10/12 Industry Report [Q4 2018]

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10/12 INDUSTRY REPORT • FOURTH QUARTER 2018 5

CONTENTS

Publisher: Rolfe McCollister, Jr. EDITORIAL Editorial Director: Penny Font Special Projects Editor: Jerry Martin Editor: Sam Barnes Content Strategist: Allyson Guay Contributing Writers: Erin Z. Bass, David Jacobs, Meredith Whitten Contributing Photographers: Lee Celano, Terri Fensel, Cheryl Gerber, Don Kadair ADVERTISING Sales Director: Kerrie Richmond Account Executives: Allison Huber, Kati Hyer, Judith LaDousa, Angie LaPorte Advertising Coordinator: Brittany Nieto

The

TRADE WAR How badly will the tiff over tariffs bruise Louisiana industry?

PAGE 18

MARKETING Chief Marketing Officer: Elizabeth McCollister Marketing assistant: Katelyn Oglesby Events: Abby Hamilton Community Liaison: Jeanne McCollister McNeil PRODUCTION/DESIGN Production Manager: Melanie Samaha Art Director: Hoa Vu Graphic Designers: Gracie Fletcher, Melinda Gonzalez, Emily Witt ADMINISTRATION Chief Financial Officer: Andrew Perilloux Digital Manager: James Hume Business Associate: Kirsten Milano Business Associate: Tiffany Durocher Receptionist: Cathy Brown

CONTENTS

8

EDITOR’S TAKE

LAUNCH

10 ICYMI

Industry briefs

14 The big picture

The Port of New Orleans welcomed its largest container ship ever.

17

Executive Profile Meet Jaret Garber, general manager for Drilling Services of America Inc.

NEWS

29 The pursuit of

perfection Every project team is different, but the best ones succeed through planning and collaboration.

32 A neighborly act

Mossville residents tap into Sasol programs aimed at relocating, preserving and hiring.

FOCUS

37 How to train a millennial Louisiana pioneers are fusing high tech with low tech to teach today’s worker.

42 Preparing for the worst LSU is a key player in a new effort to improve industry resilience.

SPECIAL ADVERTISING SECTION

57 Company spotlights CLOSING NOTES

the state of the offshore energy industry and next wave of industrial investment in the Capital Region.

SUBSCRIPTIONS/ CUSTOMER SERVICE 9029 Jefferson Highway, Suite 300 Baton Rouge, LA 70809 225-421-8157 • FAX 225-928-5019 1012industryreport.com email: circulation@businessreport.com

70 My Toughest Challenge

Volume 3 - Number 4

Our maps of the projects driving the industrial boom.

Richard Harbison of Phillips 66

SPECIAL ADVERTISING SECTION

Discover south Louisiana’s Acadiana region

47

Send your ideas and company news to editor@1012industryreport.com.

6 10/12 INDUSTRY REPORT • FOURTH QUARTER 2018

A PUBLICATION OF LOUISIANA BUSINESS INC. Chairman: Rolfe H. McCollister, Jr. President and CEO: Julio A. Melara Executive Assistant: Millie Coon

63 Executive Moves 64 Company News 66 The boom at a glance

INSIGHT

52 Columnists weigh in on

AUDIENCE DEVELOPMENT Audience Development Director: Benjamin Gallagher

© Copyright 2018 by Louisiana Business Incorporated. All rights reserved by LBI. 10/12 Industry Report is published quarterly by Louisiana Business Inc. Reproduction without permission is prohibited. Business address: 9029 Jefferson Hwy., Ste. 300, Baton Rouge, LA 70809.

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EDITOR’S TAKE

The uncertainty dilemma transcends politics

U

SAM BARNES

ncertainty is the biggest threat to success. And no matter the intention, the Trump tariffs and the ensuing trade war have injected a big unhealthy dose of it into the industrial world.

This is a fact that transcends politics. There’s no question that tariff-induced spikes in steel and aluminum prices of more than 25% have industrial owners worried. [See our cover story, “The trade war,” page 18.] While many of them recognize that a tariff could bring domestic suppliers into economic equilibrium, the cost uncertainty has them wringing their hands. That’s because an estimated one-third of their capital project spending comes from steel.

And the larger the project, the bigger the problem. Some economists think it could add as much as $90 million to the price tag of Yuhuang Chemical’s methanol plant in St. James Parish and delay other projects such as Lake Charles Methanol (which would receive major components from China).

The impacts are fanning out far and wide, impacting multiple markets and geographies.

Those in the manufacturing complex who make products out of steel and aluminum—i.e., the makers of automobiles and construction equipment—are already passing off higher prices to the consumer or are looking to manufacture elsewhere.

Louisiana equipment distributors say this could, and probably will, impact the cost of construction equipment down the line.

While large suppliers such as H&E Equipment Services in Baton Rouge have largely avoided this so far, they can’t make the same promise for 2019.

There are other consequences: The instability has led to shorter

8 10/12 INDUSTRY REPORT • FOURTH QUARTER 2018

project estimation cycles for some industrial contractors, and one of the state’s largest ports, the Port of New Orleans, has seen significant drops in both imports and exports.

While some take a more optimistic turn on the situation, the consensus is that something has to give, and that everyone could benefit from a little more certainty in regards to future costs.

AN EXTRAORDINARY RELATIONSHIP In the booming southwest corner of the state, a decidedly unique relationship has been forged between Sasol and its immediate neighbor to the west, Mossville.

Over the years, Sasol has taken some rather extreme measures to accommodate the residents there, offering a Voluntary Property Purchase Program (spending up to $90 million in the process), financing and overseeing a Workforce Resource Guide, and taking the unprecedented step of capturing and preserving the community’s rich history.

The Imperial Calcasieu Museum is leading this historical preservation effort, and has become home to an exhaustive collection of photography and memorabilia from the community. Additionally, audio compilations of historical accounts have been captured by LSU’s T. Harry Williams Center for Oral History.

This is happening none too soon—the community is already a shell of its former self, a process that began long before the South African-based company entered the scene with its $11 billion ethane cracker and derivatives project. [See “A neighborly act,” page 32.]

Commensurate with its investment, Sasol continues to pursue other corporate social investment initiatives to address areas the

community has identified as important.

REACHING THE MILLENIALS Millennials are the primary motivation for a technologically progressive—and undeniably more effective—approach to learning in the industrial sector.

Simulators, augmented reality applications, SIM games and other virtual technologies are playing increasingly formative roles in attracting the younger generation to the workforce, and in the process training them more effectively. [See “How to train a millenial,” page 37.]

SOWELA Technical Community College in Lake Charles is on the front lines of a push to develop more interactive ways to attract and retain the next generation of worker.

Leaders there have spearheaded the development of a mixed reality, tablet-based application that enables students to better visualize process components in various industrial applications as part of the school’s process technology curriculum. It’s being officially launched this fall, and is expected to improve the ease and speed of learning in the PTEC world.

And that’s just one example. It’s fast becoming a brave new world, as the Alliance Safety Council, River Parishes Community College and Fletcher Technical Community College are all pursuing similar endeavors in an effort to provide a more productive, engaging—and less costly—way to train.

10/12 INDUSTRY WEEKLY Don’t forget to sign up for our free e-newsletter, 10/12 Industry Weekly. We’ll be delivering the latest information about projects, workforce, operations and maintenance, safety, environmental, transport, construction, design and more, right to your inbox. Sign up on 1012industryreport.com.

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10/12 INDUSTRY REPORT • FOURTH QUARTER 2018 9

LAUNCH ICYMI

THREE OF THE biggest U.S. oil companies pledged $300 million toward research into lowering climate-change pollution as they joined an industry group led by European rivals. Exxon Mobil Corp., Chevron Corp. and Occidental Petroleum Corp. will join the Oil & Gas Climate Initiative and expand an existing $1 billion fund for carbon-reduction ventures, the group said on Sept.

20. The move brings Big Oil’s biggest names into a united front as climate activists and investors ratchet up the

pressure on fossil-fuel providers. The OGCI was founded in 2014 by the heads of BP Plc, Royal Dutch Shell Plc, Saudi Aramco and seven others based in Europe and Asia, but major U.S. producers had refused to join.

Meanwhile, a new United Nations report published Oct. 8 made headlines around the world and raised pressure for a faster and more dramatic response to global warming. The world must invest $2.4 trillion in clean energy every year through 2035 and cut the use of

ISTOCK

Big Oil joins climate-change initiative coal-fired power to almost nothing by 2050 to avoid catastrophic damage from climate change, according to scientists convened by the UN. Envoys at the 2015 Paris talks asked the UN’s Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change to study what it would take to limit warming to 1.5 degrees, a more ambitious goal than the previous

2-degree target. The scientists concluded that carbon dioxide emissions should be cut 45% by 2030 from 2010 levels then reduced to zero by 2050. That would require “unprecedented changes in all aspects of society,” most especially within the energy industry. The report acknowledged those changes would be difficult and costly, but not impossible.

—Bloomberg

ISC founder plans to run for governor

NUMBERS

FILE PHOTO

GOV. JOHN BEL EDWARDS has drawn his first Republican challenger in next year’s governor’s race.

Baton Rouge businessman Eddie Rispone filed state paperwork today declaring his candidacy for the 2019 Eddie Rispone election. Rispone—who has hinted at making a run and whose friend Chef John Folse told a crowd in August that he was running—now says “I am definitely running. This is it.”

Rispone, founder of industrial contracting company ISC Constructors, is a longtime donor to GOP and conservative campaigns and causes. The businessman says he plans to invest his own money in what will be an expensive governor’s race. Edwards, a Democrat seeking his second term, reported $5 million in his campaign account earlier this year. Rispone says he’s setting aside a similar amount of his own money “to get started” and will start fundraising immediately. Rispone says he’ll make an official campaign announcement later this year. Rispone was the Baton Rouge Business Report’s 2016 Businessperson of the Year.

—daily-report.com

10 10/12 INDUSTRY REPORT • FOURTH QUARTER 2018

7

Louisiana’s rank in Area Development’s annual ‘Top States for Doing Business’ report

IN SO MANY WORDS

You can go to China and build for 60% of the Gulf Coast cost and export the ethane over there. Those are options that are really on the edge of being attractive, so we need to be more cost competitive here on the Gulf Coast.

Ron Huijsmans, Dow U.S. Gulf Coast Program Director

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BUSINESS TICKER

• Dallas-based Jacobs Engineering is selling its energy and chemicals business for $3.3 billion to Australia’s WorleyParsons Ltd. • Pin Oak Holdings LLC sold Pin Oak Terminals in St. John the Baptist Parish to MPLX LP for approximately $450 million in cash.

As part of the transaction, Pin Oak will retain an economic interest in the facility.

• SABIC is buying around 25% of Clariant, which makes specialty chemicals along the Gulf Coast at Reserve, Louisiana, and Pasadena, Texas.

• Exxon is considering selling deepwater assets in the Gulf of Mexico

that currently produce about 50,000 barrels per day of oil. The company is focusing on promising oil-rich acreage in areas such as Guyana, Brazil and the Permian Basin.

• Cornerstone Chemical is considering an additional 130,000 tonnes/year acrylonitrile, or ACN, train in the U.S., with commercial production expected to begin in 2023. Cornerstone’s only ACN plant is located in Waggaman, Louisiana.

RAIL LOGIX

• Venture Global LNG has entered into a 20-year, binding Sales and Purchase Agreement with Repsol for the supply of one million tonnes per annum of LNG from the Venture Global Calcasieu Pass LNG export facility under development in Cameron Parish.

• The Port of Iberia is in the final stages of acquiring approximately 146 acres for expansion. It is purchasing 106 acres for $5.5 million, while another 40 acres will include a new canal.

ROCKIN’ THE RAILS WORK IS CONTINUING on the development of a rail terminal at the Lacassine Industrial Park in Jennings, Louisiana. The project is the first of its kind for southwest Louisiana, according to Jeff Davis Parish Economic Development Director Marion “Butch” Fox. “It’s pretty amazing and incredible what is happening there,” Fox said, updating the Jeff Davis Parish Police Jury on the project in September. “Once the park is finished, they will have the capacity to have four 120-unit car trains at the Lacassine Industrial Park, which means really high dollars for our parish and people that are coming into that area.”

• Braun Intertec, a geotechnical engineering, environmental consulting and testing firm, has acquired W&M Environmental Group LLC, a Texas-based environmental consulting firm.

—American Press

A TRIBUTE TO DAVID WELCH IN AUGUST, THE south Louisiana industry community lost a longtime leader: Stone Energy CEO David Welch. In a statement, One Acadiana called Welch “one of its strongest advocates and inspiring leaders.” David served as a past chairman of the Greater Lafayette Chamber of Commerce and played a number of other important business and civic leadership roles in the community, including but not limited to, former chairman of United Way of Acadiana, founding board member of Lafayette Central Park Inc., and former board member of both the Upper Lafayette Foundation and the Louisiana Association of Business and Industry.

“David’s contributions to our community were tremendous,” One Acadiana wrote.

“As fellow former Greater Lafayette Chamber of Commerce chairman Rob Eddy so eloquently put it, ‘He led and inspired other companies and individuals to work together on important issues in our community. He will be missed; however, his positive influence will forever be embedded in Acadiana.’”

—Staff report

CORRECTION An item in ICYMI in our Q3 issue incorrectly stated the Methanex 1 and 2 plants and the newly proposed Methanex project are located in St. James Parish. All are in Ascension Parish. 10/12 Industry Report regrets the error.

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CONRAD INDUSTRIES

ONE ACADIANA

—Staff reports, Reuters, ICIS

Texas-based Rail Logix, a privately owned rail yard operator, is developing the rail terminal, which will accommodate 800 rail cars with more than 450 rail car spots of interchange track. Rail Logix is leasing the property for the project at the Lacassine Industrial Park from the Louisiana Agricultural Finance Authority. Rail Logix also bought 150 acres to the west to build out additional rail spurs, Fox said. Rail Logix specializes in the storage, handling and switching of railcars for users in the petrochemical, energy, agricultural and logistics industries.

The Clean Jacksonville

BUILDING AN LNG FIRST

MORGAN CITY-BASED Conrad Industries announced the successful completion and delivery of the Clean Jacksonville, the first LNG bunker barge built in North America. The Clean Jacksonville was constructed in Orange, Texas, at Conrad Orange Shipyard, a subsidiary of Conrad Industries, and a safe and successful gas trial execution took place at Port Fourchon in August, the company said. The vessel will enter service for TOTE Maritime Puerto Rico in the Port of Jacksonville, Florida, where the vessel will bunker two Marlin Class containerships operating on LNG fuel between Jacksonville and San Juan, Puerto Rico. “Conrad has been at the helm of many firsts,” said Johnny Conrad, president and CEO of Conrad Industries. “It is the first LNG bunker barge built in North America. It is the first time the GTT membrane system has been installed in a non-self-propelled barge in the U.S. It is the first time an LNG bunker mast of this type has been built. The list goes on.” Conrad Industries designs, builds and overhauls tugboats, ferries, liftboats, barges, offshore supply vessels, LNG vessels and other steel and aluminum products for both the commercial and government markets. The company has five shipyards located in southern Louisiana and Texas.

10/12 INDUSTRY REPORT • FOURTH QUARTER 2018 11

LAUNCH: ICYMI

126B

$

Source: Industrial Information Resources

IN SO MANY WORDS

If lots of large LNG projects are all sanctioned within a relatively limited window, say 2018-2020, concern about whether enough capacity in the LNG service sector exists to successfully deliver all these projects is very much warranted.

—Wood Mackenzie research director Angus Rodger

12 10/12 INDUSTRY REPORT • FOURTH QUARTER 2018

GLPC

Planned maintenance expenditure of U.S. refiners for 2018, an increase of 38.5%

A rendering of the proposed Fourchon Island

Fourchon moves toward a bigger future THE GREATER LAFOURCHE Port Commission took a major step forward in September in its plans to develop the next generation of deepwater port facilities at Port Fourchon, thanks to an agreement signed by the Edward Wisner Donation Trust granting GLPC a lease of over 900 acres of property immediately south of the port, to be known as Fourchon Island. The port also submitted to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers a Draft Feasibility Report and Draft Environmental Impact Statement for a deeper draft channel in to Port Fourchon. These two milestones will usher in a new era of growth for Port Fourchon, the commission said. The new lease secures opens the way to the future development of the Gulf’s first purpose-built, deepwater rig repair and refurbishment facility to service the major maintenance and eventual decommissioning needs of the deepwater oil and gas rigs Port Fourchon services. While GLPC will deepen the draft to the new facility as well as dredge the slip and build the land and basic infrastructure as part of its Fourchon Island development plan, it said private industry will eventually construct the rig repair and refurbishment facilities.

Perry Gisclair, president of GLPC, said, “Currently, we service over 90% of all deepwater activity in the Gulf, and we know that many of these rigs and platforms that we service were built right here in this region; they are serviced by companies based in Port Fourchon.

—Staff report

Rebirth for Avondale

IN OCTOBER, Gov. John Bel Edwards announced the purchase of the former Avondale Shipyards site in Jefferson Parish by Avondale Marine LLC, a new venture with plans to redevelop the New Orleans-area property as a global logistics hub. Avondale Marine—a joint venture of Virginia-based T. Parker Host and Illinois-based Hilco Redevelopment Partners— acquired the 254-acre property from Huntington Ingalls Industries. Formerly operated by Northrop Grumman, the shipyard was closed in 2014. Avondale Marine will redevelop the site’s crane, dock and terminal assets along nearly 8,000 feet of Mississippi River frontage, while connecting global waterborne commerce with manufacturing, fabrication and distribution facilities onshore. Capturing connections to six Class I rail carriers in the New Orleans area, the new owners envision creating a world-scale logistics hub at the former shipyard. Key partners in the deal were the Port of New Orleans and its New Orleans Public Belt Railroad, which approved separate resolutions authorizing nonbinding Cooperative Endeavor Agreements between Port NOLA, NOPB, Jefferson Parish and Avondale Marine LLC to facilitate the redevelopment. “The port recognizes the site’s tremendous potential to grow the region’s maritime industry with the attraction of new cargo commodities, value-added manufacturing and services that enhance existing port business,” said Brandy Christian, Port NOLA president and CEO. —Staff report

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10/12 INDUSTRY REPORT • FOURTH QUARTER 2018 13

LAUNCH: THE BIG PICTURE

GROWTH

FACTOR

PORT NOLA

14

10/12 INDUSTRY REPORT • FOURTH QUARTER 2018

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THE BIG ONE The Port of New Orleans welcomed its largest container ship ever when the CMA CGM–operated Pusan C, a 9,500 twentyfoot-equivalent unit vessel, called on Oct. 8 at the Napoleon Avenue Container Terminal operated by Ports America. The Pusan C set a record as the largest container vessel to call at the terminal by 1,000 TEUs. The container ship arrived as Port NOLA continues to experience growth in total containerized cargo volumes.

