[StBernard] A Huge Win For Louisiana

[Westley Annis]

Dear Friends -

Today we announced a huge economic development win for Louisiana.  Benteler
Steel is investing $900 million in a new facility at the Port of
Caddo-Bossier that will create 675 new direct jobs.  LSU conducted a study
on the economic impact of this investment and concluded that the project
will result in more than 1,500 additional new indirect jobs in the area.
 
This facility is Benteler Steel's first plant in the United States and the
largest single capital investment in the company's history.  They looked at
more than 100 other locations across the country, but ultimately the company
chose Louisiana because of our location in the middle of America's energy
corridor, great business climate, world-class infrastructure, and because we
have the most skilled workers in the world. 
 
Unquestionably, this is a huge win for our state and a further indication
that our efforts to make Louisiana the best place in the world to start a
new business or expand an existing business are working.
 
This news comes on the heels of yet another strong performance by Louisiana
in Area Development magazine's Top States for Doing Business report.  The
magazine ranked Louisiana number six in the nation overall for our business
climate.  In the magazine, Area Development
<http://cl.publicaster.com/ClickThru.aspx?pubids=393%7c0510%7c9390%7c791501&
digest=VOxKAzANdcEcKAPbB6FQLQ&sysid=1>  put it like this: "Louisiana has
taken a very aggressive, targeted approach to improve its business climate
over the past five years, and those efforts are clearly paying off."  I
couldn't agree more, and the results are clear - with every new economic
development win, we create more opportunities for our people to find good
paying jobs right here in Louisiana.

Sincerely,

Governor Bobby Jindal