NEW ORLEANS – Daniel Krall, founder and president of Downtown FabWorks, is passionate about using production design and fabrication to create eye-catching, inspiring spaces in New Orleans and nationwide. But he believes local economic development agencies could do more to support and promote New Orleans businesses—especially around major live events like the Super Bowl.
“It breaks my heart to see big events like the NFL or WWE or NCAA just bring everything in from New Jersey or Los Angeles,” he said. “Aside from being a loss of financial opportunity for local businesses, it robs us of the opportunity to showcase our work to a larger audience, it’s a waste of THEIR money, and it’s economically and ecologically unsustainable.”
Downtown FabWorks, operating out of a 40,000-square-foot facility in the 8th Ward, has become synonymous with high-quality, custom experiential fabrication for live events, immersive exhibits, and themed environments.
Some notable recent local projects include:
- Essence Festival’s Wellness Tent activation for Merck Pharmaceuticals
- Eleven installations for Super Bowl LIX in New Orleans, including a full-scale replica of the Cabildo’s façade for a VIP party in City Park
- The Bucktown Bird’s Nest Pavilion in Metairie
- Audubon Aquarium’s “Deep Dive in the Gulf” exhibit
- Audubon Zoo’s Jaguar Jungle: River’s Edge boat exhibit
Krall would like to see “…constant and consistent messaging from everyone who is involved in economic development (GNO Inc., New Orleans & Co., the Downtown Development District, the Chamber of Commerce, etc.) that says ‘If you are coming to this place to work on a big project or produce a big event, you do not need to truck everything in from out of town. Use the local New Orleans businesses.’”
Building from the Ground Up
Krall moved to New Orleans from New York in the aftermath of Katrina and, seeing the unthinkable scale of devastation, immediately began organizing grassroots relief efforts through Episcopal Relief & Development. Under his leadership, volunteers delivered essential supplies, gutted heavily damaged homes, and began the long, painstaking process of rebuilding.
“Nobody really knew where to start. We first started by running a box truck full of donated supplies like water and food and baby supplies to different distribution points, including outside the old Popeyes on St Claude Ave. in the Lower Ninth Ward,” said Krall. “I worked that spot for the first month, before it became clear that the next big need was to help get houses gutted. We had a lot of different churches and colleges calling us asking to send groups down to volunteer, so we pivoted into creating a house gutting program.”
This experience led Krall into the fabrication industry, where he worked his way up before launching Downtown FabWorks in 2019, just a couple of months before the COVID lockdown.
“I absolutely did not have a global cataclysm as part of my first two-year business plan!” Krall said. “On top of that, as soon as things started to get back to normal, Hurricane Ida hit only two days before we had to ship a major project to Atlanta.”
Despite those early challenges, Downtown FabWorks has emerged stronger than ever, with a growing portfolio of scenic projects locally and nationwide—including high-profile work for Live Nation in Los Angeles and Kansas City, Ashley Furniture in Las Vegas, and Under Armour in Philadelphia.
The company is also contributing to permanent exhibits for the new Gilcrease Museum in Tulsa and recently completed an installation at the National Sculpture Gallery in Washington, D.C.
“None of this would’ve happened if I hadn’t come here in 2005,” Krall said. “I fell in love with the city, and it taught me a different way to look at the concept of community and my place within it. That definitely has left its mark on my life and business.”
With a 38-person team and no signs of slowing down, Downtown FabWorks is here to stay.
“This has been my home for 20 years. My folks moved here back in 2014, and my dad still lives at Lambeth House,” said Krall. “My friends are here. My fiancée is here. My pets are here. I’m a homeowner, a business owner, and like every good New Orleanian, I have a couple of ‘home base’ bars where it feels like I know the bartenders better than I know myself. This is my home.”
Positive Policy Shifts Don’t Go Far Enough
On July 1, Louisiana Economic Development (LED) released the new Louisiana Wins Business Incentive Guide, developed under the “Positioning Louisiana to Win” bill. The legislation aimed to enhance LED’s flexibility and strategic capacity to attract investment, support job creation, and boost competitiveness—delivering notable, large-scale successes.
One highlight of the guide is the High Impact Jobs Program (HIP), a grant-based incentive designed to help both large and smaller businesses grow by creating new, higher-wage jobs.
A business like Downtown FabWorks could technically qualify for HIP support if it creates new, permanent, full-time jobs in Louisiana and pays those jobs at least 125% of the parish average wage to receive an 18% grant, or 150% for a 22% grant, with lower thresholds in distressed areas. Because custom fabrication is not excluded under the new HIP’s rules, FabWorks would generally be eligible from an industry standpoint if it expands its workforce and meets these wage requirements.
However, many small to mid-sized fabrication and production-design firms operate with tight margins and may struggle to pay wages significantly above the parish average. That makes accessing HIP benefits very challenging for businesses like Downtown Fabworks.
Krall continues to call for local agencies to push big events to hire local talent, as programs like HIP, though designed to support local businesses, are often out of practical reach.
About Downtown Fabworks
Downtown FabWorks began in the fall of 2019, founded by Daniel Krall with a clear vision: to bring together skilled experts from a variety of trades under one roof. Drawing on two decades of experience in exhibits, broadcast television, construction, and events, Daniel set out to build a custom fabrication firm that delivers practical, innovative solutions for a wide range of clients.
We pride ourselves on combining diverse skills and unique perspectives to solve our clients’ toughest challenges. To us, it’s not just about building things; it’s about building something better.
We’re here to build with you—and for you. Downtown FabWorks came to life right before the world hit pause in 2020. Born in a time of uncertainty, we launched with a strong portfolio of thematic architectural fabrication projects and an eagerness to deploy our scenic fabrication expertise. As the scenic side of the business caught up with the architectural side, we created dedicated divisions to focus on the unique needs of each type of project—streamlining processes and ensuring every detail gets the attention it deserves.