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PASSAGE TO ASIA CMA CGM, the world’s third-largest container carrier, operates the Pusan C as part of the company’s PEX 3 Service, a direct weekly container service to Asia from Port NOLA. The PEX 3 Service is part of the Ocean Alliance, which includes CMA CGM, OOCL, Evergreen and Cosco. The direct ports of call are Singapore, Vung Tau, Hong Kong, Shekou, Ningbo, Shanghai, and Busan, Korea, with connections to over 30 destinations throughout Asia.

WHAT THEY SAID “The deployment of larger vessels highlights our strong growth in container volumes and the success of the PEX 3 service connecting America’s heartland to global markets like Asia,” said Brandy D. Christian, Port of New Orleans president and CEO. “Gulf Coast container volumes are predicted to continue to rise, and we look forward to capturing the growth opportunities with our ocean carrier partners like CMA CGM.”

CONTAINERS ARE THE FUTURE Despite an overall drop in inbound cargo related to the new tariffs [[see cover story, page 18], Port NOLA recorded a 20% growth in containerized cargo volumes in the first three months of fiscal year 2019 over 2018 (July-September). The growth in containerized cargo has been driven by overall export growth as well as increased imports. To stay ahead of market demand, Port NOLA is implementing a strategic master plan that presents a menu of strategies to optimize current assets and extend the port’s reach across all business lines.

10/12 INDUSTRY REPORT • FOURTH QUARTER 2018

15

MARINE

HEAVY CIVIL

PAVING

PILING

ASPHALT

UTILITIES

SITEWORK

VACUUM EXCAVATION

WWW.BOHBROS.COM 16 10/12 INDUSTRY REPORT • FOURTH QUARTER 2018

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LAUNCH: PEOPLE

Executive Profile: Jaret Garber

—David Jacobs

When was your first exposure to the oil business?

My dad’s been in the oil and gas industry since he took his first job at 17, and he’s still in it today. So I’ve been around it my whole life. It’s not where I started my career, but my roots have been oil and gas. Being in Lafayette, the service hub, it’s just in our blood.

NAME

Jaret Garber POSITION

General Manager, Drilling Services of America Inc. AGE

35 HOMETOWN

Lafayette EDUCATION

LSU, bachelor’s degree in finance

What is your typical work day like?

No two days are the same. This could be internal meetings, daily operational updates on our current projects, the management and guidance of our sales and operations teams, overseeing our facility, inventory, financials, HR, IT, and last, and most importantly, safety. We’ve never had a recordable injury in our company’s history.

No recordable injuries in the company’s history?

Correct. In 32 years, we have over a million man hours without a recordable.

What’s the key to a spotless safety record?

It starts from the top down. We care about every employee, and we want everyone to return safely. We back them 100% from start to finish.

Finding the right people who can support those efforts is a contributing factor. I give the credit to them.

In your last job you were a numbers guy, but you say you wanted to know as much as possible about what was going on in the field. Why was that so important to you?

What is your greatest professional accomplishment?

I wanted to get into operations at some point. I actually started at LSU as a mechanical engineering student.

I’ve always been extremely interested in how it all works.

I would say my current position.

This is my career game, and I’ve only finished the first quarter. I have three left to play, and I have so much more to accomplish.

1012industryreport.com

TERRI FENSEL

W

hen Jaret Garber graduated from college, his original intent was to enter grad school and earn an MBA. But after Hurricane Katrina, he saw the opportunities in construction support.

“Being 23 and making some money was a lot more appealing than borrowing some money to go to grad school,” he says.

Recovery work led to a job with a Baton Rouge general contractor. He worked there as a project engineer and estimator, then as an estimator for a Baton Rouge roofing company, before a desire to get back to his hometown and his oil and gas roots led him in 2010 to a Lafayette service company.

“My goal was to be the most operationally driven, educated finance guy there,” Garber says. “I wanted to see and touch and know what the equipment did, above and beyond the utilization numbers.”

Drilling Services of America, a thru-tubing milling and fishing company based in Carencro, hired him in 2013.

How would you characterize the industry’s state after the most recent downturn?

Two-thousand seventeen was a comeback year, and ’18 seems to be on a similar course as ’17. There is tremendous growth potential for the oil and gas industry. I have 30 years left, so I expect there will be many more ups and downs to come.

This downturn lasted a lot longer and was more impactful than previous downturns. The operators were a lot more aggressive in the past, and I think they’re all still very slow in putting more rigs out. It’s a slow-moving comeback.

How did your company stay healthy through the tough times?

We stayed lean, and we watched our spending. Performance is everything, and if you continue to perform, they’re going to call you. The pricing was tough, but we made it through.

We’ve always stuck to the slogan of, “Don’t think of cost. Think of value.”

What are you passionate about outside of work?

I am on the executive committee for the Young Professionals of LAGCOE. I’m passionate about the next generation. We’re going through the passing of the torch. I’m also active in the men’s group at my church, St. Pius X. As far as hobbies, I like hunting and fishing. Bow hunting is how I unwind. And just being around family and friends and cooking. Normal Cajun stuff.

What is your pitch to a young person who is considering entering the industry?

The oil and gas industry offers a number of opportunities for a degreed or non-degreed person to have a lucrative career, whether it’s in the field, in the office, in safety, in procurement or in HR. They employ so many people.

Interview edited for space.

10/12 INDUSTRY REPORT • FOURTH QUARTER 2018 17

COVER STORY

The

TRADE WAR How badly will the tiff over tariffs bruise Louisiana industry?

BY SAM BARNES

18 10/12 INDUSTRY REPORT • FOURTH QUARTER 2018

1012industryreport.com

“We think keeping the domestic steel industry stable is a good thing for the overall economy.”

DON KADAIR

ROBERT TURNER, senior vice president of strategic sourcing and quality, Stupp Corp.

O

utside of the domestic steel industry, it’s difficult to find anyone, anywhere, with a favorable view of the current tariff-induced trade war. Sizeable spikes in steel prices and an uncertain future have many industrial owners wringing their hands, as an estimated one-third of their capital dollars is spent on steel products.

The culprit is a 25% steel and aluminum tariff levied earlier this year

by President Trump against China, the EU and others under Section 232 of the Trade Expansion Act. China then retaliated with tariffs of its own on agricultural products, seafood and cars. To date, billions of dollars in tariffs have been imposed by both countries.

Louisiana’s ports felt an immediate gut punch from the resulting trade decline. Robert Landry, Port of New Orleans vice president and 1012industryreport.com

chief commercial officer, says his port is $200,000 below its fiscal year budget (as of early September), almost entirely because of the tariffs.

If the trend continues, he says “we’re going to see a million-dollar hit by the end of the year.”

The port receives import revenue from two primary sources—a per-ship dockage fee and a rental charge assessed for each ton of cargo moved off the ship. “Through the first six months of the [fiscal] year, we’re probably down 25% to 30% in inbound cargo,” Landry says. “Steel is our single largest import commodity and when we take a hit in steel it’s a big one, not only from a business standpoint but from a revenue perspective.”

The amount of cargo per ship is also dwindling. Ships that typically bring in 8,000 to 10,000 tons of steel are now hauling a mere 3,000 to 5,000 tons.

New Orleans is among the top

three ports for imported steel in the U.S., primarily because of the access it provides to Midwestern manufacturing sites. The product arrives at the port in slabs or high-quality steel coils, then up to 80% of it is sent upriver by barge to facilities that make automobiles, appliances, machinery, oilfield pipe, vessels and more.

While Asian steel comes to the port via the Panama Canal, the bulk of steel in 2017 came from Europe, as Turkey was the single largest steel importer, followed closely by Japan.

Each of the countries imported just under 400,000 tons last year. “Turkey was buying scrap from the U.S., converting it into steel and then shipping it back.”

That’s all changing due to the tariffs and an unstable political climate in Turkey. “We’re going to see the shipments from Turkey way down in 2018,” Landry says. “It shows how widespread the impact of these tariffs are. The country that

everyone assumes would be targeted, China, really didn’t have much coming into New Orleans.” On the upside, advances in the port’s cruise and container businesses are making up for the decline, and in October it announced the purchase of the 254acre Avondale Shipyard by Avondale Marine LLC for eventual re-development.

Upriver at the Port of South Louisiana, Executive Director Paul Aucoin says the uncertainty brought by the tariffs could be “a killer” for local industry. Nonetheless, his port’s tonnage numbers were 2% higher through August, despite China being one of its top trading partners at 12 million tons in exports ($5.1 billion) and 1.4 million tons in imports ($1.2 million).

He is “bullish” about the grain sector, since China consumes significantly more grain than it can produce or find outside the U.S. The port primarily oversees exports/

10/12 INDUSTRY REPORT • FOURTH QUARTER 2018 19

FILE PHOTO

COVER STORY

“Just think about all the steel that goes into the new Sasol facility over in Lake Charles. You add 25% to the cost of that steel and you don’t build that project here. It goes somewhere else.”

GREG BOWSER, president, Louisiana Chemical Association

NO PROJECT DELAYS—YET Aucoin is particularly concerned about impacts to the petrochemical industry in the area. “They just have no idea how this is going to play out. We have $23 billion worth of new industries announced here. I’m sure a lot of them are going to sit on those construction plans until this thing gets resolved.”

The threat is very real, says economist Loren Scott of Loren C. Scott & Associates in Baton Rouge.

The larger the petrochemical or manufacturing project, the more significant the impact to cost. He estimates that about $90 million could be added to the planned $1.85 billion Yuhuang Chemical methanol plant in St. James Parish, one of the projects Aucoin is watching. “It’s a nontrivial number,” he adds. “The

decision to go forward is a matter of math. Someone at the company is figuring the rate of return on equity, and the rate of return just went down.”

Scott hopes the tariffs are merely a bargaining tactic on Trump’s part.

However, if the move is strictly protectionist in nature, “this is going to be bad on a number of levels,” causing some owners to tap the brake instead of the accelerator and possibly leading to a worldwide recession, he says.

To date, no known local projects have been postponed as a consequence of the rise in steel prices.

Toshiaki Ansai, vice president –

planning and marketing at Shintech Inc. in Houston, says his company’s mega-expansion in Plaquemine is moving forward—for now. In July, Shintech Louisiana LLC announced it would invest $1.49 billion at the plant to develop a new chlor alkali and vinyl chloride monomer production facility and expand an existing polyvinyl chloride manufacturing facility.

“While we are concerned about the tariff situation, it has not impacted our construction plans or schedule at present,” Ansai said in a written statement.

Greg Bowser, president of the Louisiana Chemical Association in

“Even though the U.S. might have more bargaining power in terms of a trade negotiation, both sides are going to suffer.”

RALPH CHOW, regional director – Americas, Hong Kong Trade Development Council

20 10/12 INDUSTRY REPORT • FOURTH QUARTER 2018

SAM BARNES

imports of soybeans, corn, crude oil, coke, chemicals and fertilizers.

“They will come back to us whatever the cost,” he notes. “There’s just not enough grain out there to satisfy their needs in Argentina, Brazil and other places.”

Baton Rouge, doesn’t know of any project delays either, but says his members are undeniably concerned.

LCA members have put pressure on Louisiana’s Congressional delegation to have the tariffs rescinded, saying it amounts to little more than a tax on materials.

“Just think about all the steel that goes into the new Sasol facility over in Lake Charles,” Bowser adds. “You add 25% to the cost of that steel and you don’t build that project here. It goes somewhere else. We hope that they will find another way to address this issue because it’s going to create some economic problems for our industry and state.”

Alternatively, managers at steel pipe supplier Stupp Corp. in Baton Rouge expect oil and gas owners to hit the gas instead of the brakes as they try to head off future cost increases. Chip McAlpin, Stupp’s vice president – corporate strategy and development, says the market dynamics of the past actually delayed investment because owners thought steel prices would continue to decline. That’s changed since the tariff.

“It has been a catalyst,” McAlpin says. “There’s a lot of market opportunity right now. The midstream pipe market has picked up fairly substantially, so we’re optimistic that with all the production that’s coming out of the Permian Basin and west Texas, we’re going to see a flurry of pipeline construction activity.”

As proof, Stupp’s revenue numbers are on the rise, a decidedly different scenario than in 2016 when layoffs were imminent. McAlpin acknowledges there are other market forces at work, as oil price increases and new shale plays open up new opportunities for the oil and gas industry, his primary customer.

THE RIPPLE EFFECT The impacts of the tariffs and ensuing trade war are fanning out far and wide, impacting multiple markets and geographies. Ralph Chow, regional director – Americas at the Hong Kong Trade Development Council, warns that the trade war will ultimately impact the entire world, not just China and the U.S. He spoke at a Sept. 6 World Trade Center breakfast in New Orleans.

“Even though the U.S. might have 1012industryreport.com

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more bargaining power in terms of a trade negotiation, both sides are going to suffer,” Chow says. “Nowadays, trade is a global process. A lot of the components for Chinese products are made elsewhere, in Japan, South Korea, Taiwan or even the U.S., so if there are any restrictions on Chinese products these other suppliers suffer.”

Chow says China’s economic structure is changing as it becomes more consumer-oriented. As a result, the country is becoming less dependent on exports. “They know that in the long term they really need to promote the consumer market in order to sustain economic growth,” he adds. “They can’t rely solely on export markets. That’s why their reliance on exports is gradually diminishing. Still, the trading relationship between China and the U.S. has become the most important relationship in the world.”

Paul Nathanson, spokesman for the Coalition of American Metal

Manufacturers and Users in Washington, D.C., says steel shortages in the U.S. are worsening because domestic suppliers can’t handle the load, and lead times for steel orders have gone from a couple of weeks to six months.

Nathanson acknowledges that there have been no significant layoffs, but says that’s because many companies have, until now, benefitted from tax cuts. “Many of these companies are absorbing the costs right now,” he says. “They entered the year very excited because the tax cuts gave them more money to invest in their businesses, and they were going to hire and expand production lines. The tariffs have completely wiped that out.” He hopes that once domestic market utilization rates hit 80% the tariffs will be adjusted or eliminated.

The steel hikes are impacting equipment costs as well. Brad Barber, president/chief operating officer at H&E Equipment Services

Lake Charles Methanol seeks tariff exemption, lease extension

LE

THERE’S NO DOUBT that steel price hikes will impact the $4.2 billion Lake Charles Methanol facility at the Port of Lake Charles, but port director Bill Rase says that’s not why the owner hasn’t broken ground.

“They have a $2 billion loan guarantee from the federal government, but they still need to raise the remaining equity,” Rase says. “They’re LA NO trying to put the pieces together.”

The cost of the facility has grown from an original price tag of $3.8 billion, but Rase estimates that only $20-30 million of the increase can be attributed to steel costs. The project team has requested an exemption for those steel plant components made exclusively in China, in particular machinery needed for liquefying air or gas.

“Finding investors is the main holdup right now.”

On Oct. 22, the Port of Lake Charles Board of Commissioners granted LCM a March 31 extension to its Real Estate Lease Option Agreement to give the owner more time to secure investors. It was the second such extension, as the first was set to expire Oct. 31. LCM is leasing a 75-acre greenfield site from the port along the Calcasieu Ship Channel and an additional site near the port’s new dock facilities for a methanol and sulfuric acid tank farm.

Once complete, the facility will utilize advanced technology licensed by General Electric to refine petroleum coke, a waste product from the oil industry, into a basic hydrocarbon fuel called syngas. The project then uses other industrial processes to clean and convert the syngas into high-value energy and chemical products, including methanol, hydrogen, CO2 and industrial gases.

The LCM project is being developed by Houston-based Lake Charles Methanol LLC, which launched in 2015. Construction of the facility will be managed

by Fluor Corp. “The Lake Charles Methanol Project is a key opportunity for the Port of Lake Charles to expand its bulk terminal facilities and services and to grow as an increasingly important international port for the export of chemicals and commodities,” Rase says.

E

CE

—SAM BARNES

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COVER STORY

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22 10/12 INDUSTRY REPORT • FOURTH QUARTER 2018

in Baton Rouge, says the makers of construction equipment are already attempting to pass off higher prices to distributors through a steel surcharge. H&E represents about 80 manufacturers, with a half dozen or so comprising a majority of the company’s revenue.

Early on, manufacturers took a measured approach and began messaging distributors to warn them of impending increases. So far, H&E has weathered the effects through existing pricing agreements, but Barber is not making any promises for 2019. “All of those big guys have attempted to pass on price increases in the form of a steel surcharge, between 2% to 4%, beginning last spring,” Barber says. “I think our broader risk, and the risk of most distributors and rental companies, will be in 2019.”

If the tariffs continue into next year, no one will remain untouched.

“For what we sell retail, [the surcharge] will pass through to the customer just like a car dealer,” he adds. “It takes a little bit longer to digest that on the rental side of the business, whereas on the retail side it’ll happen very quickly. Unfortunately, the consumer is going to pay the whole burden.”

In the construction sector, the price instability has led to shorter estimation cycles. Stevie Toups, executive vice president of Turner Industries in Baton Rouge, says a construction estimate might be good for only a week rather than 30 days “because they just don’t know what’s going to happen.” Some owners, in fact, are assuming the risk of rising steel costs so that contractors don’t have to account for it in their bid.

Toups suspects that the tariff is a favorite topic in the boardrooms of many large industrial owners. He fears that pipe and vessel fabricators could leave en masse to be closer to steel suppliers and avoid the tariff, offsetting any gains in domestic jobs.

“If the president wants tariffs, that’s fine,” Toups says. “If he doesn’t want tariffs, take them off. But sitting in purgatory is what kills us.”

Nestor Navarro, managing member of Houma-based Navarro International Group and a consultant to the South Louisiana Economic Council, says it’s still too early to

predict the impact to the Houma/ Thibodaux area. Still, anything that slows growth in the already hard-hit oil and gas market can’t be good.

