Nalco Announces $18.7M Expansion in St. John

By Eliza Theiss, Associate Editor

Nalco Inc., a company specializing in water, hygiene and energy technologies and services, has announced an $18.7 million expansion at its Garyville facility in St. John the Baptist Parish.

According to a company press release, the company will add a 300,000-square-foot dry polymer production facility to its existing complex. It will produce dry polymer products used in removing contaminants from wastewater, increasing efficiency in the paper industry and recovering minerals in the mining industry.

The new structure will increase facility space at the plant to 1 million square feet and require 22 full-time employees to be added to the existing 235-strong Garyville workforce. Furthermore, with a completion deadline of December 2012, construction operations will require 350,000 man-hours – the equivalent of 167 full-time construction jobs.

Nalco has been in Garyville since 1970. It now covers 220 acres and turns out industrial water treatment products such as corrosion and scale inhibitors used in boilers and cooling towers, wastewater treatment products and process chemicals used in the papermaking, mining, petroleum, steel, power generation, food and beverage, metalworking and aluminum refining industries.

Founded in 1928 in Chicago, Nalco is now a member of Ecolab Inc., a global leader in water, hygiene and energy technologies and services that provide and protect clean water, safe food, abundant energy and healthy environments. Ecolab delivers comprehensive programs and services to the food, energy, healthcare, industrial and hospitality markets in over 160 countries, with sales topping $11 billion and more than 38,000 employees.

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Photo courtesy of Nalco Co.