Shintech Louisiana Announces $1.49 Billion Expansion For Plaquemine Facility
One of Louisiana’s major plastic resin manufacturers and exporters—Shintech Louisiana LLC—has announced a $1.49 billion expansion plan for its facility in Plaquemine, La. Shintech, a wholly owned subsidiary of Shin-Etsu Chemical Company, plans to build a new chlor alkali and vinyl chloride monomer production facility in Plaquemine, while also expanding its existing polyvinyl chloride (PVC) manufacturing facility.
Chlor alkali is tied to the production of sodium chloride (caustic soda), while vinyl chloride monomer is used in PVC production. PVC and plastic resins have a wide range of applications, from building and construction to health care, electronics and automobiles.
Shintech is one of several petrochemical manufacturers in South Louisiana that produce plastic resins, which have become an anchor export cargo for the Port of New Orleans and have led to the creation of a successful container-on-barge service between Baton Rouge and New Orleans.
According to Louisiana Economic Development (LED), the Shintech expansion will create 120 direct jobs with an average annual salary of close to $82,000. LED also estimates close to 600 new indirect jobs will grow out of the expansion. The project will generate around 3,000 construction jobs.
“Louisiana holds a longstanding reputation as a state where chemical manufacturing operations thrive and are supported by outstanding talent from our universities, our construction companies and our talented process operators and technicians,” Louisiana Gov. John Bel Edwards said in a statement. “When this new project is in place, Shintech will have invested $6 billion to deliver the largest integrated complex in the U.S. for producing PVC, vinyl chloride monomer and chlor alkali. Our world-class infrastructure continues to attract global players like Shintech, who are driving the 21st century economy here in Louisiana.”
The PVC manufacturing portion of the expansion will be completed in late 2020 and operational in early 2021.
“Today’s announcement represents a growing investment in Louisiana and an increase in Shintech’s manufacturing presence in the North American market,” Shintech Director of Manufacturing Danny Cedotal said. “We have had great success with our Addis and Plaquemine facilities, none of which would be possible without the support of our neighbors and our community.
“We are committed to upholding our philosophy of living locally, hiring locally and buying locally in the construction and operation of this expansion,” Cedotal added.
LED and Shintech began considering the expansion plan in late 2016. Shintech will receive a $1.5 million Modernization Tax Credit, which will be paid out over a five-year period. The project will also benefit from LED’s FastStart workforce training program and the state’s Quality Jobs and Industrial Tax Exemption program.
