• Additional revisions must be requested and may be subject to production fees. Carefully check this ad for: CORRECT ADDRESS • CORRECTSPECIAL PHONE NUMBER • ANY TYPOS ADVERTISING SECTION This ad design © Louisiana Business, Inc. 2017. All rights reserved. Phone 225-928-1700 • Fax 225-926-1329
BRYAN NAQUIN
PRESIDENTS’
FORECASTS Company presidents, local CEOs, business owners, managers and other leaders forecast the economic climate for 2018, including the outlook for their own industries and companies. Issue Date: 12/19/17 Ad proof #1
• 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. Carefully check this ad for: CORRECT ADDRESS • CORRECT PHONE NUMBER • ANY TYPOS This ad design © Louisiana Business, Inc. 2017. All rights reserved. Phone 225-928-1700 • Fax 225-926-1329
KATHY TRAHAN
PRESIDENT AND CEO Alliance Safety Council THE 2018 OUTLOOK for our industrial contractor workforce is positive despite major hurricane disruptions this year. There are substantial investments on the horizon for chemical, power generation, pulp and paper, and LNG terminal projects along the Gulf Coast extending into 2019. Dr. Loren Scott’s recent economic update reminded us that in light of the reduced oil prices, American companies are continuing to do what they do best: innovate. The resulting efficiencies reduce breakeven prices for oil and gas production and help keep slated chemical projects in play. While the majority of project activity is shifting from Baton Rouge to the Lake Charles and New Orleans areas, our shared workforce will remain heavily engaged in both regions. This supports the economic stability in Louisiana’s industrial construction sector. Concurrently, many economic data sources are reporting unemployment at a 17-year record low. This information—coupled with nominal inflation and hopes of economic tax reform early next year—sets the stage for a positive overall business climate for 2018.
OWNER Acadian Home Theater and Automation A PERSPECTIVE FROM the other side of the remote: I read a lot of articles on people’s opinions about how one control system is better than the other, or we only install the best, etc. Crestron vs. Savant vs. Control 4 vs. Elan and so on or Lutron vs. everyone else. After a long time in this industry, I have seen hundreds of installations. I would categorize most as terrible, some okay, many underwhelming and some good—but very few would I call amazing. While I love competition between manufacturers as it helps push the technology envelope higher and the price down I have come to realize that a good Home Entertainment system or Home Automation system is all about WHO did it and how WELL they read the clients’ needs. Often companies focus on the equipment only and assume the equipment will solve the client’s problems, when in fact it’s about intentionally designing and installing a system that is easy to use and delivers quality entertainment at the level the client wanted, which in turn provides a superior experience than just the “equipment” alone could ever provide. If you design a system for the cool factor but it is so complicated the client can’t work it, you failed. If you install a system that has been stripped of all the controls in the name of simplicity so that a client can’t Issue Date:common 12/19/17 Ad proof perform functions and has#2 to dig out a remote to fix it, you • Please respond by e-mail or fax with your approval or minor fail. Finding a balance is hard. Attention to revisions. details matter. It’s not all about • AD WILL RUN AS IS unless approval or final revisions gear! It’sclose all about youtoday. and your clients’ needs—meet them well! are the received by the of business • 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. 2017. All rights reserved. Phone 225-928-1700 • Fax 225-926-1329
EMILE BREAUX
PRESIDENT & CEO Associated Grocers Inc. WE EXPECT THAT the Capital Region and most of our Gulf Coast trade-area will continue to experience modest growth over the next 12 months. The most recent historical deflation in nearly all food categories appears to be turning slightly inflationary, with a few exceptions in key commodities. New tax policies at the state and federal level will weigh heavily on further hiring decisions as well as capital investment projects. In the food industry, mergers and acquisitions (M&A) activity continues as many retailers, wholesalers and manufacturers seek to utilize scale to bolster profitability. With the cost of borrowed capital remaining at relatively low levels, we expect to see additional M&A activity in our industry during 2018. Private equity investments in large regional and national retailers will further “commoditize” the shopping experience of consumers in those businesses, providing a genuine opportunity to the local retailers that we service. As many consumers move to on-line commerce, our mission is to provide a local shopping experience that cannot be replicated by online merchants. For those consumers who desire an on-line option, our retail stores are rapidly developing or enhancing their on-line presence to satisfy this growing consumer need. 2018 marks Associated Grocers 68th year of being part of the Gulf Coast economy. We extend to all of our friends and neighbors our best wishes for a happy, healthy and prosperous 2018.
Daily-Report.com | BUSINESS REPORT, December 19, 2017
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