Navarro represents various sectors, including oil and gas, agribusiness and seafood, so he has witnessed the broad scope of the trade war. He remains optimistic, primarily because of a recovering market and tax cuts. “I see the oil and gas rallying next year and continuing to do so,” he adds. “The tariff is definitely affecting us. But by the same token, it’s too early to see the full impact that it’s going to have.”

STEEL PRODUCERS PLEASED The true beneficiaries of the tariffs are the domestic steel producers.

As such, the two steel producers at the Port of South Louisiana— Nucor Corp. and Bayou Steel Group—are decidedly pleased with the tariffs. Nucor’s corporate office, in fact, recently announced a record 1012industryreport.com

It’s amazing how one small accident can have so many big impacts.

Vehicle Damage

Employee Downtime

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Personal Injuries

Increased Vehicle Insurance Rates

Decreased Productivity

DON KADAIR

Workers’ Compensation

“Unfortunately, the consumer is going to pay the whole burden.”

BRAD BARBER, president/COO, H&E Equipment Services in Baton Rouge

$1.4 billion in capital spending next year, about $200 million of it going to its direct-reduced iron plant in Convent.

In a prepared statement, Katherine Miller, director of public affairs and corporate communications at Nucor in Charlotte, North Carolina, says the tariff has effectively eliminated the dumping of imported steel into the market.

“The tariffs were put in place to protect national security, which was threatened by the large volume of unfairly traded imports entering the U.S. market, particularly in the years after the recession in 2009,” Miller says in the statement. “Imports grabbed a record 29% of market share in 2015 and have remained 1012industryreport.com

at persistently high levels for years.

These dumped imports are the result of foreign countries that subsidize their steel industries in violation of international trade rules.”

Miller says the tariff sent a strong message to other countries to change their trade practices, adding that steel prices were already increasing due to economic growth, tax reform and deregulation. “Because of the strong economy, our company’s steel production is up,” Miller says in the statement. “Our steel mills have high utilization rates and we are on track to ship a record amount of steel company-wide in 2018.”

Perhaps no material supplier has felt the burn more than steel pipe manufacturers, but managers at

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Stupp say they welcome a rise in prices if it will sustain the domestic steel market. The 500-employee plant in Baton Rouge gets some 90% of its steel from domestic sources.

Robert Turner, Stupp’s senior vice president of strategic sourcing and quality, says domestic steel prices have risen in direct correlation with the 25% tariff. Even though it has put “a bit of a squeeze on us,” he sees it as a positive step since it brings U.S. suppliers back to a more sustainable range. “We don’t see it as a positive thing if five or 10 years down the road we’re required to import steel because we don’t have a domestic steel industry. We think keeping the domestic steel industry stable is a good thing for the overall economy.”

John Clark, Stupp’s chief commercial officer, adds that steel costs are somewhat diluted once they’re factored into the overall cost of a pipeline project. “To build a pipeline, you’ve also got to buy fittings, valves and compressors, so when you look at what the actual raw steel

comprises as a percentage of the total spend, it’s not as substantial.”

Despite a slew of new, multibillion-dollar oil and gas pipelines under construction in the booming Permian Basin in Texas, the pipeline supplier hasn’t experienced any supply shortages. Stupp’s Turner has found steel to be readily available.

“There has been a little bit of misinformation out there that steel is not available domestically. We’ve been able to procure the material we need to operate our business.”

While the Port of South Louisiana’s Aucoin agrees that the tariff has made domestic steel more competitive, he suggests there might have been a better way to tackle the problem. In recent months, Aucoin and others have put pressure on Congress to rescind the tariffs.

“We’re hoping for a quick resolution, but what if we don’t get a quick resolution? How long does that delay everything? Right now, the key word is uncertainty. You’ve got to be able to put together a budget.

You can’t put a question mark next to the cost of steel.”

DON KADAIR

COVER STORY

“The decision to go forward is a matter of math. Someone at the company is figuring the rate of return on equity, and the rate of return just went down.”

LOREN SCOTT, economist, Loren C. Scott & Associates, on the planned $1.85 billion Yuhuang Chemical methanol plant in St. James Parish

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THE BEST OF THE

RES CONTRACTORS STAYS AHEAD OF THE GAME WITH A COMMITMENT TO SAFETY AND QUALITY EVERYONE KNOWS, when it comes to construction projects, issues like missed or defective welds can abound resulting in a negative impact potentially including a loss of revenue, liability claims, and most importantly, potential safety issues. Detecting those problems

early in the welding operation is vital — and tracking systems can help not only in weld repairs but in any area of operations, which is exactly what RES Contractors has done.

EXTENSIVE TRACKING SYSTEMS IMPROVE PERFORMANCE CRUNCHING THE NUMBERS in those tracking systems is the area of expertise for Wendell Breaux, Corporate Quality Control Manager for RES Contractors in Plattenville, Louisiana. Visit his office and you’ll see a computer cranking out percentages of RES’s work in refineries, petrochemical plants, gas plants, chemical plants and other production facilities throughout the Gulf Coast Region. RES has always focused on safety and quality, but in 2016, they began hyper-focusing on details and using extensive tracking systems. That change brought down their weld repair rate from 4.6% at the start of tracking to 1.1% over two years.

As they get better and better, that weld repair rate has continued to fall to 0.6% for 2018. In fact, RES’s culture of safety and quality works in tandem with their tracking processes, enabling

them to stay on time and on budget and ensuring they maintain a safe jobsite, something RES believes everyone working is entitled to.

These rock bottom weld repair rates are just some of the accomplishments RES has netted recently, and they’ve been acknowledged for their diligent efforts in going above and beyond state and federal regulations for safety by winning awards from GBRIA, BASF, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, and other industry groups.

For RES, safety is truly number one. “It’s second to none,” Breaux asserts. “It’s first and foremost, it’s everything we do. It’s talked about constantly – reminded about constantly.” Each day begins with a safety meeting held by the site superintendent at 6 a.m. where they discuss anything that is going to be different that day, from the machines, to hydrotesting, to the weather.

“Safety is drilled into us – we never let up on safety,” Breaux adds.

“The guys in the shop, you can tell that they get it. If they’re grinding and someone is in the line of fire, they’ll stop – no matter who it is, another shop team member or the CEO. They are really conscious of it, it’s engrained in our culture.” In

addition to safety, the other headlining component of RES’s culture is quality: it’s an expectation from the top on down. Everybody is expected to provide quality. While the team is working both in the shop and in the field, through all stages from receiving to welding, multiple inspectors walk out there several times a day doing inprocess examinations. This is not just looking, but inspecting the insides, which sometimes results in catching errors, which they quickly remedy.

“But those errors have gone way down,” Breaux credits the frequent inspections. “The more you do it, the fewer issues you see, because it keeps the awareness up and the guys do better and better.”

RES believes it’s best to maintain that smallshop atmosphere even as they grow, because that close accountability keeps their high quality culture central to operations. “We make mistakes – not often – but if a spool comes back from the field, it’s a huge deal,” Breaux said. “From everyone on down, it’s unacceptable, it’s very serious. It’s good that we make such a big deal about it, because consequences of a repair means time, it means money, it means delays.”

That’s why RES boasts such extensive tracking and inspection systems. Anything RES touches, they inspect and track, from drawings, to hydrotesting, to welds, to spoolage and everything else.

For example, from the word go, when RES receives materials – they’re tracked. They verify the infill, the materials test report from the manufacturer, and the heat number marked on the pipe fitting for every single part. They all have a heat number and they check them all on the CMTR (certified materials test report).

They track the spools themselves, from start to finish. When the pipe and fitting go through the

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shop, different people are responsible to sign off every step of the way from the person who cuts it, to the person who fabricates it, to the person who welds it. Then, the shop foreman and the superintendent check the measurements, the level square, and the welds again one final time before it goes out the door.

All of this data gets logged into their computer tracking systems, and they pull reports according to daily or weekly needs. RES inspectors, planners, schedulers and the rest of the QC people log information and pull reports to stay on top of operations.

Breaux, RES’s Corporate Quality Control Manager, does a weekly weld metrics report. “I do it about the welds, x-rays and repairs, and if we had any repairs, I know who did it, which materials were used, and why it happened, so we can continuously improve our process.”

But what about productivity? Doesn’t all this tracking and inspecting slow down productivity?

Not so, according to RES, because that extensive system of checks and balances is built into their process. In fact, according to Breaux,

this number of checks brings down errors and going above and beyond is better for everyone.

“We always say that if you take care of safety and quality, the productivity is going to take care of itself.” These metrics all drive the safety and quality culture RES is all about. That’s because safety is all about people – here referred to as Team RES - going home safe to their families, every day. “We could not even start doing any of those steps or processes mentioned, in order to achieve the great results we do, without the Executive Leadership fully believing in and supporting us,” Breaux added.

RES is proud of that culture of safety, quality, and productivity. Yes, that’s apparent with their track record, the awards RES has won, and the long-term relationships they have with their clients. But, Joel Landry, CEO and President, credits Team RES with making that culture possible, resulting in their solid industry reputation. “RES’s accomplishments could only be made with the unselfish commitment of all our team members who all share the values of safety, quality and complete transparency.”

“WE ALWAYS SAY THAT IF YOU TAKE CARE OF SAFETY AND QUALITY, THE PRODUCTIVITY IS GOING TO TAKE CARE OF ITSELF.”

Joel Landry, President |

RES Contractors, LLC was established in 2002 and is strategically located in the heart of South Louisiana’s industrial corridor. RES has successfully performed a wide range of small and large projects for clients in the industrial, federal, state and government sectors. The RES mission is to provide value-added construction services to their customers by creating a successful partnership throughout the construction process. We strive to develop and maintain long-term relationships with our Clients by delivering safe and quality services that save our clients time and money.

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How your HVAC system can help

C

onsider this: A great many of our commercial properties, schools, hospitals and offices were built before 1980 and haven’t replaced or upgraded their HVAC system. Ever. The HVAC is, by no means, the sexiest of operating expenses, but it ranks up there with basic utilities when it comes to its importance in day-to-day business.

Think about how many buildings are long overdue for a commercial HVAC replacement.

If your building is one, there are a few facts to consider before you tackle this important retrofit.

We spoke to mechanical contractor, HVAC expert and president of Airtrol Mechanical, Scott Borne to learn more about how to spot when a system is beyond maintenance. Since the 1940s, Airtrol has performed work on landmarks like the State Capitol and the Old Governor’s Mansion as well as Louisiana State University and Southern University.

“The first step is getting a straightforward professional opinion,” Scott says. “When you see

the bills getting more expensive and find yourself calling for service more frequently, it’s time to talk to a pro.”

With proper maintenance, your system should last 30+ years and help to keep your energy bill in check, but there comes a time when you’ll need to upgrade that inefficient unit to a new system, Scott says. “New commercial HVAC technology really helps manage the system and lower the expense to run, Scott says, “The savings from energy and service calls can help recoup the expense of the upgrade in just a few years.”

PRO TIP: A clean and efficient HVAC duct system can improve air quality and overall employee health and productivity. Building codes and regulations frequently change. It’s a good idea to get a professional to assess your system. Contact Scott Borne at scott@airtrolmechanical.com or call (225) 388-2617 for more information.

TELLTALE SYMPTOMS OF A FAILING HVAC SYSTEM Unexplained spikes in energy bills

Rising expenses for service calls

Requires frequent service just to keep running

Equipment is simply failing to meet performance expectations

Making odd or excessive noise

Uncomfortable day-to-day climate

Inefficient equipment that is 30 years old or more

28 10/12 INDUSTRY REPORT • FOURTH QUARTER 2018

1012industryreport.com

ISTOCK

NEWS: PROJECT MANAGEMENT

The pursuit of perfection Every project team is different, but the best ones succeed through planning and collaboration.

BY SAM BARNES

E

xperience is at the top of nearly everyone’s wish list for the “perfect project team,” but it’s a commodity hard to come by these days. The worker shortage along the Gulf Coast extends beyond skilled laborers to include mid-level managers, leaving many industrial owners and contractors searching outside the company to fill positions.

There are a variety of causes—a regional boom in work, the bi-modal age distribution of the workforce—but some say the shortage is a symptom of a far greater, and enduring, problem: There’s simply a 1012industryreport.com

general lack of interest in manufacturing jobs.

Hyun Brossett, plant manager at W.R. Grace in Lake Charles, says experienced engineering managers are hard to find all along the Gulf Coast, and this can have a huge impact on the success of a project. “All the way from New Orleans to Houston demand is tremendous,” Brossett adds.

“It’s difficult to find strong, highly skilled project managers down here.

They are out there, but it takes longer to find the skill set that you’re looking for.”

Willie Lefever, vice president at Performance Contractors in Baton Rouge, has noticed a similar trend

in construction, as one of his biggest challenges is finding the mid-range leader. “I would say that there’s an inherent gap just like there is in the craft skillsets. You’ve got the aging managers who have been out there for the last 30 or 40 years, but there’s a gap between the senior management and the up-and-coming field management.”

He sees that on both sides of the fence. “We’re working a project right now with a well-known global client that has a tremendous amount of senior project execution experience, but are lacking mid-level leadership.

They’ve got the same gaps in their skillsets. So it’s all of the above …

construction, ownership and engineering.”

This forces owners to recruit from outside the company, which can sometimes be a risky proposition and a drag on productivity.

TEAM PLAYERS Nonetheless, owners are tasked with making every project a success, and that begins with the development of an effective project team.

Just what constitutes the “perfect project team” can vary dramatically based upon its intended function, length of existence and a variety of other factors.

Shell Chemical’s Geismar plant

10/12 INDUSTRY REPORT • FOURTH QUARTER 2018 29

NEWS: PROJECT MANAGEMENT

“Part of the discussion has to be about the process itself, asking key questions such as, ‘How are we working as a team?

What can be improved?’”

COLLIN RICHIE

CHRISTINE GEORGE, (center) vice president, Air Liquide in Geismar

has recently garnered some pretty high praise for its team-based approach during the execution of the $717 million expansion of its alpha olefins plant. Construction of the fourth AO unit (AO4) brings the total production at the site to more than 1.3 million tons per year, making it the world’s largest alpha olefins producer.

Tommy Anzalota, Shell expansion manager, credits the team and its unique planning process for the project’s success. Shell took a traditional 30-60-90-day planning process and adapted it to achieve a higher level of anticipation. By incorporating a greater level of detail, the modified Shell process helped minimize the unexpected.

Projects at Shell are typically staffed as they progress through the development process, growing as they move toward final design and construction.

“Ideally, I like to have three types of people on the team—the ones who have the experience and leadership to anticipate and navigate through issues; high-performance individuals who have the desire to learn, can handle several simultaneous activities and have great potential for leadership roles; and the specialists who know their area, are

good at what they do and will deliver what is expected of them,” Anzalota says.

“Experience is important but might not be the most important aspect,” he adds. “I try to understand what the individual has accomplished in terms of results and behaviors. The results matter, but almost as important is how results were obtained. A leader needs to be able to motivate others by building trust, having a clear vision and communicating effectively.”

CADENCE OF ACCOUNTABILITY Anzalota says good teams will have a “cadence of accountability” where they discuss key upcoming activities, commitments for delivery and any issue or help that is needed.

Scott Bradenburg, vice president of engineering and maintenance at BASF in Geismar, says most of his teams are led by seasoned and experienced project directors, along with an engineering or project manager.

This is rounded out by a team of engineers that has specific skill sets that are complementary to the project at hand.

“When you’re building a big plant, you have to have a couple of sets of eyes that are asking the big questions, such as ‘How is this plant

30 10/12 INDUSTRY REPORT • FOURTH QUARTER 2018

going to be maintained? How is this plant going to perform environmentally? How am I going to construct this project?’ Having those people and those backgrounds is extremely beneficial.”

For $1 billion-plus megaprojects, engineering teams are often global in nature, working in offices scattered across the U.S. and other countries, while the site engineering team works the small to medium-sized capital projects. Regardless of the circumstances, strong working relationships are vital due to the number of interfaces required to manage, coordinate and execute a project.

To facilitate the process, Brandenburg says certain temperaments are desirable on a team, particularly in its leadership. This is a fact widely recognized by contractors and owners, as evidenced by the proliferation of team-building exercises at the outset of most projects. “I cannot overemphasize the importance in our world now for communication,” he says. “Leaders need to be clear and concise for a number of reasons.”

W.R. Grace’s Brossett says every team is different, because every project is different. “You might have 10 projects that you have to execute, but each project is going to need a different set of skillsets, a different

type of preparation,” Brossett says.”

And maybe a different type of project leader.”

She says there is perhaps one commonality—every team needs a leader who is astute at team building.

“We’re not asking you to change your personality, because that’s not happening,” Brossett says. “We send them to management training, supervisory training, leadership training, crucial conversations training, etc.

We teach them certain skillsets that can help them in certain situations.”

Christine George, a vice president at Air Liquide in Geismar, says internal training programs at Air Liquide target both the technical and “soft skills” necessary to prepare engineers and project managers for handling conflict and communication. “We coach our engineers from day one when they come into the organization,” she adds.

Air Liquide typically recruits its managers internally, either at the local plant or someone in the geographic area, but she notes it’s “very rare that we go outside [the company].”

AVOID THESE PITFALLS Brossett says project teams often make a crucial misstep when they fail to include the operations side 1012industryreport.com

of the business. As “owners” of the equipment, operations should be a vital part of the planning process. “I have seen projects where they began to install the equipment, then operations got involved and they realized, ‘Oh, that’s not the right way to do it.’

And they end up making very expensive changes at the last minute.”

She adds that other disciplines should probably be involved, too— mechanics, pipefitters, etc.—“as the people who are actually turning the wrenches and the knobs.”

As another potential pitfall, Shell’s Anzalota says to avoid “group think” at all costs. That’s why it’s a good idea to have a team with diverse experiences, personalities and cultures to ensure there are different lenses from which to evaluate a problem or situation. If the team can learn to recognize, embrace and include those differences, performance will follow.

“The key for any team to succeed is its people,” he adds. “Create a culture of true collaboration among the different entities (engineering, construction, project management, operations, site), and one where challenge is accepted and not turned into a ‘blame game.’ ” Air Liquide’s George says team roles and responsibilities should be clear, and there needs to be an atmosphere of openness and honesty.

