Chemical expansion: The state of Louisiana and BASF dedicated a new methylamines plant today, representing an approximately $50 million investment at BASF’s chemical complex in Ascension Parish. The new unit is one of 22 plants on the 2,600-acre site. The expansion, begun in 2009 and completed in May, created 11 new permanent jobs. The methylamines plant, the first for BASF in North America, is also the first of its kind in Louisiana and gives BASF an immediate source of key chemical building blocks based on methanol and ammonia feedstocks. In all, BASF’s Geismar site employs approximately 1,400 people: 780 BASF employees and about 620 contractors. BASF has three other methylamines plants: in Ludwigshafen, Germany, the company’s headquarters; in Nanjing, China; and in Camaçari, Brazil.
It’s almost time: A new Anytime Fitness franchise at 11294 Florida Blvd. will open in about three weeks, says owner Dana Cates. The club replaces the former Video USA, which closed at the end of 2009. Cates says the fitness center will be the first in the area to feature a new layout being implemented by Anytime Fitness. “We’re trying to give it a less industrial feel and make it more of a wellness center,” she says. “The goal is to make it feel like it’s your home gym.” The Florida Boulevard club will be the fifth Anytime Fitness location in Baton Rouge.
No shucking required: Abita Brewing Company is introducing a new specialty brew made with Louisiana oysters—Imperial Louisiana Oyster Stout. The recipe comes from Kerry Dale Yoes of Zachary, who won a home brew contest sponsored last March by the Abita Springs brewery. As the winner, Yoes gets to see his brew distributed as an Abita Select offering. Yoes’ beer was the judges’ favorite and earned him the Andy Award. The award was named in honor of Abita’s first home brew contest winner, Andy Thomas, who created the base recipe for Abita Andygator many years ago.
