St. Tammany breaks ground on high-tech firm

Fifty new high-tech jobs will come to St. Tammany when a Northrop Grumman firm breaks ground today. 3001 International Inc., a geospatial data production company, is building a 20,000-square-foot office space in Slidell. The facility, referred to as the Eastern Louisiana Consolidation Project, combines two existing 3001 International offices—one in Slidell; the other at Stennis Space Center. It will house 85 permanent staff, including the 50 new positions. The average salary of workers there is $47,000, and the annual payroll will be $3.4 million. The total cost of the project is $4 million, including about $250,000 in information technology. The firm began in 1965 in Lake Charles and expanded to New Orleans in 1983 and Slidell in 2005. Its products—airborne imaging, LiDAR, surveying, mapping and GIS—are used for domestic and international civilian, defense and intelligence initiatives. The St. Tammany Economic Development Foundation worked with city officials and Louisiana Economic Development to develop an incentive package—including $722,000 through the Quality Jobs Program. “We’re obviously thrilled to see this project reach this point,” says STEDF Executive Director Brenda Reine-Bertus. “We’re excited about the long-term economic impact 3001/Northrop Grumman will have on St. Tammany Parish.” The ceremony is scheduled for 2 p.m. at 2050 Gause Blvd.