Shintech To Invest $1.4B In Baton Rouge-Area Expansion
Shintech Inc., the North American subsidiary of Japan-based Shin-Etsu Chemical Co. Ltd., one of the largest PVC producers in the world, is getting ready to start on its third major expansion in Louisiana since 2008. According to Gov. Bobby Jindal, the company will invest $1.4 billion to supply its Iberville Parish facilities with new ethylene production capacity.
By Adrian Maties, Associate Editor
Shintech Inc., the North American subsidiary of Japan-based Shin-Etsu Chemical Co. Ltd., one of the largest PVC producers in the world, is getting ready to start its third major expansion in Louisiana since 2008. According to Gov. Bobby Jindal, the company will invest $1.4 billion to supply its Iberville Parish facilities with new ethylene production capacity.
The project is expected to break ground in the second quarter of 2015, with completion scheduled for the first half of 2018. It calls for the construction of an ethylene plant, the first to be built by a Japanese chemical company in the U.S., at the Plaquemine complex, as well as other upgrades.
Shintech will employ 100 workers at the new plant, with an average salary of $68,500 per year, plus benefits. Louisiana Economic Development also estimates the project to create 658 new indirect jobs in the region, as well as 2,100 construction jobs.
Gov. Jindal and Chihiro Kanagawa, founder and chairman of Shintech, laid the groundwork for the $1.4 billion expansion during the governor’s economic development mission to Asia, in 2014. With this new project, Shintech’s total investment in the state of Louisiana will reach $4.7 billion.
To secure the project, the State of Louisiana offered Shintech an incentive package which includes a $5 million performance-based grant and a $5 million Modernization Tax Credit, to be claimed in equal installments over a five-year period. The company is also expected to use the LED FastStart workforce development program, and the Quality Jobs and Industrial Tax Exemption Program.
