Because of the area’s unique geography and abundance of land in close proximity to the Mississippi River, chemical and industrial manufacturers and those who run liquid storage facilities have had a presence in Jefferson Parish for years.
However, in the past decade, several companies have doubled down on their commitment to the area by purchasing new operations centers, expanding and improving existing facilities, and choosing to relocate company headquarters within the Parish borders. On top of that, companies like BW Terminals, Cornerstone and Kinder Morgan have also stretched their influence in the community beyond the plant walls by participating in and sponsoring several philanthropic efforts and campaigns.
Located on 800 acres in Waggaman, the site of the current Cornerstone Energy Park dates back to 1952 when the owners of the Orange Grove Plantation sold the land to the American Cyanamid Company. Over the years, the facility has manufactured various products, including the current production of acrylonitrile, melamine and sulfuric acid — totaling 2.5 billion pounds of product annually.
From an economic standpoint, Cornerstone positively affects Jefferson Parish in a multitude of direct and indirect ways. For starters, the Waggaman facility employs 475 staff members and 150 full-time contractors with an average salary of $110,000 when benefits are factored in.
The large-scale manufacturer purchases approximately $350 million in raw materials from local sources, ensuring the money needed to make its product stays in Louisiana. Financial experts have determined one job at Cornerstone creates five jobs in the surrounding community, according to the company’s Chief Operating Officer Tom Yura.
“We do not tend to lose employees,” Yura said. “Since we started, we have put a value on creating a quality work environment and creating a culture where workers feel appreciated. Also, beyond just being a part of the local economy, we are continuing to find ways to be a part of the community where our employees live and work.”
Perhaps no move showcased Cornerstone’s commitment to Jefferson Parish more than its 2017 decision to move from cramped headquarters in Waggaman to a spacious office layout in Metairie. The new corporate headquarters on Causeway Blvd., houses approximately 60 employees ranging from executives, accountants and other necessary support staff.
“For us, this is home,” Yura said. “Decades ago, you had a big exodus of companies who felt they needed to move and be headquartered in Houston, in the Energy Corridor. As we grew at the Waggaman site, we started running out of office space, but it was still important to be involved and be able to access the daily operations at the site. So, that is why the Metairie office made sense. For us, that demonstrated our commitment to Jefferson Parish.”
Kinder Morgan has also had a long-standing presence in Jefferson Parish. Kinder Morgan’s Harvey Terminal contains 192 tanks on 100 acres with three ship docks and one barge dock for loading and unloading commodities such as chemicals, vegetable oils, and diesel and renewable fuels.
BW Terminals, on the other hand, is a relatively new company, but in its mere 12 years of operation has seen its workforce quadruple from 15 employees to 60 employees today.
BW Terminals started in 2008 when it purchased its current Westwego site from NuStar Energy. Almost immediately, officials at BW Terminals invested capital into the previous “non-strategic” and therefore somewhat ignored storage facility by tearing down old site assets and constructing new tanks and a brand new ship dock.
Roughly five years later, BW Terminals expanded operations by acquiring a 60-acre site in Harvey with 1,500 feet of property on the Mississippi River. While securing site permits from the Parish, BW Terminals leadership team presented what they called a ‘Five-Year Development Plan’ to government officials, documenting the process to what eventually would be building new storage tanks capable of handling 1 million barrels of product, collectively.
“That 5-year plan we wound up completing in just about two years, which is a big source of pride in our company,” BW Terminals Chief Commercial Officer Frank Marrocco said. “You know, when we started, we were obviously a lot smaller than our competitors, but we decided that the way we can differentiate ourselves is through our work and our service. By building all these new assets, and doing it as quickly as we did, we could satisfy the specific needs and meet the requirements of our customers.”
That Jefferson Parish is the chosen home for these companies’ continued growth and expansion is not just indicative of the area’s economic growth — more than that, it’s a testament to the strength of a community that business leaders and their employees want to call home.
“You look at our employees, you look at our leadership team —we have spent decades of our lives here,” Yura said. “As a company, we call Louisiana home, and we want to keep being a trusted member of the community.”
On The Horizon: Avondale Marine
Chemical companies are not the only ones promising economic stimulation in Jefferson Parish. In 2018, Virginia-based T. Parker Host and Hilco Global, an Illinois-based service firm, purchased the former Avondale Shipyard with plans to create a multimodal transportation complex.
A multimodal park is a transport hub that utilizes the combined functions of water, railroads and trucking to gather and move products from place to place in an efficient and cost-effective manner. In today’s economy, multimodal growth is driven by transportation costs, and hubs that make use of various modes of transportation will be more cost-effective than their more traditional counterparts.
Combining the power of rail, road and water, the newly reinvigorated Avondale Marine will serve as a logistics hub of manufacturing, fabrication and distribution. This will serve to not only benefit companies like BW Terminals, Kinder Morgan and Cornerstone — it will transform operational possibilities for any and all companies who rely on shipping and transportation to conduct business.
Avondale Marine is predicted to create around 2,000 direct and indirect jobs in the area, with further economic activity and job growth down the line. The 254-acre site is being outfitted with revitalized cranes, docks and terminal assets and will provide new opportunities for large-scale manufacturers who are investing in Louisiana and Jefferson Parish.
