Washington state company turns Louisiana site to industrial work
Associated Press
JENNINGS, La. – A company based in Washington state is turning a closed southwest Louisiana shipyard into a plant to make equipment for heavy industry.
Greenberry Industrial LLC, of Vancouver, Washington, has begun $500,000 worth of work near Jennings and expects to begin hiring late this month, according to a news release from Louisiana’s governor and economic development agency.
“Greenberry Industrial’s arrival in Louisiana reinforces our standing as a prime location for advanced manufacturing business investment,” Gov. John Bel Edwards said. “This project continues Louisiana’s rural revitalization by bringing an underutilized site back into commerce and creating quality jobs in the process.”
The plant will make modules for petrochemical, maritime, energy, pulp and paper and high-tech semiconductor industries.
The 180-acre Gulf Islands Shipyards site near Jennings closed in late 2020. Bollinger Shipyards bought the company’s Houma shipyard.
Greenberry, which has Gulf Coast regional headquarters about 45 miles west of Jennings in Sulphur, Louisiana, says it will create 100 jobs with average salaries of $62,000 a year in Jefferson Davis Parish. It expects to finish the site improvement by the end of April and to start commercial operations soon after that.
“Greenberry Industrial is very excited about the expansion of our Gulf Coast operation into Jefferson Davis Parish,” Greenberry CEO Jarrett Pugh said. “We look forward to partnering with the community in growing our business, while investing in the Jennings site and hiring new Greenberry employees from the local area.”
Greenberry is expected to use Louisiana’s Quality Jobs program. It provides up to a 6% rebate on annual payroll for up to 10 years and either a state tax rebate on capital expense or a 1.5% project facility expense rebate for qualifying expenses.
“The company’s arrival will bring life back to the old shipyard which was a major employer in the parish since the mid 1950’s,” said parish Police Jury President Steve Eastman.
Greenberry is a wholly owned subsidiary of Issaquah, Washington-based NAES Corporation, a service provider for the broader energy industry. It has other facilities in Washington, Oregon, Montana, California and North Carolina.