“I think a good team is one that is capable of providing each other with feedback, whether it’s collectively or individually,” she adds. “Part of the discussion has to be about the process itself, asking key questions such as, ‘How are we working as a team?

What can be improved?’ ” Lefever says a team should have good chemistry, along with a solid understanding of individual strengths and weaknesses. As such, an individual’s tenure within an organization is important, as an owner or contractor is better able to gauge their temperament based upon a previous track record. Performance Contractors refers to this as its “loyalty model,” and uses it frequently when fielding teams of managers and supervisors.

ORGANIZATIONAL PROCESSES No matter a project team’s composition, there are certain organizational and structural processes that are critical to success, as they help the 1012industryreport.com

team recognize key issues, benchmarks and risks.

“Our project process is designed with several assurance reviews and benchmarking efforts at critical project milestones and decision gates that allow us to get an external assessment of project practices,” says Shell’s Anzalota. “This helps identify and replicate practices across the company. Also, the project does lookback reviews to capture lessons learned that could be done better or differently in future opportunities.”

In similar fashion, Andy Dupuy, president and CEO of Brown & Root in Baton Rouge, says his industrial services company maintains a registry of best practices and lessons learned.

“When our project guys identify a risk, they go back and look at the risk registry and everything that happened to determine what we did about it. It’s something we do when we’re kicking off a job. They go through it and they look at it. Most of them are project specific. They go back to the system and they review with their team.”

Typically, Brown & Root staffs its teams on larger jobs with both a project executive and construction project manager. In light of the strapped labor market, understaffing a project is a particular concern. He says contractors should be careful not to bid projects they are incapable of executing “in house,” as they run the risk of hurting productivity.

“One of the biggest pitfalls of a project is when you hire a high percentage of people off the street,” he adds. “If you hire a high percentage of walk-ins, you’re going to have productivity issues, you’re going to have safety issues, and you’re going to have turnover. Ideally, you want to be able to name the people that are coming out there to work for you.”

As such, Brown & Root relies upon its own internal pipeline of employees when possible.

Finally, Lefever says Performance strives to “free up” time for its field staff by separating its site leadership and administrative management roles. This has led to improvements in productivity, safety and quality.

“For our teams, we pick a mix that either has the skillsets to work with the owner and the engineers, or are more comfortable in the field.”

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10/12 INDUSTRY REPORT • FOURTH QUARTER 2018 31

NEWS: COMMUNITY

A neighborly act

BY SAM BARNES

Mossville residents tap into Sasol programs aimed at relocating, preserving and hiring.

LEE CELANO

J

ackie Green remembers a time when she could sit on the porch of her Prater Road home in Mossville and wave at passersby. She grew up there, and had continued to live there much of her adult life.

Her family’s own rich history is deeply intertwined with the city’s.

Rev. Joshua Rigmaiden, her grandfather, was one of the first African American pioneers to settle in Mossville, and was the community’s informal mayor at one time. “I raised my children in that little house,” says Green, currently the director of the Calcasieu Council on Aging. “We knew all of our neighbors and we knew our community.”

After being formed in 1866 by nine families of freed slaves, made possible by the Homestead Exemption Act, the small town west of Lake Charles eventually grew to include a post office, grocery stores, a community center and a smattering of businesses.

Regrettably, by the time South African-based Sasol announced its $11 billion expansion near the town in 2010, things had changed dramatically. It just wasn’t the same—the school was shuttered, youth involvement in the community was down and crime was on the rise.

Mossville’s leaders were aging and many familiar faces were gone.

That’s why Green and others jumped at the opportunity offered by Sasol to buy their property. As plant expansion would push the industrial complex precariously close to the small community, the company’s Voluntary Property Purchase Program offered residents an opportunity to voluntarily sell their properties and move to a residential area of their choice. As of March, Sasol had made 780 offers on parcels, of which 583 were accepted, and doled out some $75 million for property acquisitions.

Sasol spokesman Kim Cusimano is proud of her company’s engagement with Mossville and still speaks regularly with community members as issues arise or if they have a con-

“Even if it means separating us, it’s going to grow us.”

JACKIE GREEN, former lifetime resident of Mossville

cern, acting as a connector of sorts.

“We reached out to them early in the process and communicated our desire to be open and transparent with our plans,” she adds. “We wanted to make a positive impact in their community, and we needed their ideas for how to do that. And honestly, I think that is the success factor of this whole effort. We tried to address nearly every single request.”

Sasol has taken additional extraordinary steps to assist the community—funneling money into a much-needed Southwest Louisiana Workforce Resource Guide and Workforce Resource Guide Scholarship Program, and financing a painstakingly researched effort to preserve and display Mossville’s rich history.

HUGE STEP BEYOND THE NORM When Green’s family heard about Sasol’s purchase program, it was one of the first to sign up. Green

32 10/12 INDUSTRY REPORT • FOURTH QUARTER 2018

knew it was time to move. Very little remained of Mossville other than the Rigmaiden Community Center. The school had closed, and over the years many of the businesses had folded.

So her family took the offer from Sasol and settled in nearby Carlyss.

Green’s mother moved to an adjoining property.

Sasol’s offers were for the appraised value of the property, plus 40% to 60%, depending upon the type, and minimum appraised values were set at $100,000 for owner-occupied homes. Other allowances and bonuses were made available to help ease the burden of relocation. In the process, independent appraisers evaluated the properties in the area, then established a price through comparable home sales in nearby areas.

Green says there were few families who had titles to their homes, and home values were unclear.

“Back in the day, things were done with a handshake,” she adds. “African

Americans were just helping out African Americans.”

Sasol hosted community meetings in Mossville one to three times per month, depending upon community requests, to answer questions and hear input from the community. A Sasol representative also met individually with residents, by appointment, twice a week in the old school building.

While Green is happy with her decision to sell, it was a huge adjustment. She’d lived in Mossville her entire life, and her mother had lived in the same home since birth. “But when you go back to the community and see what they [Sasol] built, you understand that you would not have wanted to stay there,” she adds. “And for me, I wanted to see the young people of the community get jobs and an education. Let’s help encourage that type of development. Even if it means separating us, it’s going to grow us.”

Cusimano says Sasol has no plans to use the property that was purchased in Mossville. Some of it has actually been donated to the Louisiana Construction Education Foundation and Associated Builders and Contractors Pelican Chapter for a new craft training center.

CAPTURING HISTORY Perhaps a bit more “outside the box,” Sasol also financed the groundbreaking Mossville History Project to capture, preserve and display a written and oral history of the community.

Susan Reed, executive director of the Imperial Calcasieu Museum in Lake Charles, says the idea was born during a lunch meeting with Sasol a few years ago. “We felt it was important to capture the oral history of the community, passed down through the many generations, as well as the written history,” Reed says.

As such, the museum contracted with the T. Harry Williams Center for Oral History at LSU to compile a comprehensive history, under the supervision of director Jennifer Abraham Cramer. In the process, it 1012industryreport.com

coordinated several well-attended oral history days at the Rigmaiden Center, and compiled some 80 hours of oral histories on topics ranging from the way life was lived to old herbal remedies.

Transcripts of the histories are available to the general public at the museum, the McNeese State University archives and the LSU library.

A local journalist, Bill Sherman, also wrote a book based on the testimonials. “We’re so excited to be able to tell the story and make people aware of this community and the people in it, and what they did,” Reed says.

A free-to-the-public exhibit in the museum annex will complement the project for another two years.

Displays were designed and created by museum exhibit coordinator Devin Morgan from memorabilia donated by the community, such as an old black iron kettle used to wash clothes, old yearbooks and football jackets, and various photographs of the nine original settlers and their descendants.

“We actually have a tombstone for Thomas Rigmaiden, who settled in the area in the late 1700s,” Reed says.

Next up, she plans to develop a “Mossville heroes” exhibit and is asking community members for nominations.

A JOB ROADMAP As another Mossville-inspired endeavor, Sasol funded the Southwest Louisiana Workforce Resource

Guide, targeting those who might otherwise be excluded from the “workforce development pipeline.”

The impetus for the guide came from Sasol’s engagement with Mossville clergy. “They wanted their people to have access to opportunities, along with the appropriate training,” says Sasol’s Cusimano. The guide’s six-step model helps individuals choose a career, acquire training, certifications and basic life skills, prepare a résumé and ultimately land a job.

Mentor engagement and training are its cornerstones, as well as collaboration among southwest Louisiana workforce development groups, the regional chamber, the parish library system and educational institutions.

To date, more than 15,000 of the guides have been distributed and more than 170 mentors have been trained on the resource guide model.

Along the way, Sasol worked with the Louisiana Workforce Commission, the Seed Center for Economic Development in Lake Charles and others. The company continues to fund the guide’s development, marketing and promotion through the SWLA Economic Development Alliance and the Community Foundation of Southwest Louisiana, as well as monthly free-to-the-public workforce readiness workshops to improve interview and résumé building skills.

Stephanie Seemion, director of the Calcasieu American Job Center, says

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“It is truly a holistic approach.”

SARA JUDSON, CEO, Community Foundation of Southwest Louisiana, of the job training and mentorship offered to Mossville residents

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IMPERIAL CALCASIEU MUSEUM

NEWS: COMMUNITY

OUTSIDE THE BOX: Sasol also financed the groundbreaking Mossville History Project to capture, preserve and display a written and oral history of the community.

ABC to ensure that they are in sync with course offerings.

The program also includes the services of a career counseling team and volunteer mentor. Mentorships, in fact, are a key component. More than 50 people have served as mentors from 15 weeks to a year, depending upon the program. “It is truly a holistic approach,” Judson says.

Today, Sasol’s social investment program remains robust, as it contributes some $1 million a year to southwest Louisiana charitable and nonprofit organizations. Much of the funding goes toward STEM education, small business development or environmental initiatives.

“This is not out of character for us,” Cusimano says. “I think the common denominator is that [the programs are] all community member driven and recommended, and they all are founded upon strong partnerships with existing community networks.”

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the guide has been hugely popular.

“It’s a tool that compiles everything we do in one resource—administering tests for employers, job regimen workshops, job assistance and job placement. It lists various resources that an individual might need.”

As an offshoot of the project, Sasol partnered with the Community Foundation of Southwest Louisiana to administer the Louisiana Workforce Scholarship Program, thereby providing dollars for tuition, training costs, support services and technical support.

Sarah Judson, CEO of the community foundation, says her organization has awarded more than 120 scholarships to date. “The current mission, based upon the goals of the donors, is to support crafts and skills training for area industry, so we have focused on things that are in demand in our region right now,” Judson adds. In the process, the foundation works closely with SOWELA and

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FOCUS DESIGN & CONSTRUCTION

“The key to good, successful technology is incorporating it into daily usage.”

LEE CELANO

DAVID LAFARGUE, dean, SOWELA School of Industrial Technology

How to train a millennial Louisiana pioneers are fusing high tech with low tech to teach today’s worker.

BY SAM BARNES

1012industryreport.com

T

he drive to blaze new virtual trails in the world of industrial training is not restricted to Silicon Valley. There have been some recent Louisiana-based successes in creating cell phone- and computer-based mechanisms that can entice, retain and entertain the new generation of worker.

Faculty at SOWELA Technical Community College in Lake Charles, River Parishes Community College in Gonzales and Fletcher Technical Community College in Schriever are all developing gamingor enhanced reality-oriented products that have marketable potential

in the private world.

David Lafargue, dean of SOWELA’s School of Industrial Technology, is in the final stages of creating “SOWELA’s Mixed Reality Experience,” an application that can be easily accessed by cell phone or tablet.

He says selecting a platform for the technology was a no brainer. After all, students are already utilizing their cell phones multiple times per hour—much more than a computer. “The key to good, successful technology is incorporating it into daily usage,” he says. “I also wanted to increase engagement, motivation and self-efficacy (belief in your own ability to perform a task). This taps into all three of those.”

10/12 INDUSTRY REPORT • FOURTH QUARTER 2018 37

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cooling, water treatment, distillation unit, etc.,” he adds. “Ultimately, the focus is student engagement. I’ve found that engagement, motivation and self-efficacy are all highly correlated. If one goes up, the other goes up. That enables people to retain new information more readily.”

The SOWELA application is adaptable to meet specific demands of local industry. “We can creatively

SA

compete

In developing the technology, Lafargue visited the Louisiana Immersive Technologies Enterprise, or LITE, in Lafayette for inspiration and researched the various ways augmented and virtual reality can impact learning in STEM-related programs. Later, a visit to the Augmented Reality Conference in California helped him flesh out the idea, and with some outside help from a programmer he turned it into an “in-house” adaptable application.

Utilizing the application, SOWELA students can hover a tablet or smart phone in front of a miniaturized “skid” inside SOWELA’s Phillips 66 Process Technology Building, thereby visualizing key processes and components that are digitally overlaid onto the physical surface. Animations and voiceover audio are strategically utilized to enhance the learning experience.

In the process, students are taught and tested on various processes and components.

The program meshes nicely with SOWELA’s move to a more labbased education and complements state process technology, or PTEC, curriculum. Lafargue says the product is also adaptable to other PTEC programs in the state.

Incidentally, he has been instrumental in developing the PTEC curriculum for the Louisiana Community and Technical College System. “The idea is to teach some very commonly used processes. We have skids for basic heating and

“People would die every single day in nearly every single industry in the U.S. without proper lockout-tagout protocol.

That is the way we protect our workers.

This game-based training tool will be used to more effectively teach those processes.”

REUBIN GOURLEY, director of industry workforce solutions, River Parishes Community College

1012industryreport.com

THE LOTO TOOL As another way to cater to the millennial mentality, River Parishes Community College and Fletcher Technical Community College are jointly developing a computer-based assessment tool that addresses “Lockout-Tagout,” a common procedure in all industrial environments.

Put simply, LOTO ensures that dangerous machines are properly shut off and incapable of being started prior to the completion of maintenance or repair work.

Speaking at the Oct. 1 Louisiana Governor’s Safety & Health Conference in Baton Rouge, Reubin Gourley, director of industry workforce solutions at RPCC, says the game is being marketed outside of the classroom to companies such as Chevron USA and Entergy. As potential users, the companies are providing subject matter experts for assistance in developing the game for both offshore and land-based applications.

Steven Lee, director of research and development at Fletcher, says the application is essentially a game-based assessment tool.

Utilizing a Unity 3D engine and C++ programming, the game can be loaded onto a flash drive and will be universal to any industrial system.

“It evaluates the competency of the players,” Lee says. “These may be new employees on a platform, experienced employees that are being re-evaluated or pre-employees going through the interview process.”

Through the game, the institutional partners are creating a virtual world where players immerse themselves in an offshore or inshore environment, interacting through an avatar to learn the LOTO process.

The avatar is programmed so that a player can pick up an object, press a button, or take other actions, sometimes making mistakes along the way. “We’re creating a lifelike scenario where the trainee has the opportunity to make up to 16 mistakes,” Lee says.

1012industryreport.com

Transforming passive learning into application The Alliance Safety Council in Baton Rouge recently collaborated with Heartwood, a California-based technology company, to develop a “Lockout-Tagout” virtual training package.

The training enables employees to perform the complex procedure safely and more accurately, without the expense or logistical hurdles associated with traditional, live training sessions. The interactive training program complies with OSHA standards and can be taken at the Alliance Safety Council or any of its affiliate locations, or remotely by computer or mobile device.

It consists of an instructional lesson, practical lesson and assessment.

Recognizing the need for a less expensive alternative to live training, Alliance Safety Council researched several training platforms and potential partners to bring the training to its members.

“Many traditional computer-based training programs are passive, which means the student receives information by listening and reading,” says Sheri Bankston, Alliance Safety Council’s director of education innovation. “While passive learning works well for most compliance training, where the goal is simple knowledge transfer, in some cases a more practical application is needed.

“Where possible, the application of knowledge through practical application can and should be used to increase knowledge retention.”

—Sam Barnes

GETTY IMAGES/ISTOCKPHOTO

and innovatively put it together in a way that is different, intriguing and engaging, and does exactly what you want it to do.” This fall, the product is in the beta test phase, as students and faculty help work out any bugs or issues.

10/12 INDUSTRY REPORT • FOURTH QUARTER 2018 39

FOCUS: DESIGN & CONSTRUCTION

PRODUCT SHOWCASE: VOOVIO AND SIMCOACH Voovio’s Enhanced Reality technology is a Simcoach Games is a new visual format that builds realistic, interPittsburgh-based technolactive and immersive replicas of production ogy spin-out of Carnegie environments using photographs taken with Mellon University dedicated a standard camera. Voovio’s procedural simto creating computer- and ulation tools, set within these replicas, enable cell phone-based video field operators to review, refresh and master games that inspire and connect individuals to critical procedures on any device. job opportunities. Since 2005, the company ER replicates process areas with photohas partnered with organizations in retail, graphic realism and total immersion, while construction, manufacturing, government being a sustainable solution that is easy to and health care to produce free and engaging update. It offers the process industry a viable games that help players discover their aptisolution for improving operating discipline in tudes and interests. field operations.

The Simcoach Skill Arcade is an innovative ER’s replica and simulation tools are bridge that spans the gap between people designed to improve efficiency, increase with the skills to be successful in careers production and reduce time to operator profiand the organizations that need them. One ciency. In the process, such game, Dig In!, Voovio hopes to assist caters to the prospective in an owner’s effort equipment operator. to improve operating The program begins in discipline, relieve the the training yard and cost and issues assosends the player through ciated with attrition, increasingly complicatreduce human error ed jobs. Players move and increase operator from basic moving and Issueproductivity.

Date: NOV Ad 3 proof #3 digging to working in a • Please respond by e-mail or fax with your approval or minor revisions.

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busy city with cars, bulldozers and other workers, racing to do the job right and on time while avoiding obstacles.

In the process, players use the same hand-eye coordination and spatial awareness used by heavy equipment operators in the real world. The game also shares career details such as wages and training requirements. Players interested in careers in heavy equipment operation can create a Simcoach Skill Arcade account and discover apprenticeship opportunities in the industry.

—S.B.

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MERGING OLD WITH NEW While excited by recent technological developments, David Hirsch, president and CEO of training service company Systran Inc. in Houston, says the key to any successful

SAM BARNES

The game comes with realistic graphics and artwork that accurately simulate a job environment. Additionally, existing 3D models can be incorporated into the game to create a customizable experience. “These companies are looking for an assessment tool to see if an employee, or potential employee, is ‘up to snuff,’ ” Lee says. “They don’t want to send them out to a platform and find out they’re not nearly as good as they claim to be.”

