Procurement Coordinator

Louisiana: eye on the next era. Louisiana has reinvented its business landscape, focusing on existing advantages and meeting new opportunity. 02/23/2026 Louisiana in 2025 stands out as a state on the move - blending traditional industrial strengths with forward-looking economic development tools, incentives, and an increasingly diversified business ecosystem. Louisiana's reputation for natural resources and energy production has anchored its economic identity. In recent years, however, state leaders and economic development agencies have actively expanded that narrative to include advanced manufacturing, technology, and supply-chain diversification - a strategy that is paying measurable dividends. A key driver behind Louisiana's appeal for new investment is its structured incentive ecosystem, designed to support both new entrants and expanding firms. The suite of incentives blends broad tax competitiveness with targeted performance-based programs: * High Impact Jobs Program (HIP). Offers reimbursable cash grants tied to the creation of jobs that exceed local average wages. * Industrial Tax Exemption Program (ITEP). Provides up to an 80% property tax abatement on qualifying industrial investments, significantly lowering capital costs for manufacturers. * LED FastStart Training. This statewide program has been ranked among the nation's most effective workforce training programs, FastStart customizes recruitment and training at no cost to participating companies. * Restoration Tax Abatement (RTA). Helps revitalize commercial structures with up to 10 years of property tax relief. This may be especially attractive to firms evaluating adaptive reuse or downtown projects. * FastSites Program. Launched in 2025 with a $150 million backing from the Site Investment and Infrastructure Fund, this initiative rapidly prepares development-ready sites for large-scale projects, reducing risk, time, and cost for incoming investors. Relocations & expansions across industries. While Louisiana's headline-making business climate story includes large flagship projects - such as an ultra-low-carbon steel mill that garnered national attention - there were also several significant corporate relocations and expansions in 2025 that signal confidence from both global and homegrown firms. Canadian-based Aclara Resources announced a $277 million investment to build the first U.S. heavy rare earth element separation facility at the Port of Vinton - marking a major step in domestic supply chain development for critical materials used in electric vehicles, wind turbines, and high-tech applications. The project is expected to create roughly 140 direct jobs. Louisiana's incentive package includes workforce training via FastStart and participation in the High Impact Jobs and Industrial Tax Exemption programs. Homegrown engineering and electrical contractor MMR Group committed $55.2 million to expand its Lafayette Parish footprint, adding an advanced assembly facility focused on electrical components for data centers, semiconductors, and other technology sectors. The expansion is projected to bring nearly 200 direct new jobs while retaining thousands more statewide, supported by FastStart training and state tax incentives. AI & tech is on the move. A pilot program to advance humanoid robotics in active heavy-industry environments has been launched with a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) between the State of Louisiana and Persona AI. The program will be conducted in the state's St. Bernard Parish at SSE Steel Fabrication's (SSE Steel) large-scale fabrication facility. Facilitated by Louisiana Innovation (LA.IO), a division of Louisiana Economic Development (LED), and supported by Greater New Orleans, Inc. (GNO, Inc.), this pilot focuses on collecting real-world human movement and task data in an operating steel manufacturing facility, informing how humanoid systems will perceive, move, and work alongside skilled tradespeople in complex, dynamic environments. "This is exactly the kind of applied innovation Louisiana should be leaning into," said Josh Fleig, Chief Innovation Officer at Louisiana Economic Development. "Partnerships like these will allow our small businesses to adopt new tools, modernize the way they operate and compete at a higher level. As companies innovate, they're not just growing their bottom line; they're creating pathways to higher-skill, higher-paying careers that strengthen their workforce and expand opportunity across Louisiana." The pilot leverages SSE Steel's advanced fabrication operations as the industrial proving ground for Persona AI's upcoming release of rugged humanoid platforms, which are being designed to operate in environments originally built for humans rather than redesigned for traditional automation. "Partnering with the State of Louisiana allows us to accelerate humanoid development in one of the most industrially relevant regions in the country," said Nicolaus Radford, CEO of Persona AI. "Louisiana is actively investing in the innovation required to rebuild domestic shipbuilding and heavy manufacturing capacity. Working alongside LA.IO, GNO, Inc., and industrial leaders like SSE Steel gives our humanoid the conditions it needs to mature and deploy at scale," he added. "This collaboration allows us to explore emerging technologies where they matter most, on the shop floor, not in a lab," said Justin Airhart, Chief Operations Officer of SSE Steel Fabrication. "SSE Steel has long embraced innovation in service of safety, productivity, and workforce sustainability. Supporting this pilot aligns directly with that mission." Transportation that moves business. At the heart of Louisiana's logistics advantage is its waterway network. Anchored by the Mississippi River and the Gulf Intracoastal Waterway, the state's port system links the U.S. interior to global trade routes. The expansive inland waterway system connects to 17 states via barge, offering cost-efficient movement of bulk commodities such as grain, petroleum products, chemicals, and minerals. Barges significantly lower transportation costs compared with truck or rail, giving manufacturers and distributors a vital operational edge. Louisiana's multimodal connectivity extends beyond water. The state is positioned where six Class I railroads converge, all intersecting with deepwater ports, enabling efficient nationwide rail distribution without the constraints seen in many other states. Its highway system includes six interstate corridors - such as I-10, I-12, and I-55, and link manufacturing and distribution centers to broader markets. In October 2025, The Port of New Orleans (Port NOLA) announced that the Louisiana International Terminal (LIT) project officially registered with the Envision Sustainable Infrastructure Framework. LIT is the first new container terminal in the country and the first project in Louisiana to register with Envision. Developed by the Institute for Sustainable Infrastructure (ISI), Envision is a globally-recognized framework that provides a standardized way to evaluate and improve the sustainability of infrastructure projects across their full lifecycle.

MMR Group to expand Louisiana footprint with $55.2 million facility. The plant aims to boost the production of electrical components used in high-growth sectors. MMR Group MMR Group announced plans to establish a $55.2 million assembly facility in Lafayette, Louisiana. The electrical contractor said the plant would boost the production of electrical components used in high-growth sectors such as data centers and semiconductors. The company expects the site to create 196 direct new jobs in Lafayette over the next 10 years and retain approximately 3,000 positions across the state. Louisiana Economic Development (LED) estimated that the project will add 335 indirect new jobs. MMR purchased an existing facility for the project and plans to complete renovations by the end of the year. The retrofitted facility will allow the company to produce modular systems on site. Founded in 1991 in Baton Rouge, MMR Group began as a small electrical service company and now provides engineering, construction, maintenance and technical services for industrial and commercial clients worldwide. To encourage MMR to expand its manufacturing and assembly business in Lafayette, the state of Louisiana offered an incentives package that includes a $500,000 performance-based grant for building renovations and the comprehensive workforce development solutions of LED FastStart. The company also plans to participate in the state's Industrial Tax Exemption and High Impact Jobs programs.

MMR hosts inaugural The Stars Ignite event to support local cancer care.