We're still a year away before training gets underway for potential employees with Benteler.
The German steel tube manufacturer will create nearly 700 jobs when it opens it's newest plant at the Port of Caddo-Bossier. This is the latest feather in the cap for the Jindal administration and local recruiters.
Although economic development occurred during other administrations, it appears that new job announcements are a monthly, if not weekly event for Governor Jindal.
So what has changed over time? The answer could be as simple as the state's reputation.
Rocky Rockett, from the Greater Bossier Economic Development says that ,"Louisiana kind of went through a renaissance in the last 5, 6, 7 years."
All you have to do is look at the numbers. In the last month, the Jindal Administration has announced five economic development projects across the state. From the expansion of the Weyerhauser Plant in Natchitoches to the expansion of a Nitrogen Plant in Donaldsonville in just 30 days, nearly $3,000,000,000 in economic development, creating and retaining nearly 2,000 jobs.
President of the Committee of 100, William Comegys III thinks, "the business climate has improved," and that, "Louisiana has finally recognized it has to come into the modern world, as to modernize its programs, education , it's quality of life, those types of things."
Committee of 100 is comprised of business and industry leaders from this area. It's mission is the betterment of the Shreveport - Bossier community and one way to do that is through economic expansion and jobs. Although the group doesn't recruit businesses, it does meet with Louisiana Economic Development secretary Stephen Moret, who has been with the Jindal administration for the last four years.
For years, Louisiana has endured a reputation of being corrupt, and some would say rightly so. Former representative William Jefferson is now serving a 13 year federal sentence on bribery and corruption charges. Former Governor Edwin Edwards will spend his second Christmas in nine years outside a federal prison, where he spent time for extortion and money laundering.
So what has changed? Rockett says the state is now thinking out of the box. He says it was one of the first in the country to offer tax incentives for the film industry and now digital media incentives.
These are enticements now being used by almost every state in the nation, and more importantly, the state's Fast Start job training program. That's what anchored Benteler at the Port. Bossier Parish Community College will quickly train students, so when the plant opens its doors it will have a ready made workforce.
The president and CEO of Benteler Steel was very complimentary of Louisiana and local officials, saying they removed obstacles and reduced bureaucracy. That's what made this area stand out from the more than 100 other potential sites that were spread across 13 states.