As Gourley notes, the game addresses one of the most important safety procedures in industry.

“People would die every single day in nearly every single industry in the U.S. without proper lockout-tagout protocol. That is the way we protect our workers. This game-based training tool will be used to more effectively teach those processes.”

“These companies are looking for an assessment tool to see if an employee, or potential employee, is ‘up to snuff.’

They don’t want to send them out to a platform and find out they’re not nearly as good as they claim to be.”

STEVEN LEE, director of research and development, Fletcher Technical Community College

training regimen is combining the old with the new.

Systran is a process-driven company that caters to the documentation and development needs of the hydrocarbon processing industry.

“Some time ago, we realized that if we didn’t begin adopting technology as part of our solution and continued with instructor-led training and paper-based solutions, we’d quickly become dinosaurs,” Hirsch explained

For nearly a century, Shell has been in step with the rhythm of Louisiana, celebrating our unique culture. More than 4,000 Louisiana Shell employees work day in and day out to deliver fuels, chemicals and consumer products that make life better for people here in Louisiana and around the world.

during his talk at the 2018 Downstream Conference in Galveston.

Hirsch says integrating augmented reality and simulations into an existing training and workforce platform is the most effective way to quickly fill vacant positions in the manufacturing environment.

The end game is to enable the trainee to better and more effectively integrate new information. Simulations, in their various forms, are an

excellent way to achieve this goal.

“A simulation can be done in a team environment,” he adds. “It’s not just one person working alone. Now we can have collaborative group simulations. Now we can reinforce teamwork. Now we can reinforce proper communication skills. We can create a complex experience that lets both sides work together and can actually measure that performance and give them feedback.”

The increasing mobility of technology is the most promising development, as it makes things available at the moment of need.

“You don’t have to go back in the house to retrieve the procedure,” Hirsch says. “You don’t have to go digging through that 3-inch binder to find what you need. It’s all there and it’s on a device.”

He stresses that traditional forms of training will never be entirely replaced by enhanced reality or simulations. Instead, these technologies will increasingly provide much-needed preliminary support to hands-on training.

ANNUAL TAXES | $228.5 million ANNUAL COMMUNITY GIVING | $20 million

We foster the creative energy of Shell men and women working in harmony at our three world-class manufacturing sites to grow our industry, build our communities and improve the quality of life in our state.

Louisiana is where we live, and we are proud to call it home.

Creative Energy – The Rhythm of Louisiana 1012industryreport.com

www.shell.us/louisiana 10/12 INDUSTRY REPORT • FOURTH QUARTER 2018 41

FOCUS: DESIGN & CONSTRUCTION

Preparing for the worst

BY SAM BARNES

LSU is a key player in a new effort to improve industry resilience.

THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

A

trait born out of necessity, Louisiana residents are nothing if not resilient. Countless times, they’ve faced down storms, then tackled the arduous task of putting the pieces back together in the aftermath.

And perhaps no group is better than the state’s petrochemical industry in preparing for, responding to and rebounding from whatever comes its way. What has been lacking, perhaps, is a collaborative environment where academia and industry leaders work together to share and benefit from best practices.

LSU’s Center for Energy Studies, as part of a team led by Texas A&M University, has plans to change all that, as it could soon assist industry in identifying and rectifying vulnerabilities in its response to storms. A new Engineering Research Center for

RIDING THE STORM: Above is Shell’s Norco Manufacturing Complex in St. Charles Parish along the Mississippi River. Planning has begun on a new Engineering Research Center for Resiliency Enhancement and Disaster-Impact Interception that could assist industry in identifying and rectifying vulnerabilities in its response to storms.

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Resiliency Enhancement and DisasTEES Gas and Fuels Research ter-Impact Interception (READII) Center at Texas A&M University, the could potentially be up and running University of Texas at Austin, Miswithin two years should the team sissippi State University, Tuskegee receive the necessary grant from the University in Alabama and Florida National Science Foundation.

Atlantic University.

The team cleared a critical hurdle this summer, when the NSF awarded COLLABORATING WITH INDUSTRY it a smaller, $150,000 planning grant The ERC READII would address for the center. David Dismukes, CES a number of critical topics, including executive director and a professor the impact of natural disasters on in the College of the Coast and manufacturing facilities and their reEnvironment at LSU, is part of this spective supply chains, the root causmultidisciplinary team that would es of manufacturing vulnerabilities, provide expertise in system integraestimating the dynamic relationships tion, disaster mitigation, economics, between manufacturing industries infrastructure, supply chain, system and their local communities, and modeling and optimization. identifying novel and proactive strat“The resiliency of the manufacegies and decision tools to facilitate turing sector along the Gulf Coast is manufacturing resiliency. becoming more important as the in“The ultimate goal is to improve dustry expands with billions in new the resiliency of infrastructure and investments,” Dismukes says. “This industry, and to provide information NSF award represents an excellent on how to improve that resiliency opportunity for CES to leverage over and share more information that a decade’s worth of research on the essentially de-risks the industry to role of critical energy infrastructure exposure from these kinds of events,” in this manufacturing Dismukes says.

Issue Date: 4Q Adresiliency proof #3 • Please respond by e-mail or fax with your approval or minor In revisions. process.” the process, industry groups • AD WILL RUN AS IS unless approval or final revisions Other participants include the such as the Louisiana Chemical are received by the close of business today.

• Additional revisions must be requested and may be subject to production fees.

Association, Louisiana Mid-Continent Oil and Gas Association and the Louisiana Oil & Gas Association would likely be involved in a collaborative role. Chris John, president of LMOGA in Baton Rouge, says it’s nothing new for his group to partner with CES, adding he looks forward to the effort. The association has had a “strong and professional working relationship with CES” on other issues facing industry, such as coastal erosion, climate change and more, he notes.

“The oil and gas industry is very attuned to the need for resilience when it comes to natural disasters,” John says. “We have a lot at stake from a human and infrastructure perspective. There is a massive amount of infrastructure that needs to be protected, whether it’s pipelines, inshore/offshore infrastructure, etc.”

Greg Bowser, LCA president, feels the endeavor could provide an excellent platform for sharing best practices, as some companies tend to work in silos. LCA has leaned upon the expertise of CES in the past on energy-related issues that impact

industry. “A lot of these large multinational companies are all doing their own individual planning and studies as it applies to their facilities and what they make. This provides an opportunity to put all those ideas in one place and to share best practices.

“Improved resiliency is not only better for the plants and those companies that own them, but for the employees, the contractors and the people that depend upon the products that they make.”

FOCUS ON ENERGY LSU’s CES was an obvious choice for the endeavor. It has been categorizing and identifying critical energy infrastructure since the late 1990s.

“It actually started before Hurricane Katrina, when we began working on infrastructure projects on behalf of the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management,” Dismukes says. The prevalence of natural disasters in the mid-2000s underscored the importance of the effort.

“We were well-positioned into looking at these issues, particularly as it relates to energy,” Dismukes says.

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10/12 INDUSTRY REPORT • FOURTH QUARTER 2018 43

“We’ve been updating that work on a year-to-year basis.”

As the planning grant was just awarded, Dismukes doesn’t yet have a clear vision of next steps, but feels certain that LSU’s area of focus will be the energy sector. “And not just resiliency issues in terms of bouncing back from catastrophic events, but those ongoing challenges that occur day in and day out; i.e., changes in weather patterns, flooding and sea level rise due to climate change.”

He’s optimistic that the LSU-Texas A&M team will receive the grant to create and operate the ERC READII, with an announcement perhaps by late 2019. With Texas A&M as the leader, LSU’s primary concentration would likely be in energy manufacturing and energy processing, with the goal of setting up direct interactions with industry, performing modeling and developing a feedback loop for best practices, simulations and so on.

THE GOAL OF RESILIENCY There’s no “one size fits all” for a resilient critical infrastructure. It

GETTY IMAGES/ISTOCKPHOTO

FOCUS: DESIGN & CONSTRUCTION

MANUFACTURING RESILIENCY: If funded, the ERC READII would address a number of critical topics, including the impact of natural disasters on manufacturing facilities and their respective supply chains.

varies by infrastructure type and by event, and can range from hardening activities to general response to prepositioning and staging equipment prior to an event.

Nonetheless, the ERC READII Center would go beyond examining the direct impacts to offshore and onshore operations to exploring the wide-ranging and potentially cascading effects that can occur. Additionally, it would consider the relationship between various industries and the

44 10/12 INDUSTRY REPORT • FOURTH QUARTER 2018

communities they inhabit.

The center would perform a wide range of functions, including examining infrastructure, exposure and risk to catastrophic events.

Fortunately, LSU has been compiling such data for decades. “That’s why we are well-positioned, and why they came to us,” Dismukes says. “We’ve become the ‘go-to place,’ particularly with the offshore regulators, in terms of understanding the implications of how infrastructure is impacted by

these catastrophic events.”

Since 2010, CES has been working under a separate $1.2 million NSF grant to examine issues relative to sea level rise and how it impacts communities along the Gulf Coast. The ERC READII Center will assimilate LSU’s existing data into the process, “disseminating the information to industry and government and understanding the depth and the breadth of those issues.” The work produced by the ERC READII would extend to the entire value chain—refineries, pipelines, power and electricity, gas processing and fractionation, among others.

Following a year of meeting and planning, Dismukes expects the team to develop a full proposal. The strength of the proposal, as well as the degree of industry participation, will determine whether it goes to the next level. If all goes as planned, the center could be operational in 2020.

The location of the facility— whether housed at Texas A&M or LSU—is still up in the air, but Dismukes expects that certain components would be located at LSU.

1012industryreport.com

DISCOVER SOUTH LOUISIANA’S ACADIANA REGION

SPECIAL ADVERTISING SECTION

: ACADIANA WHERE CULTURE MEETS INGENUITY K

nown for everything from internationally recognized business to unparalleled recreational opportunities, the bustling region of South Louisiana has something for everyone. The New York Times calls South Louisiana “the last cohesive cultural enclave in the United States.” The entire region is rich in Acadian French heritage, and South Louisiana’s residents stay true to their Cajun and Creole roots,

1012industryreport.com

infusing tradition into everyday modern life.

An important center of industry, history, and the arts, Lafayette is the hub of Acadiana culture, anchored by a vibrant downtown area filled with commerce, cultural activities, bars, and restaurants.

Lafayette has a downtown designed for business and pleasure.

Huge bald cypress trees line the streets and there are signs of urban renewal all around.

“SOUTH LOUISIANA IS THE LAST COHESIVE CULTURAL ENCLAVE IN THE UNITED STATES.” —The New York Times

10/12 INDUSTRY REPORT • FOURTH QUARTER 2018 45

DISCOVER SOUTH LOUISIANA’S ACADIANA REGION

SPECIAL ADVERTISING SECTION

Cleco Corporation

Bayou Rum distillery Downtown Lafayette

46 10/12 INDUSTRY REPORT • FOURTH QUARTER 2018

1012industryreport.com

DISCOVER SOUTH LOUISIANA’S ACADIANA REGION

SPECIAL ADVERTISING SECTION

BUSINESS IS BOOMING

T

his is a place with an economic landscape as rich as its cultural roots. Lafayette has shown itself to be economically resilient since the recession, with a low area unemployment rate and competitive wages. A recent tech boom – sparked by public and private investments – gives a glimpse into the bright future of this region.

Home to McIlhenny Company and its legendary TABASCO® pepper sauce, this region is known for nurturing generations of mold-breaking brands. This wildcatting and entrepreneurial legacy continues with fresh newcomers like Bayou Rum and food delivery tech company Waitr.

Both companies are experiencing significant growth out of the gates. After an exceptional proof of concept run, Waitr was recently purchased for $308 million and will continue to call South Louisiana home even as it will be traded on the NASDAQ. Likewise, Bayou Rum has become buzzworthy — handmade from Louisiana sugarcane in the largest privately-owned rum distillery in the US, it’s America’s most decorated rum.

Between South Louisiana’s diverse infrastructural network and its nation leading workforce development program, the region is ripe for expansion. This dynamic pairing allows tech companies like CGI Group, Perficient, and Global Data Systems to flourish alongside international manufacturers like Stuller Inc. and Frank’s International.

Falcon rice mill, Crowley

POPULATION & WORKFORCE • 9 parish region population: 691,000 • Lafayette MSA population: 491,558 (3rd largest MSA in Louisiana) • 1.4 million people within a 60-mile radius

GEOGRAPHY OF THE REGION • 9 parish region located midway between Houston and New Orleans with the Lafayette MSA as the hub city.

• South Louisiana sits at the intersection of Interstates I-10 and I-49.

• Regional workforce over 300,000 people

Stuller Jewelry, Lafayette

CGI, Lafayette

MAJOR EMPLOYERS Company Name

Jobs

Industry

Lafayette General Hospital

4200

Health Care

University of Louisiana at Lafayette

2000

Higher Education

Stuller Inc

1200

Manufacturing

Oceaneering

1200

Oil and Gas

Acadian Companies

950

Transportation/Health

1012industryreport.com

10/12 INDUSTRY REPORT • FOURTH QUARTER 2018 47

Building the In astructure of the Future South Louisiana's rich accessibility network has you and your operations covered, and we're developing a different kind of in astructure: our workforce pipeline.

Learn how we're aligning higher education resources with businesses’ needs to create tomorrow's tech workforce.

Start, Locate, or Expand in

REAL INNOVAT ION

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Jim Bourgeois O: 337.408.3662 | Jim@OneAcadiana.org SouthLouisiana.org Lafayette, LA 48 10/12 INDUSTRY REPORT • FOURTH QUARTER 2018

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DISCOVER SOUTH LOUISIANA’S ACADIANA REGION

SPECIAL ADVERTISING SECTION

FERTILE MINDS GROW HERE

T

his region is home to a growing talent pipeline shaped by long-standing sectors like oil and gas, health care and advanced manufacturing. It continues to be cultivated by demand from sectors like software and aviation.

The workforce pipeline is strong.

Major employers from a variety of industries hire from this highly trained

talent base, thanks to strong publicprivate partnerships in the region.

Business leaders work together strategically with higher education institutions like the University of Louisiana at Lafayette, Louisiana State University Eunice and South Louisiana Community College. With a talent pipeline fueled by more than 75,000 postsecondary students and

University of Louisiana Lafayette

Issue Date: Q4 Ad proof #3

• Please respond by e-mail or fax with your approval or minor revisions.

• AD WILL RUN AS IS unless approval or final revisions are received by the close of business today.

• Additional revisions must be requested and may be subject to production fees.

backed by the nationally ranked LED FastStart program Acadiana has transformed workforce recruitment and development into a science.

The LED FastStart program creates customized workforce recruitment and training solutions to eligible companies, for free. Each unique program package is crafted with a specific business in mind, ensuring trained professionals are prepared and ready for work on day one.

South Louisiana Community College’s International School of Aviation Excellence, which brought a pilot training program to the community college while expanding its current Aviation Maintenance Technology Program. The new 11,250- square-foot training facility sits on 5.54 acres of land adjacent to Acadiana Regional Airport in New Iberia.

University of Louisiana at Lafayette was ranked as the most affordable university in the state, with the lowest net price (balancing scholarships with external student expenses) to attend at $5,233 a semester.

Acadiana proud since 1942

Metal Shark boats, Jeanerette

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R E S U LT S .

Governmental Affairs & Lobbying | Association & Issues Management | Business Consulting | Public & Private Procurement Louisiana | Washington, D.C. 1012industryreport.com

www.thepicardgroup.com 10/12 INDUSTRY REPORT • FOURTH QUARTER 2018 49

DISCOVER SOUTH LOUISIANA’S ACADIANA REGION

SPECIAL ADVERTISING SECTION

LOCALLY POWERED. GLOBALLY CONNECTED

Market accessibility is an important differentiator for growing companies.

Having instant and reliable access to the surrounding world is paramount for reaching consumers, suppliers, and collaborators.

LEADING THE WORLD

Lafayette’s LUS Fiber offers upload speed of 1000 Mbps and a download speed of 1000 Mbps. This is so fast, it earned Lafayette the #6 spot alongside Tokyo and Hong Kong on The Times Free Press list of the top 10 global cities with the fastest internet in the world.

This ultra-high speed supports expansion because you have plenty of room to grow without sacrificing speed of productivity.

ACCESSIBLE INFRASTRUCTURE

Market accessibility is an important differentiator for growing companies.

Having instant and reliable access to the surrounding world is paramount for reaching consumers, suppliers, and collaborators.

HB-KELV-1012-8.875x5.pdf

1

Strategically located at the crossroads of I-10 and I-49, the Acadiana region offers two Class 1 rail lines, seven coastal ports and two commercial airports.

This interconnectivity provides companies with optimal access to shipping and transportation routes, reaching 38 interior states via the Mississippi River and international destinations via the Gulf of Mexico.

TWO COMMERCIAL AIRPORTS

FOUR RAIL SYSTEMS

FIVE COASTAL PORTS

TWO INLAND PORTS

Lafayette Regional Airport

Two Class I

Port of Iberia

Port of Krotz Springs

DEVELOPMENT-READY SITES

Poised for future growth, South Louisiana is also home to a number of industrial sites. With ample low-cost land prime for development, more companies are taking advantage of opportunities to expand their footprint.

10/8/18

Acadiana Regional Airport

BNSF Union Pacific

Port of Morgan City

Two Class II Louisiana and Delta Railroad Acadiana Railway Company

Port of Vermilion

Port of Mermentau

Port of West St. Mary Twin Parish Port

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Good for business. Good for life.

1012industryreport.com

DISCOVER SOUTH LOUISIANA’S ACADIANA REGION

SPECIAL ADVERTISING SECTION

GOOD TIMES ABOUND

F

rom its vibrant hub city of Lafayette to neighboring locales rich with Acadian French heritage, South Louisiana’s residents embrace a lifestyle of working hard and playing harder. It’s a place where home and heart meet—a colorful mixture of bootstrap-grabbers and envelope pushers who never sacrifice quality for quantity and the only standard of living is living well.

