North Baton Rouge scored an economic development win Tuesday as Ready Shield Solutions announced plans to open an assembly plant in the old Cotton’s Holsum Bread factory on Choctaw Drive.
The Robert Day-owned company—which builds structural panels for houses—will create 300 permanent jobs when the assembly plant is finished, as well as an additional 300 construction jobs during the project’s buildout.
Officials with the Baton Rouge North Economic Development District said they had talks with company executives for more than a year about locating in north Baton Rouge.
“The district has tried to elevate north Baton Rouge as a great place to not only do business but to grow a business,” says Rinaldi Jacobs, BRNEDD’s interim executive director, “We’ve been working for over a year to search out locations and (finalize the deal).”
BRNEDD officials estimate the company, which they hope will be a catalyst for revitalizing north Baton Rouge housing, will generate $46 million in taxes over the next decade. An incentive package for Ready Shield, Jacobs told Daily Report, has yet to be finalized.
