Eastman Chemical Co. to expand its Louisiana facility with $70M investment

Eastman facility in St, Gabriel, Louisiana. (Source: Google maps)

Eastman Chemical Company is investing $70 million over the next three years to expand its manufacturing operations in St. Gabriel. This include a new chemical intermediates production facility.

 

The expansion will create five new $60,000 average-salaried jobs while retaining the existing 106 positions, according to a release from the Governor’s Office. The company is also upgrading the plant’s control and reliability capabilities over the next three years.

 

The Louisiana Economic Development estimates the project also will bring 24 new indirect jobs in Iberville Parish and the surrounding region.

 

The St. Gabriel site produces amines, or ammonia-derived compounds, used in feed, food, personal care and agricultural markets. The site is owned and operated by Taminco US LLC, a subsidiary of Eastman.

 

“We’ve been a part of this community for over 40 years and for us, this is home,” said Eastman Site Manager Tim Harris, who oversees the St. Gabriel facilities. “We will be better-positioned to win with our customers through additional capacity, improvements in reliability, and new resources to innovate. Eastman has choices about where to invest, and this makes it easier to choose here. That’s a great testament to the plant and the region, and it would put us in a good position to compete for future projects within Eastman.”

 

Headquartered in Kingsport, Tennessee, Eastman acquired Taminco Corp. in December 2014. Taminco’s former Specialty Amines and Crop Protection businesses were incorporated into Eastman’s Additives and Functional Products operating segment, while the Taminco Functional Amines operations were incorporated into Eastman’s Chemical Intermediates segment.

 

LED said it began discussions with Eastman on a potential facility expansion in May 2018. Louisiana faced competition from other locations for the new investment, including sites in Florida, Texas and Belgium.

 

The state provided Eastman with incentive package for the project. The incentives include a $250,000 Modernization Tax Credit, and Eastman will use that state’s Enterprise Zone and Industrial Tax Exemption programs.

 

“When a company such as Eastman decides to expand its footprint here in Iberville Parish, that is exciting news,” said Iberville Parish President Mitchell Ourso.