SOUTH LOUISIANA’S HUB CITY NATIONALLY RECOGNIZED

Parc Sans Souci

A Harvard study ranked Lafayette as the happiest city in America - and rightfully so. From global cultural events, like Festival International, to arts and enrichment opportunities like Art Walk, Rhythms on the River, Bach Lunch and more, residents can experience life out loud with a variety of entertainment activities. Lafayette is a vibrant city offering the perfect mix of city-life with a down home spirit. In addition, Travel & Leisure

magazine ranked Lafayette the 17th best college town in America, for being the “most well-rounded” with its wide array of cafes, bars, burgers, and of course, friendly people.

If you prefer to mix food with your fun, buckle up. The hub city was also named the “Tastiest Town in the South” by Southern Living. With the region’s annual array of food festivals, cookoffs, culinary classes, and cultural influence, any local excursion will leave you hungry for more. From attending festivals to

exploring the sportsman’s paradise, there is no shortage of things to do in South Louisiana.

Spend the day visiting Avery Island, home to the McIlhenny Company and its legendary TABASCO® pepper sauce Tabasco factory. Here you’ll learn the history of the company and observe the process of producing and distributing this iconic South Louisiana product around the world.

Guided tours are available, as well as a new self-guided 10-stop tour through the greenhouse, barrel warehouse, factory building, and country store.

Travel to St. Martinville to see some of the oldest oak trees in the country including the Evangeline Oak which attracts 15,000-20,000 people each year. Enjoy the abundance of live music around the region. The Festival International de Louisiane is the largest international music and arts festival in the United States with a special emphasis on the connection between Acadiana and the

Francophone world with an estimated economic impact of 49 million annually. When you finally take it all in, it’s no mystery why the region is one of the most sought-after places in the South to invest, work, and live.

PRIME PROPERTY AVAILABLE CALL 364-1065 TODAY! Craig F. Romero – Executive Director

BUSINESS GROWTH & PORT EXPANSION The Port of Iberia in New Iberia, LA is in the final stages of acquiring approximately 146 acres for expansion. According to Port of Iberia Executive Director, Craig Romero, the Port is purchasing 106 acres for $5.5 million, under the previously appraisal value ranging from $8 to $16 million. “We’re excited about this great deal,” stated Romero. The other 40 acre expansion will include new canal construction giving more access to the Port of Iberia. Romero said, “We have two companies interested in both sites. We’re looking into establishing a foreign trade zone on the property as well as making infrastructure improvements. If these companies choose the Port of Iberia they will enhance what we already do here.”

Business growth continues at the Port of Iberia. RedGuard, an expert in the design and build of blast-resistant buildings is fully operational on 9 acres and are discussing possible expansion.

Custom Compression Systems chose the Port of Iberia due to its strategic location for shipping.

They have direct access to the Gulf of Mexico, the Port of Houston, the Port of New Orleans, inland locations by barge via the Mississippi River and on into areas of the Northeast. Custom Compression Systems is the only gas compression packager in the United States with this unique capability available from their facility. Dynamic Industries, Inc. continues to fabricate pre-assembly modules for one of the world’s largest energy companies.

Craig Romero discusses blast-resistant buildings with James Osborn of RedGuard.

Craig Romero touring Custom Compression Systems with Joey Belfour.

P.O. Box 9986, New Iberia, LA 70562-9986 • Phone (337) 364-1065 • Fax (337) 364-3136 • E-mail: info@portofiberia.com • www.portofiberia.com

1012industryreport.com

10/12 INDUSTRY REPORT • FOURTH QUARTER 2018 51

INSIGHT Why an offshore recovery may never happen

FIGURE 1 Offshore Trends Number of rigs, GOM total

200

$160

180

$140

Number of Rigs

$120

140 120

$100

100

$80

80

$60

60

$40

40

$20

20 0 Jan-00

Crude Oil Price ($/Bbl)

160

Jan-03 Crude Oil

Jan-06

Jan-09

Jan-12

Natural Gas

Jan-15

Jan-18

$0

Crude Oil Price

Baker Hughes, U.S. Energy Information Administration Source: Baker Hughes North America Rig Count.

52 10/12 INDUSTRY REPORT • FOURTH QUARTER 2018

© LSU Center for Energy Studies

1

Offshore Trends GOM crude oil reserves and production.

GOM Crude Oil Proved Reserves (Billion Bbls)

R

ecent economic news, coupled with the recent buoyancy in crude oil prices, has started to inject a degree of optimism about the opportunities for a rebound in offshore Gulf of Mexico crude oil and natural gas activity.

Unfortunately, it is unlikely that GOM offshore oil and gas activity will return to levels experienced in the past due to a number of structural changes that are intertied with

FIGURE 2

6

700

5

600 500

4

400

3

300

2

200

1 0

100 1981

1986

1991

1996

2001

Crude Oil Reserves

2006

2011

2016

0

GOM Crude Oil Production (Million BBls)

DAVID DISMUKES

the emergence of unconventional oil and natural gas development.

While it is true that unconventional wells can be drilled quicker, often easier, and less expensively than their offshore counterparts, this only explains a part of the structural change in the offshore GOM. A close review of historic drilling rig activity and production numbers helps to explain a larger part of this structural shift.

Offshore drilling activity over the past two decades has not been evenly distributed between crude oil and natural gas activities. In fact, as Figure 1 clearly shows, most of the offshore activity over the past twenty years (80% to 90%) has focused on natural gas development.

During this time period, the GOM was one of the most expansive and concentrated regions for U.S. natural gas production, accounting for as much as 25% of all U.S. natural gas supplies prior to Hurricane Katrina.

During this time, the concentra-

Crude Oil Production

U.S. Energy Information Administration Source: U.S. Energy Information Administration.

tion of natural gas production came with a cost: a very high number of active rigs given the increasingly lower marginal productivity of the resources being developed. Active rigs in the GOM were in excess of 80 for the better part of the decade and did not fall below 60 until the 2008-2009 economic recession, when natural gas demand started to flatline and natural gas prices started to fall.

Drilling trends, however, have changed dramatically since the 2008-2009 economic recession, when crude oil prices began their upward ascent to $100 per barrel (Bbl). Post-recession crude oil prices flipped offshore drilling emphasis away from natural gas and towards crude oil development.

Rig activity became more subdued after the recession, reaching a high point of 60 active offshore rigs before the 2014 crude oil price crash.

Since that time, the offshore rig count, which continues to be dominated by crude-oil based rigs, has remained around 20 despite a

© LSU Center for Energy Studies

2

surge in prices from their 2016 low of about $28/Bbl. On a positive note, the post-recession emphasis on crude oil drilling has led to a reversal of the two decades old productivity declines seen in the offshore GOM. Most of the crude oil rigs put into action after the last recession have led to a prolific increase in offshore crude oil production and reserves. Figure 2, for instance, shows that annual GOM offshore production is currently at a 35-year high of some 600 million Bbls and reserves are only slightly down from their prior 35 year high of 4.8 billion Bbls.

The last piece of the puzzle in understanding the structural change in offshore activity rests with recognizing “where” this activity is occurring within the offshore GOM. Figure 3 highlights the number of wells drilled in the offshore GOM based on water depth. The chart shows that while shallow water activity (that occurring in less than 1,000 feet of water) has been failing considerably over the past decade, 1012industryreport.com

The offshore GOM activity that remains will likely focus exclusively on fewer, longer-term yet larger producing crude oil wells in deep water. In fact, using drilling rigs as a “barometer” for offshore activity has probably passed its usefulness. deep water activity has been relatively constant and almost insensitive to prices.

Thus, the declining fortunes for the GOM can almost entirely be attributable to the composition change in offshore drilling away from “higher frequency” natural gas drilling in shallow water, and to longer-horizon, more capital-intensive crude oil drilling in deep water.

Hence, it is unlikely that the current increases in crude oil price will lead to a level of offshore activity reminiscent of the prior two decades. Natural gas development in shallow water appears to have been completely ceded to onshore unconventional activity.

The offshore GOM activity that remains will likely focus exclusively on fewer, longer-term yet larger producing crude oil wells in deep water.

In fact, using drilling rigs as a “barometer” for offshore activity has probably passed its usefulness. Figure 2 clearly shows that a handful of highly-sophisticated drilling ships and floaters can lead to a prolific amount of crude oil

production. This enhances the productivity of all resources used for offshore development—not just capital, but labor as well.

The good news is that the employment opportunities associated with this continuous and steady crude oil-oriented deepwater activity will lead to jobs that, while more limited in total number than what has been seen in the past, are highly specialized and high paying.

This also means that the GOM will continue to be an important crude oil producing basin that can hold its own with many individual unconventional plays like the Bakken, Eagle Ford, and even the Permian. The bad news, however, is that the offshore GOM has traded “high-churn” activity with “high-value” activity, and that trend will likely not change anytime soon.

David Dismukes is a professor and the executive director of the Center for Energy Studies at Louisiana State University. He holds a joint academic appointment in the department of environmental sciences, where he regularly teaches a course on energy and the environment.

LAND ROVER DISCOVERY

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FIGURE 3 Offshore Trends GOM wells drilled by water depth.

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1,400

Number of wells drilled

1,200 1,000 800 600

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400 200 -

1990

1995

2000 Shallow

2005

2010

2015

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Deep

Vehicle shown: 2018 Land Rover Discovery HSE. See Land Rover Baton Rouge or call 225-756-5247 for details. © 2018 Jaguar Land Rover North America, LLC

Bureau of Ocean and Energy Management, U.S. Department of the Interior Note: Shallow water is less than 1,000 feet; deep water is greater than 1,000 feet; and 2018 data is estimate using year-to-date monthly averages. © LSU Center for Energy Studies Source: Bureau of Ocean and Energy Management, U.S. Department of the Interior.

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3

10/12 INDUSTRY REPORT • FOURTH QUARTER 2018 53

INSIGHT

Another petrochemical expansion wave begins: Are we ready?

T

he last few years saw a tremendous inpouring of capital investment across the state that in 2016 and 2017 tapered off. The year 2018 has been fruitful, and the future is looking even more promising for those that are encouraged by industrial growth.

Presently at least $100 billion of new investments have been announced and the number could be significantly higher. Companies seeking to make money off of abundant, low-priced natural gas are attracted to invest in Louisiana—and, of course, Texas.

With this new wave of investment comes new opportunity. Opportunities are there for the obvious—direct suppliers to industry for things like valves, process equipment, personal protective equipment, food catering, uniforms and such.

And there is opportunity as well for things we might not think of right away, like schools and universities, local governments, fire departments, and associations and chambers.

Hotels and homebuilders should be busy as well.

But are we ready as a community?

Are we welcoming the growth? For the most part I’d have to say that Louisianans are a welcoming bunch and aim to make any newcomers feel at home; however, there are a few

54 10/12 INDUSTRY REPORT • FOURTH QUARTER 2018

If we had $1 billion in the bank right now to spend on a new bridge, the first car wouldn’t cross it for another 10-plus years.

With the unprecedented new growth coming, it is now time to get our southern, mid- and northern regions of the state engaged to meet the workforce needs. More people in these regions should be encouraged to enroll in training to prepare them for industrial careers.

Louisiana Calling is an awareness campaign designed to promote industrial careers, as is Build Your Future Louisiana. If you know of someone considering a career change or a young person trying to decide on a career path, there are many resources to help them learn about industrial careers, which include everything from chemical engineering and construction to skilled crafts such as welding or pipefitting. Concrete finishing and scaffold building are great places to start as well.

There are many clerical positions, computer techs, marketing and financial positions available as well.

The rising tide of industry growth lifts all boats, so that will mean there may be a need for more teachers in schools, more police and fire fighters

and more clergy in growing communities.

Have you driven through Ascension Parish lately? The number of housing subdivisions built over the last few years is incredible to see.

There are thousands and thousands of fairly new homes there. I took a drive around the parish last year considering a move and was awestruck.

So are we ready for the next wave of industrial growth? In many ways I do think so, because we’ve got very talented and resourceful people who will rise to the occasion and seize this time of opportunity. The areas with challenges need all of us to pull together, get engaged and put our best ideas forward.

Engage with your clergy and elected officials and voice your opinion.

Consider getting more involved with an association, visiting with school board and city council members, mayors, or your sheriff. And be sure to vote on election days.

Connie P. Fabré is the executive director of the Greater Baton Rouge Industry Alliance Inc. Louisiana Calling is an awareness campaign designed to promote industrial careers.

DON KADAIR

CONNIE FABRÉ

sticking points to all this growth, and it’s not all that easy to say that we are prepared.

For instance, traffic and the infrastructure to move the workforce and to move goods could use a boost. With the region being down one Mississippi River bridge [as of late October], things are even more strained than usual, to put it mildly.

And the fix for traffic improvements do not come overnight. If we had $1 billion in the bank right now to spend on a new bridge, the first car wouldn’t cross it for another 10-plus years. Each parish in the region is considering carefully what they can ask taxpayers to fund. East Baton Rouge Parish is a “commuter parish,” meaning that many people from other parishes come for work and shopping each day, and they use the infrastructure and buy goods in EBR. Mayor Sharon Weston Broome is championing the MOVEBR tax proposal. The proposal has been studied by many and is supported by the Capital Region Industry for Sustainable Infrastructure (CRISIS) group. Many community meetings have been and are planning to be held to gain taxpayer support.

No one likes a tax; however, to keep up with the area’s growth, a tax appears to be the only solution. Last year a property tax was suggested, but this year a sales tax is being proposed, which will spread the tax across more people due to the daily in- and out-migration of people.

Another area to think about is our workforce. Since 2012 much has been done to significantly increase career and technical training in high schools, community colleges and at Associated Builders and Contractors.

Programs have expanded workforce training tremendously, doubling craft credentials being gained each year compared to 2010 levels in the Capital Region. In the Lake Charles region, new training centers were built as well.

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SPE C I AL AD V E RT I SI N G SE C T I O N

Company

SPOTLIGHTS Beard Construction Group, LLC Duplantis Design Group Dominion Materials Fabrication Services, Inc. MMR Group

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10/12 INDUSTRY REPORT • FOURTH QUARTER 2018 57

SPE C I AL AD V E RT I SI N G SE C T I O N

BEARD CONSTRUCTION GROUP, LLC ABOUT OUR COMPANY

Beard Construction Group LLC is an industrial construction firm established in 2004 specializing in all phases of civil construction services.

The quality of our workforce is second to none, and the construction experience of our management and field supervisors ranges from 15 to 38 years. BCG celebrated entering our 15th year of business in 2018 with a re-brand. Our new logo and website signifies a renewal of our commitment to this industry and staying on top of the ever-changing technologies and techniques that enable us to remain at the forefront of an increasingly competitive market. Our safety- and quality-first mindset continues to drive our business and success. BCG has successfully completed in excess of 450 projects for over 200 different clients.

WHAT WE DO

BCG’s mission is to provide its customers with superior quality, safe work performance, competitive pricing and a high level of customer service. In achieving this goal, BCG will provide only the most qualified supervision with a workforce who have a history of safe work performance and a proven track record. We are a complete civil contractor specializing in earthwork, mass excavation, site preparation, concrete foundations, containment walls, concrete paving, roads, parking, rail, storm-water drainage, landfill construction, brine ponds, impoundment closures and all civil services. Primarily serving the industrial and 58 10/12 INDUSTRY REPORT • FOURTH QUARTER 2018

manufacturing market, our experience includes performing heavy civil construction for large expansion projects, major grassroots facilities and also small capital projects. BCG has worked with a large and diversified client base and excels at working in the most challenging and unique soil conditions native to the Gulf South region, performing all civil services. Management and field supervisors have extensive experience in managing and performing small, medium, and multimillion-dollar industrial expansions and capital projects, solid waste facilities, military upgrades, and other specialty projects. BCG is headquartered in Port Allen, with additional offices in Lake Charles and Alexandria. BCG services clients throughout Louisiana, Texas, Mississippi, Alabama, Arkansas, Tennessee and South Carolina.

OUTLOOK

A strong U.S. economy, rising oil prices and low natural gas prices will continue to fuel industrial growth throughout the Gulf South region. Beard is competitively positioned to continue providing our clients with cost-effective, quality work that is supported with high safety standards and top customer service.

TOP EXECUTIVES James A. Beard, President Keith B. Coleman, Executive Vice President L. Grant Witty, III, Vice President, Project Services Matthew L. Milton, Vice President, Operations

YEAR FOUNDED 2004

NUMBER OF EMPLOYEES 218

HEADQUARTERS 3970 Rosedale Road Port Allen, LA 70767 225.387.2339

WEBSITE

beardconstructiongroup.com

WHAT TO EXPECT IN THE FUTURE

Excellence is achieved when each individual within the company is focused on delivering their best.

At Beard Construction Group, we strive to excel in every aspect of our business. We believe through continuous improvement, teamwork, strong leadership and the desire to excel, we can meet the goals we set for ourselves and uphold the commitment of excellence we make to our customers.

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SPE C I AL AD V E RT I SI N G SE C T I O N

DUPLANTIS DESIGN GROUP ABOUT OUR COMPANY

In 1997, DDG began as a small, local civil engineering firm based in Thibodaux, Louisiana.

From the very beginning, we believed that exceeding our clients’ expectations was the only way to achieve long-term success. In the 21 years since our founding, our unwavering commitment to client service excellence has allowed us to grow into a multidisciplinary regional firm with over 100 full-time employees with offices in Thibodaux, Covington, Baton Rouge, Lafayette and Houston. Originally offering services in civil engineering, we have methodically expanded our services to include architecture, coastal and water resources engineering, landscape architecture, and most recently specialized services in structural engineering and land surveying. Through the hiring of key staff and strategic partnerships with specialty firms, DDG has proven the capability to cost-effectively deliver a wide range of services and support.

WHAT WE DO

DDG is a soup-to-nuts design firm and is exceptionally experienced in managing all aspects of development projects. In addition to our design services, we also provide clients with conceptual site planning, site investigation reports, assisting with property acquisitions, representation 1012industryreport.com

at public hearings, permitting, entitlements, and construction administration. Our firm’s portfolio is very diverse in project types— industrial, retail, commercial, single family and multifamily subdivisions, restaurants, medical facilities, municipal improvement projects, parks and recreation, and coastal restoration and protection. We have experience assisting clients with many project delivery methods, including build to suit, reverse build to suit, design assist, design bid build, etc.

OUTLOOK

DDG will continue to remain flexible as trends in the marketplace and geography shift. We pride ourselves on the ability to be nimble to always put our clients and employees first. We remain cautiously optimistic with an appreciation that our core values of RICE (Respect. Integrity. Client Satisfaction. Excellence.) will produce success.

