Lube-Tech CEO Chris Bame announced yesterday a $16 million capital investment by the company in Louisiana, where Lubrication Technologies will renovate a manufacturing facility in Shreveport.
The project will create 75 new direct jobs. The Louisiana Economic Development (LED) organization estimates the project will result in an additional 205 indirect jobs. The Shreveport site represents Lube-Tech’s first major investment in the South.
Lubrication Technologies, based in North Golden Valley, Minn., will manufacture lubricants and related fluids for power sports, marine and outdoor power equipment markets.
The Lube-Tech operations in Shreveport will be located in a 226,000-square-foot manufacturing facility that once housed an automotive supplier for the former General Motors assembly plant in Shreveport.
“Lube-Tech is excited to expand our Custom Brands business serving Power Sports, Marine and Outdoor Power Equipment OEMs to the Southern United States,” Bame said. “Our new Shreveport facility will manufacture, package and distribute specialty lubricants globally. We were pleased with Louisiana Economic Development’s help in finding a location, providing relocation funding, and assisting with employee recruitment and training. LED representatives proactively identified solutions to challenges in an entrepreneurial spirit that reflects our company culture.”
To secure the project, the State of Louisiana offered the company a performance-based Economic Development Loan Program incentive of $750,000 and the comprehensive workforce solutions of LED FastStart, the nation’s No. 1 state workforce development program. In addition, the company is expected to utilize the state’s Quality Jobs and Industrial Tax Exemption programs.
