Around town
"Nearly 70 percent of graduates in the Greater New Orleans region have reported increasing their revenues just six months after graduating, and almost 50 percent have reported creating new jobs in the same period. "
– Carla Coury, executive director of the Goldman Sachs 10,000 Small Businesses program at Delgado Community College.) On October 26, the program graduated another 90 entrepreneurs, bringing the total of Greater New Orleans graduates to over 400.
Bensons donate $20 Million to Ochsner Cancer Institute
On November 10, Ochsner Health System received the largest gift in the history of the organization — $20 million from New Orleans Saints and Pelicans owners Gayle and Tom Benson. The money will be used to expand the Gayle and Tom Benson Cancer Center in order to make it one of the leading comprehensive destinations for cancer care in the region.
NOLA Tech leaders go to Ireland
Technology leaders from Greater New Orleans traveled to Dublin, Ireland, in early November to participate in the Web Summit, the largest technology conference in Europe. Twenty-seven representatives from local tech, digital media, startups and economic development organizations used the trip to promote New Orleans as a hotbed of entrepreneurism and to attract attendees to New Orleans for Collision, the fastest-growing technology conference in the country — planned for April 2016.
Recent Louisiana Rankings:
• No. 4 in the Country for Business Climate
According to Site Selection magazine’s 2015 Top State Business Climate Rankings. It is the state’s sixth consecutive Top 10 ranking. Just six years ago, Louisiana ranked No. 25.
• Most in Need of Improvement
– Energy Efficiency
According to The American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy, Louisiana ranked this year among the five lowest-scoring states in efficiency along with Mississippi, North Dakota, South Dakota and Wyoming.
JPMorgan Chase Gives $125,000 Grant to Propeller
During a visit to business incubator Propeller on November 10, SBA Administrator Maria Contreras-Sweet was joined by JPMorgan Chase & Co., who presented the organization with a $125,000 grant. The grant is earmarked to fund work by Propeller’s Accelerator programs aimed at creating a thriving water industry within New Orleans.
Recent Openings:
Tulane University
Tulane University’s new Mississippi Coast Campus opened on October 26. The eco-friendly campus features a 14,961-square-foot building with an academic area twice the size of the previous campus destroyed during Hurricane Katrina, and includes two PC labs and a Mac computer lab. The campus is designed to serve 500 evening and weekend students and 500 additional daytime students.
Build-A-Bear
Build-A-Bear celebrated its return to Lakeside Mall in Metairie on October 28 with the opening of its latest Build-A-Bear Workshop. The new store is the eighth of its kind to open across the country following a brand refresh that the company began in July of this year. The rebrand includes a new logo, updated storefront, an extra large stuffing machine and an “Inspiration Wall” featuring different trends and fashions tied to pop culture.
Coming Soon:
Denka Performance Elastomers of Japan has announced the creation of a new corporate headquarters at the company’s St. John the Baptist Parish site, where it has acquired DuPont’s Neoprene synthetic rubber business. The project will create 16 direct and 81 new indirect jobs.
Florida Marine, LLC broke ground on a major expansion to its Mandeville offices on October 23, creating space for an additional 40 positions. The expansion will add 27,500 square feet to the company’s current operations, bringing the total office space to more than 55,000 square feet.
Pin Oak Terminals broke ground on a petroleum liquids storage terminal in St. John the Baptist Parish on October 21. The facility will be located along the east bank of the Mississippi River at Mount Airy, near the St. John/St. James parish line, and will create 70 on-site and 81 indirect jobs. Operations are expected to begin in late 2016.
Video game company inXile Entertainment is establishing a video game development studio in New Orleans. The company’s first expansion outside its headquarters in Newport Beach, California, the studio is expected to create 50 direct and 64 indirect jobs over the next five years.
Syngas Energy Holdings will begin construction in the second quarter of 2016 on a methanol plant in St. James Parish. Located on the west bank of the Mississippi River, 10 miles south of the Sunshine Bridge, the plant is expected to create 86 direct and 508 new indirect jobs, in addition to more than 800 construction jobs. Completion is expected at the end of 2018.
We’d love to include your business-related news in next month’s Biz Bits.
Please email details to Editorial@BizNewOrleans.com.