TOP EXECUTIVES David Duplantis, PE – Founder and CEO Matthew Newchurch, PE, MBA – President Tommy Buckel, PE – Vice President of Engineering Kyle Domangue, AIA, NCARB – Vice President of Architecture

YEAR FOUNDED 1997

NUMBER OF EMPLOYEES 100+

HEADQUARTERS 314 East Bayou Road Thibodaux, LA 70301 985.447.0090

WEBSITE ddgpc.com

WHAT TO EXPECT IN THE FUTURE DDG implemented a 5-year plan in early 2017 to provide not only growth for our company, but advantageous opportunities for our current employees. Several key goals of the plan have already been achieved and are prime examples of DDG’s dedication to the industry. From adding service lines to office locations, our focus remains the same - delivering successful projects and providing excellence to our clients

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SPE C I AL AD V E RT I SI N G SE C T I O N

DOMINION MATERIALS ABOUT OUR COMPANY

Dominion Group, along with our affiliated companies, prides ourselves on searching outside of the box to find solutions that best meet the needs of our individual clients and projects. We do that by providing the mining operations, transport logistics and terminal operations of bulk materials under one roof, saving our clients time, energy and money.

WHAT WE DO

We are proud to be uniquely American.

With headquarters in Baton Rouge, Dominion Materials is the only industrial American company that can claim to be both a producer, transporter and provider of domestic bulk materials. This distinct advantage starts with one of our quarries, Cape Quarry, which is located outside of Cape Girardeau, Missouri. It is the southernmost limestone quarry located on the Mississippi River and there are no locks to traverse in route to the southern Mississippi River and Gulf Coast markets. This reduction in freight distance and time of delivery cuts the costs of transportation, which we pass on to our customers. This small example of our strategic vision in action is one of the things that makes us an industry leader as a turn-key bulk materials producer and provider, marine terminal operator and transportation and logistics provider servicing the Mississippi and tributary rivers and Gulf Coast markets.

60 10/12 INDUSTRY REPORT • FOURTH QUARTER 2018

TOP EXECUTIVES Trey Cline Corey Melancon Chase LaPlace Chris Graham

Limestone isn’t the sole product we mine for our clients and projects, though: With multiple mine and pit locations spanning from the Gulf states all the way up to Missouri, Dominion can offer an expansive selection of materials to meet your needs, including limestone, fill sand, concrete sand, frac sand, structural fill, nonstructural fill, gravel, asphalt, lime, cement and fly-ash.

We cover all your marine logistical needs including overseas and inland marine transportation, ship and barge loading and unloading, fleeting, mid-stream trans loading, cleaning and commodity storage. Dominion Group has multiple terminal locations along the Mississippi Waterway System ranging in size and capabilities.

OUTLOOK

We are bullish on industrial construction.

Everywhere we look, our clients are expanding, starting new operations and announcing new projects. And each time they do, all-American insudtry leader, Dominion Materials, will be here for their bulk materials needs.

YEAR FOUNDED 2016

NUMBER OF EMPLOYEES 30

HEADQUARTERS

1201 Airline Highway, Tract C-1 Baton Rouge, LA 70805

WHAT TO EXPECT IN THE FUTURE To continually better serve our clients and deliver on their projects, we will keep a growth-oriented mindset. We will continue growing our mining operations, expanding our hauling units, and building our transport network of elite carriers of barge fleets and modern tracking technology to guarantee each project runs smoothly and efficiently every time.

CONTACT INFORMATION dominiongp.com

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SPE C I AL AD V E RT I SI N G SE C T I O N

FABRICATION SERVICES, INC. ABOUT OUR COMPANY

FSI was started by Adrian D’Armond and Warren Zeringue in 1970 as a 2,500-square-foot structural steel shop and grew over the next 10 years to a 10,000-square-foot facility. In 1983 Warren decided he wanted to pursue a degree in theology, and Adrian bought his stock in the company. In 1984, Adrian added a 5,000-square-foot heavy forming and assembly shop with 10-ton overhead cranes, a 3/4” X 10’ Bertsch plate roll, and a 1,000-ton hydraulic brake press. As the economy began to recover from the early ’80s crisis and the business grew, Adrian was joined by wife Christy in 1986 and in 1988 FSI acquired an ASME code stamp, shifting from structural steel to pressure vessels. Adrian and Christy expanded the shop again in 1990, adding a 10,000-square-foot assembly shop with 10-ton overhead cranes and a 2” X 10’ Bertsch plate roll.

In declining health, Adrian stepped down in 2014, turning operations over to Christy. FSI became an SBA-certified woman-owned business in 2018.

WHAT WE DO

During our 48-year history in the industial steel fabrication business we have seen and done it all—at all hours of the day and night. In this business our customers expect us to be there for them 24/7, and we always are. Along the way we have fabricated everything from platforms and ladders to custom grating, API tanks, waste 1012industryreport.com

YEAR FOUNDED 1970

NUMBER OF EMPLOYEES 15

HEADQUARTERS

37160 Greenwell Springs Road Greenwell Springs, LA 70739

water treatment systems, towers, ductwork, reactors, heat exchangers, pressure vessels and anything else that the plants in the this area need.

For several years during the recession in the 1980s, we did architectural steel for malls and riverwalks. We provided a large portion of the structural steel for the construction of the New Orleans World Fair in 1984, which became the River Walk. Our shop foreman, Harold has been with us since 1977. He was hired for a two week temporary job. With 41 years of hands on experience, Harold is a master at fabrication. He takes personal pride in everything that leaves our shop.

OUTLOOK

With Louisiana perched on the edge of the biggest industrial boom since the 1950s, Fabrication Services is here to provide many of the products and services that it will take to bring Louisiana back as a top supplier of oil, gas, petrochemicals and energy.

WEBSITE

heavysteelfabrication.com

WHAT TO EXPECT IN THE FUTURE

After a record year in 2015, FSI was on track to move ahead under the new leadership and the dedicated family of employees. And then, Mother Nature intervened. We were just a part of the devastation caused by the record flooding in August 2016. Twelve feet of water roared through our shop, but we rebuilt. In 2018 we made the decision to hire a business development person. Kyle Armstrong joins us with 30 years of experience in the industrial sector. We have been a dependable supplier to our customers and have relied on repeat business and word of mouth throughout the years, but we feel like we have valuable services to offer and we need a way to let potential customers know about us. We have been in the same location for 48 years and some people have never heard of us. It’s time to change that.

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SPE C I AL AD V E RT I SI N G SE C T I O N

MMR GROUP ABOUT OUR COMPANY

MMR has served as an industry leader in instrumentation and electrical construction, maintenance and technical services for over 50 years. MMR is the largest privately owned, open-shop electrical and instrumentation contractor in the United States, with revenues of $650 million in 2017 and a staff of 5,500 employees.

With over 25 branch offices in North and South America, MMR has the unique ability to support a diverse group of clients in the chemical and petrochemical, oil and gas, industrial manufacturing and power generation markets.

WHAT WE DO

1985

NUMBER OF EMPLOYEES Certified Inspector and offers estimating, design and 3D modeling capabilities.

MMR also provides a secure environment to conduct Factory Acceptance Testing (FAT), and live webcam technology enables customers to remotely monitor their projects from inception to completion as well as remotely participate in equipment testing.

Additionally, MMR makes shipping safer, costefficient and worry-free by coordinating transportation and utilizing two 40-ton bridge cranes, with weight cell capabilities, for equipment load out.

2018 AS SEEN IN GREATER BATON ROUGE BUSINESS REPORT’S 2018 TOP 100 PRIVATE COMPANIES

Top 100 va

i

62 10/12 INDUSTRY REPORT • FOURTH QUARTER 2018

YEAR FOUNDED

Pr

MMR has recently expanded operations at its headquarters in Baton Rouge with the introduction of its 30,000-square-foot Integration and Panel Fabrication Center. The Center serves a need in the Gulf Coast region by providing fabrication and integration services to industrial clients.

MMR’s fabrication and integration services include marshalling cabinets, consoles, custom aluminum, stainless steel, powder-coated enclosures and PLC cabinets. MMR also offers the unique ability to design, fabricate and construct industrialized control buildings, including analyzer shelters, PDC buildings and RIE buildings.

The Center is UL 508A Certified and UL & CSA Listed for Type 4X Industrial Control Panel Enclosures, staffed with a CWI/AWS-QC1

TOP EXECUTIVES James B. “Pepper” Rutland, President/CEO Thomas Welborn, Executive Vice President Leeland Kilpatrick, Senior Vice President Brian Savoy, Integration Center District Manager

es te C ompani

5,500

HEADQUARTERS 15961 Airline Highway Baton Rouge, LA 70817

WEBSITE mmrgrp.com

WHAT TO EXPECT IN THE FUTURE Activity at the new Integration and Panel Fabrication Center will continue to grow. In addition, MMR provides electrical construction, instrumentation installation & technical services, panel fabrication, safety services & products, communications networking & security integration, power distribution, hybrid microgrid/distributed generation solutions, and commissioning & start-up assistance.

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CLOSING NOTES EXECUTIVE MOVES

MARTIN

DAUGHERTY

CHENNAULT INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT Tad Martin has joined the board of Chennault International Airport.

Martin is a senior financial advisor at Merrill Lynch, an LSU grad and a father of four. The other board members are Andy Hankins, Denise Rau, Rico Guillory, James Gobert, Charles Dalgleish and Bill Hankins.

DANOS Danos announced the hire of two new employees to oversee its scaffolding operations: Clay Daugherty and John Moberly.

Collectively, the two have 47 years of industry experience and will share management responsibilities of the company’s growing scaffolding business. A resident of Denham Springs, Daugherty has 23 years of industry experience. He started his career as a scaffold laborer and then worked offshore as a scaffolding supervisor.

He worked at Sunbelt Rentals for 13 years, where he served as a project manager and later as an operations manager. Daugherty holds a bachelor of business administration degree from Southeastern Louisiana University. Moberly is an Air Force veteran with 24 years of oil and gas construction experience. After completing his military service, he began working as a roustabout on oil rigs, then moved to field supervisor and branch manager with Sunbelt Rentals.

Additionally, Danos hired Rafe Blades as sales manager. Based out of the company’s Gray, Louisiana, headquarters, Blades is responsible

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MOBERLY

BLADES

for overseeing sales strategies to maintain and expand the company’s customer base, as well as management of the sales team. Blades is a Baton Rouge native who joins Danos with 10 year of sales experience.

BERNHARD Bernhard LLC, an integrated provider of energy, engineering, electrical and mechanical services, has announced the promotion of Amy Cohen to chief financial officer and the appointment of Melissa Samuel as vice president of human resources and associate general counsel. Cohen most recently served as vice president of finance, where she was responsible for the financial planning function, including the preparation of a $655 million annual budget. Cohen earned a bachelor’s degree in accounting from LSU and has earned her CPA designation.

Most recently, Samuel served as attorney shareholder at The Kullman Firm in Baton Rouge, where she represented various employers in all aspects of labor and employment law. Prior to that, she served as senior vice president of administration for H&E Equipment Services Inc., where she oversaw the legal, HR and safety functions for the company.

BASIC ENERGY SERVICES Basic Energy Services has appointed David Schorlemer as senior vice president and chief financial officer. Schorlemer has two decades of experience in senior level positions with public and

COHEN

SAMUEL

private companies spanning such areas as finance, technology, business process systems integration, growth acquisitions, strategic and organizational planning and capital markets transactions, among others.

Schorlemer’s appointment was effective August 27. Basic Energy Services provides well site services essential to maintaining production from the oil and gas wells within its operating area.

ENSTOR GAS Enstor Gas LLC, an affiliate of ArcLight Capital Partners LLC, announced that Paul W. Bieniawski has taken the role of chief executive officer. Also joining the Enstor management team is Masoud Kasraian in the role of president and chief commercial officer. Bieniawski has over 30 years of experience in hydrocarbon storage and was most recently CEO of Zechstein Midstream B.V. and its subsidiaries. His energy industry experience includes serving as president and chief operating officer of Bobcat Gas Storage in Louisiana. Prior to joining Enstor, Kasraian was chief commercial officer at Leaf River Energy Center LLC. He has also served as chief commercial officer at Merchant Energy Holdings and at Bobcat Gas Storage. Prior to joining Bobcat, he was senior vice president of marketing of Lodi Gas Storage LLC. Kasraian holds a Ph.D. in electrical engineering and an MBA in finance and investment from the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Enstor owns and operates underground natural

ROBBINS

TREPAGNIER

gas storage facilities in the Gulf Coast and Southwest regions of the United States with net working gas storage capacity of 67.5 Bcf. HR SOLUTIONS HR Solutions of Baton Rouge announced new leadership. Jimmy Robbins, previous director of business development, has been named president of HR Solutions.

In addition, Renee’ Trepagnier has been named director of operations.

She previously acted as payroll and client relationship manager.

EXCELERANT Lafayette-based Excelerant, an award-winning company focused on leadership training, coaching, culture development and human resource consulting for small to medium-sized businesses, is expanding its presence in the Houston market.

The company said in a statement that adding Houston-based strategic partners Marcy Laviage and Diane Roche allows Excelerant to make its range of services more easily accessible in Texas while enhancing the company’s overall expertise in key specialty areas, such as coaching, team and leadership development and meeting facilitation.

Submit items for Executive Moves by emailing a press release and a high-resolution headshot to editor@1012industryreport.com. Executive Moves is limited to senior management and board positions only.

10/12 INDUSTRY REPORT • FOURTH QUARTER 2018 63

GBRIA

CLOSING NOTES: COMPANY NEWS

L to R are Jamie Van Voorhis, Joshua Callegan and Matt Clark, all with Jacobs, and Steve Welch, plant manager at Occidental Chemical in Convent and chair of GBRIA’s Workforce Development Committee. Jacobs won the GBRIA Craft Workforce Development Excellence Award for General Construction and Maintenance in Division III, as well as the Best of Division Award of Division III.

GBRIA ANNOUNCES CRAFT outstanding job of implementing WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT career and technical education classes AWARDS related to construction: The Greater Baton Rouge IndusDivision I: Doyle High School try Alliance announced the recipients and West Feliciana High School of its 11th Annual Craft Workforce received the Award of Excellence.

Development in September.

Issue Date:Awards 8/28/18 Ad proof #1Albany High School, Brusly High • Please respond by e-mail or fax were with your approval or minor revisions.

The following awards School, Donaldsonville High School, • AD WILL RUN AS IS unless approval or final revisions presented to high schools for an French Settlement High School, are received by the close of business today.

• Additional revisions must be requested and may be subject to production fees.

Louisiana School for Agricultural Sciences and Livonia High School received Awards of Merit.

Division II: Central, Live Oak and the St. James Parish Schools Career and Technology Center received the Award of Excellence. Plaquemine High School and Walker High School received Awards of Merit.

Division III: East Ascension High School and St. Amant High School received the Award of Excellence and Dutchtown High School received an Award of Merit. Teachers receiving the award of GBRIA High School Craft Workforce Development Champion were Dr. Paul Theriot, West Feliciana High School; Billy Doiron, Live Oak High School; and Kiesha Nall, East Ascension.

Post-secondary institutions awarded were Associated Builders and Contractors Pelican Chapter, Baton Rouge Community College and River Parishes Community College.

The program also recognized the following industrial construction and maintenance contract companies who demonstrated excellence in investing in workforce development

programs: Action Industries Inc., Volks Constructors, Cajun Industries, EXCEL, Performance Contractors, Jacobs, Turner Industries Group, Zachry Group, Brown & Root Industrial Services, Hoist and Crane Service Group, Barriere Construction Co., Excel Modular Scaffold & Leasing, Bevel Tech Group, Westgate, MMR Constructors, ISC Constructors, PALA Interstate, ControlWorx, Turner Specialty Services, Premium Inspection and Testing – Capitol Division, HydrochemPSC, Thermon and Total Safety US. Best of Division awards went to Westgate, Turner Specialty Services and Jacobs, while BASF was named GBRIA Craft Workforce Development Most Valuable Plant, and Chad Naquin with Olin was named GBRIA Craft Workforce Development MVP for his outstanding volunteer efforts with GBRIA. NOVA ESTABLISHES PTEC SCHOLARSHIP AT RPCC At ceremonies marking the 50th anniversary of the Geismar Olefins

Carefully check this ad for: CORRECT ADDRESS • CORRECT PHONE NUMBER • ANY TYPOS This ad design © Louisiana Business, Inc. 2018. All rights reserved. Phone 225-928-1700 • Fax 225-926-1329

WEEKDAY MORNINGS

64 10/12 INDUSTRY REPORT • FOURTH QUARTER 2018

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facility, NOVA Chemicals Corp. announced a $50,000 donation to establish an endowed scholarship at River Parishes Community College.

The scholarship will support local students pursuing degrees in process technology, instrumentation and electrical studies. “NOVA Chemicals is honored to be a part of the Geismar community. In the U.S. and Canada, we work collaboratively with our communities to lend a hand through active service and investment in select organizations dedicated to making a difference and improving quality of life,” said Todd Karran, NOVA Chemicals’ CEO. “RPCC is an integral part of the Ascension and Iberville parish communities, and we’re proud to mark 50 years of the Geismar Olefins facility by partnering with them to develop our local workforce.”

GORDON GROWS MWD TECH Gordon Technologies LLC reports its patented, high-performance Heat Miser™ Measurement-While-Drilling (MWD) system is now active on and following more than 50 drilling

rigs in Texas, North Dakota and Louisiana. Headquartered in Scott, Louisiana, with additional facilities in Midland, Texas and Minot, North Dakota, Gordon is an independent provider of MWD technology to the directional drilling sector of the oil and gas industry.

CITGO LAUNCHES STEM INITIATIVE CITGO Petroleum Co. announced the launch of the CITGO Innovation Academy at E.K. Key Elementary School in Sulphur, Louisiana. The academy is the first established in the Lake Charles region and the fourth Innovation Academy established by CITGO across its operational footprint.

Kindergarten through fifth grade students at E.K. Key will be introduced to the foundation of science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) education.

LNG PROJECT MOVES AHEAD Venture Global LNG announced that the U.S. Federal Energy Regulatory Commission has issued the final Environmental Impact Statement for

the company’s 10 MTPA Calcasieu Pass facility on the Gulf of Mexico.

