Jindal praises work force for Sapa expansion

The expansion of Sapa’s aluminum extrusion facility in Delhi marks a boost to the local economy by way of creating 100 new jobs and an opportunity for the company to diversify its customer base and profile, Gov. Bobby Jindal said Thursday.

Jindal was speaking at the ribbon-cutting of Sapa’s second facility in Delhi, which will now allow the aluminum extruder to manufacture complete products.

“The expansion that we’re marking today will allow the company to compete for work in the lucrative petroleum and chemical industry sectors and to continue to diversify their product line,” Jindal said. “We know that petrochemical, the energy industries are growing and it’s great that Sapa will be able to participate in that.”

Delhi has played home to Sapa’s primary aluminum plant for almost 30 years, during which it has fabricated and extruded aluminum. Now, with the addition of this second facility, Jindal said Sapa will be able assemble complete products, thereby adding value to what it manufactures.

The expansion is yet another sign of economic development for northeastern Louisiana and is a step toward reversing its history of causing residents leave the state for jobs, he said.

“In our state’s past, too often we’d see companies leave the state. We’d see jobs leave the state. We don’t want to be the only state in the South that for 25 years continues to export our sons and daughters to other states,” Jindal said.

The opening of the new facility creates an additional 37 new jobs, of which Sapa has filled 22. An additional 65 new jobs will be created indirectly, Jindal said. Sapa already employs 241 workers with a $7.4 million annual payroll in Delhi at its primary plant.

Extrusion leader Alan Curry said he’d been with Sapa for 25 years, but this was the first time in several years the local plant was able to bring new people on board.

“The great thing is our sister plant is able to bring raw materials and extrude them for the new plant, so it’s a win-win situation for both plants,” he said.

Plant manager Ron Ballman said it’s the people in his company who make it unique and successful, and Jindal agreed that it was the local work force that played a crucial role in convincing Sapa to expand its operations in Delhi. Sapa had closed its facility in northern Arkansas and was looking for a new site to relocate its equipment and operations. The company was looking in multiple states, but Delhi won that competition, Jindal said.

“The bottom line is this: thanks to the work force that was already here, and thanks to the state and local governments working together, we were able to convince Sapa not only to keep this facility but to expand this facility,” he said. “We wouldn’t be here without the productive work force that won this competition by proving that not only could they do this work, but they could do new work like here in this facility.”

To continue on that path, Jindal said his education reform plan would help attract businesses and families to Louisiana. With Louisiana’s business climate now ripe for expansion, its education reforms must also lure residents and companies here, he said. The state has taken an aggressive stance in attracting companies by revamping the state’s ethics code, implementing the largest income tax cut in the state’s history, and improving its work force training programs, Jindal said.

Similarly, the state will take an ambitious approach toward education if its young people are to compete with those of other southern economies and the nation, he said. He noted that one of the top two concerns for about 70 percent of the companies that want to move or expand to Louisiana is finding a skilled worker.

“We have to have the most productive skilled workers that you can find anywhere,” Jindal said. “That’s why we’ve proposed a comprehensive plan to give parents more choices to reward great teachers, and to put more flexibility into the classroom so more of those dollars are going into teaching and not in overhead.”