be fully operational by January, says Sam Smith Jr., president and CEO. “We’ve been looking for a location for quite a while,” says Smith. “We needed to expand and handle fabrication in house.” The 84 Lumber building has been vacant since April 2008, when the chain closed 30 stores. Smith Tank, which sells tanks to the chemical plants and oil refineries across the Gulf Coast, has about 18 employees in Livingston and 150 workers out in the field. The Livingston office will remain open.—Timothy Boone
Gonzales 84 Lumber building sold to tank company
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