FERC notified Venture Global that it plans to issue a final order for the Calcasieu Pass facility and the associated TransCameron Pipeline no later than Jan. 22, 2019. The project remains on track for a final investment decision and commencement of construction in early 2019 with full commercial operations expected in 2022. “FERC’s issuance of the final EIS is an important milestone for our Calcasieu Pass project. With the project fully contracted for financing with binding 20-year offtake agreements with Shell, BP, Edison S.p.A., Galp, Repsol and PGNiG, we are looking forward to a final investment decision and commencement of construction early next year,” Co-CEOs Bob Pender and Mike Sabel jointly stated.

at The Port of Caddo-Bossier in Shreveport. Through the project, the company will retain 150 existing jobs and create six new direct jobs. “Ternium’s expansion at The Port of Caddo-Bossier is a vote of confidence in the effectiveness of our port system, the talent of our people, and the strength of our business economy,” Edwards said. Ternium will overhaul its galvanizing line and complete other capital upgrades to optimize plant operations and logistics. Upgrading the galvanizing line will yield an additional 42,000 metric tons per year of coated product.

BAYOU COMPANIES ACQUIRED Altamont Capital Partners announced the acquisition of the assets of The Bayou Companies LLC, a pipeline coatings and insulation provider based in New Iberia, Louisiana. Founded in 1942, Bayou TERNIUM USA TO EXPAND was acquired by Aegion Corporation Gov. John Bel Edwards and Terin 2009. Bayou does onshore pipe nium USA Inc. President Michael coatings and offshore coatings and Guhl announced the international insulation, including highly specialIssue Date: Fall Ad proof #1 • Please respond e-mail or$14.7 fax withmillion your approval or minor steelmaker willbyinvest izedrevisions. insulation for the oil and gas • AD WILL RUN AS IS unless approval or final revisions to expand and upgrade its facility industry. are received by the close of business today.

• Additional revisions must be requested and may be subject to production fees.

Carefully check this ad for: CORRECT ADDRESS • CORRECT PHONE NUMBER • ANY TYPOS This ad design © Louisiana Business, Inc. 2015. All rights reserved. Phone 225-928-1700 • Fax 225-926-1329

Baton Rouge’s

Most Complete Piping Supplier

B AT O N R O U G E

William (Bill) Dow, President • wdow@windustrial.com

8961 Buzbee Drive • Baton Rouge, LA 70809 Phone 225-753-2940 • Fax 225-753-2932

Pipes • Valves • Fittings • Plumbing • Fire Protection

Serving Louisiana Industrial • Mechanical • Fire Protection • Plant • OEM • Government • Public

Service Driven • Locally Owned • Nationally Known 1012industryreport.com

10/12 INDUSTRY REPORT • FOURTH QUARTER 2018 65

CLAIBORNE

19

CLOSING NOTES: PROJECT MAPS

Project by project

BOSSIER

WEBSTER

CADDO

($25M-$250M)

BIENVILLE

Active Louisiana industrial projects announced or proposed since Jan.1, 2014, with projected capital investment of $25 million$250 million. Second line shows projected capital investment and direct new jobs. List is representative, not complete; statuses and costs change frequently.

1 Marathon/Praxair $220M | N/A Location: Garyville, St. John the Baptist Parish Status: completion set for end of 2018 2 Entergy (New Orleans East) $212M | 20 jobs Location: Orleans Parish Status: construction to begin in 2018 3 Ergon $200M | N/A Location: St. James Parish Status: construction set to begin Q4 2018 4 First Bauxite $200M | 100 jobs Location: St. John the Baptist Parish Status: announced June 2015, but still seeking financing 5 Shell LNG $200M | N/A Location: Capital Region Status: potential 6 Diamond Green Diesel $190M | N/A Location: St. Charles Parish Status: completion set for Q2 2018 7 Entergy $187M | N/A Location: Cameron, Calcasieu parishes Status: permitting 8 Tennessee Gas Pipeline Co. (Kinder Morgan) $170M | N/A Location: Northeast Louisiana to southwest Louisiana Status: expected completion 2018 9 Air Liquide $170M | N/A Location: St. James Parish Status: planning

10 NOLA Oil Terminal $162M | 54 jobs Location: Plaquemines Parish Status: under construction

21 Westlake Chemical $140M | N/A Location: Ascension Parish Status: N/A (PVC expansion)

11 Renewable Energy Group $160M | N/A Location: Ascension Parish Status: N/A

22 Advanced Refining Technologies $135M | 325 jobs Location: Calcasieu Parish Status: project has been placed on hold, but is not canceled

12 Cornerstone $157.3M | N/A Location: Jefferson Parish Status: FEED 13 Kinder Morgan La. Pipeline expansion $151M | 0 jobs Location: Southwest Louisiana Status: permitting 14 BASF $150M | 15 jobs Location: Ascension Parish Status: under construction (first phase of larger MDI production expansion) 15 Shell Norco $150M | NA Location: St. Charles Parish Status: under construction 16 Praxair $150M | 10 jobs Location: Ascension Parish Status: completion set for 2020 17 Occidental Chemical $145M | 12 jobs Location: Ascension Parish Status: near completion 18 Air Products (Geismar) $145M | 7 jobs Location: Ascension Parish Status: N/A 19 Regency Energy Services $144M | 6 jobs Location: Webster Parish Status: under construction 20 Bunge North America $140M | N/A Location: St. Charles Parish Status: under construction

66 10/12 INDUSTRY REPORT • FOURTH QUARTER 2018

RED RIVER

DESOTO

NATCHITOCHES SABINE

23 Hunt Forest Products $115M | 110 jobs Location: LaSalle Parish Status: under construction

VERNON

24 PBF Energy (Chalmette Refinery) $108.4M | 27 jobs Location: St. Bernard Parish Status: in financing 25 Praxair $100M+ | N/A Location: Ascension Parish Status: completion expected second half of 2018

BEAUREGARD

26 Cleco/Cabot Corp. $80M | 20 jobs Location: St. Mary Parish Status: broke ground October 2016 27 Huntsman/Rubicon $78M | 17 jobs Location: Ascension Parish Status: on hold awaiting construction 28 Florida Fuel Connection, LLC $75M | 50 jobs Location: Orleans Parish Status: moved from East Feliciana Parish; pursuing opportunities at Port of New Orleans 29 Southwest Louisiana Bioenergy $69.3M | 41 jobs Location: Allen Parish Status: under construction

31

CALCASIEU

22 38 7

CAMERON

13

BLUE = NEW PROJECT ADDED SINCE LAST EDITION 1012industryreport.com

J

UNION

NE

MOREHOUSE

WEST CARROLL EAST CARROLL

LINCOLN

OUACHITA

RICHLAND

33

MADISON

8

JACKSON

Sponsored by

36 Air Products $25M | N/A Location: Ascension Parish Status: under construction

31 Gulf South Pipeline $56.2M | 2-3 jobs Location: Calcasieu Parish Status: planning

37 Diamond Green Diesel Cost/jobs N/A 275M-gallon production expansion Location: St. Charles Parish Status: under engineering and cost review

32 Thermaldyne $50M | 75 jobs Location: West Baton Rouge Parish Status: set to open in late 2018

FRANKLIN

CALDWELL

30 Taminco $60M | 5 jobs Location: Iberville Parish Status: planning

TENSAS WINN

23

38 Phillips 66 Cost/jobs N/A Production increase for blend components Location: Calcasieu Parish Status: completion set for end of 2019

33 Graphic Packaging International $41.5M | 1,340 jobs Location: Ouachita Parish Status: under construction

CATAHOULA LASALLE GRANT

34 Almatis (formerly Noranda) $35M | 65 jobs Location: St. James Parish Status: under construction 35 Blue Cube (Olin) $33.8M | N/A Location: Iberville Parish Status: planning

CONCORDIA

RAPIDES

AVOYELLES WEST FELICIANA

WASHINGTON

EAST FELICIANA

ST. HELENA

EVANGELINE ALLEN

POINTE COUPEE

29

TANGIPAHOA

ST. LANDRY WEST BATON ROUGE

EAST BATON ROUGE

32

16

30 35

ACADIA

IBERVILLE

ST. MARTIN

25 5

17

18

ION NS

LAFAYETTE

36 27 CE AS

JEFFERSON DAVIS

ST. TAMMANY LIVINGSTON

36 14 11 9

21

34

ST. JAMES

3

ST. JOHN THE BAPTIST

1

4

28 ORLEANS

20 12

15

IBERIA ASSUMPTION VERMILION

2

ST. CHARLES

JEFFERSON

24

6 37

ST. MARTIN

ST. BERNARD

ST. MARY

26 LAFOURCHE IBERIA

Sources: LED, LEO, GBRIA, 10/12 research

1012industryreport.com

PLAQUEMINES

10 TERREBONNE

10/12 INDUSTRY REPORT • FOURTH QUARTER 2018 67

CLAIBORNE

CLOSING NOTES: PROJECT MAPS

30

BOSSIER

Project by project

WEBSTER

CADDO

($250M and up)

BIENVILLE

Active Louisiana industrial projects announced or proposed since 2012 with projected capital investment of $250 million or more. Includes projects that are underway, awaiting FID, and proposed. Second line shows projected capital investment and direct new jobs. List is representative, not complete; statuses and costs change frequently.

1 Driftwood LNG $27.5B | 498 jobs

21 Commonwealth LNG $2B | N/A

40 Monsanto $975M | 120 jobs

2 Sabine Pass LNG (Cheniere Energy) $20B | 400 jobs

22 South Louisiana Methanol $1.7B | 65 jobs

41 Energy World USA $888M | 150 jobs

23 G2X Energy $1.6B | 243 jobs

42 Entergy (Westlake) $872M | 30 jobs

24 Tallgrass Energy – Plaquemines Liquid Terminal $1.5B | N/A

43 Entergy (St. Charles) $869M | 27 jobs

3 Sasol Ltd. cracker $11.1B | 700 jobs 4 G2 LNG $11B | 250 jobs 5 Lake Charles LNG $11B | 250 jobs 6 Cameron LNG (Sempra Energy) $10B | 190 jobs

25 Tallgrass Energy – Blue Water Gulf $1.5B | N/A 26 EuroChem $1.5B | 200 jobs

7 Formosa (St. James Parish) $9.4B | 1,200 jobs

27 Port Cameron $1.5B | N/A

8 Venture Global LNG (Plaquemines) $8.5B | 300 jobs

28 Shintech (chlor alkali & PVC) $1.49B | 120 jobs

9 Cambridge Energy FLNG $8B | N/A

29 Shintech (ethylene) $1.4B | 100 jobs

10 Delfin LNG $7B | 400 jobs

30 Haynesville Global Access Pipeline (Tellurian) $1.4B | N/A

11 Monkey Island LNG $6.5B | 200 jobs

31 Methanex Corp., Methanex 3 $1.3B | 25 jobs

12 IGP Methanol $4.5-4.8B | 325 jobs

32 BioNitrogen Louisiana Holdings, LLC $1.25B | 250 jobs

13 Magnolia LNG $4.35B | 70 jobs 14 Venture Global LNG (Calcasieu Pass) $4.25B | 100 jobs 15 Lake Charles Methanol $4.2B | 200 jobs 16 Nucor Steel Up to $3.4B | 1,250 jobs 17 Pointe LNG $3.2B | N/A 18 Axiall/Lotte Chemical $3B | 250 jobs 19 Revolution Aluminum $2.4B | 1,450 jobs 20 Yuhuang Chemical $2.3B | 400 jobs

33 Shell Chemical $1.2B | 27 jobs 34 Castleton Commodities International $1.2B | 50 jobs 35 Wanhua Chemical Group $1.12B | 170 jobs 36 Shintech (vinyls complex) $1.02B | N/A 37 Port of New Orleans $1B | 6,000 jobs 38 Monsanto $1B | 100 jobs 39 ExxonMobil – Polypropylene expansion $500M-$1B | 65 jobs

68 10/12 INDUSTRY REPORT • FOURTH QUARTER 2018

47 DESOTO

48

RED RIVER

NATCHITOCHES SABINE

44 Shell Chemical $717M | 20 jobs 45 Bayou Bridge Pipeline $670M | 12 jobs 46 Louisiana LNG Energy, LLC $646.6M | 44 jobs

VERNON

47 Southern Cross Transmission Project $600M | N/A 48 Gulf Run Pipeline (Enable Midstream) $550M | N/A 49 PBF Energy (Chalmette Refinery) $503.2M | 5 jobs

BEAUREGARD

50 Shintech (ethylene expansion) $400M | N/A 51 Hazelwood Energy Hub $400M | 120 jobs 52 Shell Motiva $380M | 100 jobs 53 Westlake Chemicals (Westlake) $350M | N/A 54 Syngas Energy $350M | 100 jobs

CALCASIEU

59 18 42 53 3 5 15 23 13

55 Valero $325M | N/A

1

56 NFR BioEnergy $312M | 450 jobs

4

57 German Pellets Louisiana, LLC/Louisiana Pellets, Inc. $290M | 80 jobs 58 TopChem Pollock (formerly Investimus Foris) $265M | 85 jobs 59 PPG Industries, Inc. $264M | 27 jobs

2

14

6 CAMERON

11

27 21 10

BLUE = NEW PROJECT

1012industryreport.com

J

UNION

NE

MOREHOUSE

WEST CARROLL EAST CARROLL

LINCOLN OUACHITA

MADISON

CF Industries Nitrogen, LLC $2.1B | 93 jobs

61 Formosa (Baton Rouge) Cost/jobs N/A PVC expansion

Sponsored by JACKSON

Dow Chemical $1.06B | 71 jobs

62 Siluria No announced size or location

FRANKLIN

CALDWELL

SOME RECENTLY COMPLETED PROJECTS

60 Marubeni, Inc. (formerly Gavilon Trading) $250M | 100

RICHLAND

Cornerstone Chemical Co./ Dyno Nobel $1.025B | 65 jobs Pin Oak Terminals $600M | 70 jobs

TENSAS WINN

Methanex Corp., Methanex 1 $570M | 35 jobs

57

Methanex Corp., Methanex 2 $570M | 120 jobs

CATAHOULA LASALLE GRANT

BASF (Geismar) $500M | 100 jobs

58

Westlake Chemical (Geismar) $425M | 70 jobs

TOTAL POTENTIAL CAPITAL INVESTMENT:

$184.4B+

CONCORDIA

19

SE Tylose (Shintech) $420M | 88 jobs

TOTAL POTENTIAL DIRECT NEW JOBS:

RAPIDES

17,318+

AVOYELLES

32

WEST FELICIANA

WASHINGTON

EAST FELICIANA

ST. HELENA

EVANGELINE ALLEN

POINTE COUPEE ST. LANDRY

51 28 ACADIA ST. MARTIN

29

ST. TAMMANY LIVINGSTON

36 26

IBERVILLE

56

45

33

44 31

ION NS

LAFAYETTE

50

TANGIPAHOA EAST BATON ROUGE

CE AS

JEFFERSON DAVIS

WEST BATON ROUGE

61 39

ST. JAMES IBERIA ASSUMPTION VERMILION

ST. JOHN THE BAPTIST

22 20 35 16

52 54

60

7

ORLEANS

55 38 43 40 ST. CHARLES

37 49 JEFFERSON

34 ST. BERNARD

ST. MARTIN

12 46 24 8

ST. MARY LAFOURCHE

PLAQUEMINES

IBERIA

17 Sources: LED, LEO, 10/12 research

1012industryreport.com

TERREBONNE

41 10/12 INDUSTRY REPORT • FOURTH QUARTER 2018 69

9 25

CLOSING NOTES: MY TOUGHEST CHALLENGE

Richard Harbison

BY DAVID JACOBS

THE RESOLUTION “When I reflect on my first move, it went the roughest, and it all boiled down to a lack of trust,” Harbison says. “I was more about being heard, and now I have evolved to listening, understanding, and aligning more.”

When moving to a new role, Harbison spends a lot of time listening to the organization’s members and developing several lines of communication to get a better perspective of the culture. Then he can boil down those discussions to develop a plan to improve the business.

Face-to-face meetings, including small and large groups, are supported by consistent messaging through emails and even posters in some cases. He says he never surrounds himself with only direct reports.

“To get a better understanding of the culture or the issues of the organization, it is good to hear the message directly from those that are impacted by what’s going on,” he says. “As they work their way up the organizational hierarchy, those messages can get slightly twisted or slightly altered or heavily filtered.”

THE TAKEAWAY Harbison only spent about two years in that first management role. While that job didn’t work out as well as he had hoped, he has applied the lessons about listening

POSITION: Manager, Lake Charles Manufacturing Complex COMPANY: Phillips 66 and understanding he learned there throughout his career.

Harbison played a lot of football growing up. On the good teams, he says, each person trusted that the others would do their job well, which allowed each team member to focus on and excel in their own role.

A business, he has learned, is much the same.

“There’s no job that’s more important or less important in an organization,” he says. “Each role is just different.”

70 10/12 INDUSTRY REPORT • FOURTH QUARTER 2018

WHAT THEY DO: Phillips 66 is a diversified energy

manufacturing and logistics company. The Lake Charles Manufacturing Complex primarily produces premium coke, gasoline, diesel, propane and jet fuel for distribution in the U.S. The Phillips 66 Lake Charles Refinery processes 249,000 barrels of crude oil daily. A joint venture between Phillips 66 and Flint Hills Resources, Excel Paralubes, produces an average of 7.7 million barrels of lubes base oil annually. More than 770 employees and 330 contractors work there.

CAREER: Harbison has more than 30 years of experience with Phillips 66 in a variety of leadership roles across the refining, pipeline and terminal business. He has managed the Lake Charles Manufacturing Complex for almost three years. Before coming to Lake Charles, Harbison managed the Phillips 66 refinery in Ferndale, Washington.

1012industryreport.com

LEE CELANO

THE CHALLENGE Over his career, Harbison has moved 11 times for various job opportunities. Establishing himself as a leader in a new organization—not by position, but by earning respect—has been the most challenging aspect of that career path.

Harbison was still in his 20s when he moved into his first supervisory role overseeing experienced union truck drivers. He had to learn about the industry, while simultaneously learning how to lead.

“They really challenged my decision-making and commitment to support them,” he recalls. “I had not ever driven a truck.”

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