Steel fabricator moving from B.R. to Livingston Parish

Superior Steel Inc., a steel fabrication and erecting firm that’s had a hand in many large local projects—including LSU’s Alex Box Stadium, Lod Cook Alumni Center and Baton Rouge General Medical Center—has purchased 20 acres in Denham Springs on which it plans to build a new plant to replace an existing one in Baton Rouge. The company says it has already begun renovating buildings on the Hatchell Lane site, formerly home to Vulcan Foundry/East Jordan Ironworks, and expects to have the plant operational by September. The company is currently located on Dual Street off South Choctaw Drive, between Monterrey and North Sherwood Forest drives. Total investment into the property will exceed $1 million, with the fabrication plant to consist of about 90,000 square feet when complete. Joseph Easley Sr., the company’s president and general manager, says the new location’s functionality, expansive space, existing buildings and close proximity to the interstate make it an ideal fit. Superior Steel also acquired four working cranes in the purchase. The foundry has been vacant for about five years. Superior Steel currently employs 85 workers and says it hopes to add more workers with the move. “We will have the ability to produce fabricated steel in a more efficient manner in this new facility layout,” Easley says in a release. “And if the opportunity for growth arises, we’ll have the space to expand.” Superior Steel fabricates and erects structural and other steel for complex industrial projects like refineries, chemical plants, mills and warehouses, as well as multistory commercial buildings, schools, hospitals, churches and sports facilities. Easley was not available this afternoon for further comment on the move.