SNF Holding Co. Announces New Plant; Create 500 New Jobs

GOV. JINDAL, SNF HOLDING CO. ANNOUNCE NEW PLANT IN IBERVILLE PARISH Polymer manufacturer to locate new facility near Plaquemine, creating over 500 jobs Gov. Bobby Jindal joined SNF Holding Co.officials to announce that the company will construct a new water-soluble polymers manufacturing facility in Iberville Parish. Once fully operational, the plant will employ over 500 permanent, full-time employees with an average salary of $57,400 and involve capital investment of at least $362 million. Gov. Jindal said, "I want to commend SNF for making such a significant investment in Iberville Parish and in the people of this community. Today's announcement, along with a number of other recent announcements, has helped Louisiana's economy outperform the national and Southern economies. "We're here because yet another company has taken note of the progress we have made and because of the direction in which our state is headed. Indeed, Louisiana had to beat out sites in three other states to win this project -- and this is not the first time that we have beat out other states to win a big project. Time and time again, we're showing that we can compete with the rest of the nation and the world to be a new frontier for business investment and economic opportunity." In addition to Gov. Jindal, participants at the event included SNF President Peter W. Nichols, Louisiana Economic Development Secretary Stephen Moret, Iberville Parish President Mitch Ourso, State Rep. Karen St. Germain, State Rep. Elton Aubert, State Sen. Rob Marionneaux Jr., Iberville Chamber of Commerce Executive Director Hank Grace and Baton Rouge Area Chamber President and CEO Adam Knapp. The project includes construction of the plant facility, which will be built in modules over a five-year period and create approximately 250 full-time construction jobs. "We are very grateful for the positive reception we received throughout the site evaluation process and the encouragement from state and local representatives to locate the facility in Iberville Parish," said Nichols. "We look forward to getting to know the communities of Iberville Parish and building a strong relationship with local residents." The proposed facility, which will produce acrylamide monomer and polyacrylamide powders packaged in bags or supersacks, will be located on an 800-acre site just south of Plaquemine on Louisiana Highway 405 (River Road). The need for the new facility is being driven by increased demand for SNF products in enhanced oil recovery. Enhanced oil recovery is a generic term for ways to increase the amount of oil that can be extracted from an oil field. An economic impact analysis by LSU suggests that the SNF facility will provide an injection of more than $3.7 billion in new state economic output from 2010 to 2025. LSU estimates that more than 500 direct, new on-site jobs will create approximately 900 indirect jobs for a total of 1,400 permanent new jobs in Louisiana. Accordingly, SNF's facility will become one of Louisiana's top 150 economic-driver firms based on direct and indirect job impact. "We are delighted to welcome SNF to Louisiana and look forward to the very significant economic impact this project will bring to Iberville Parish and the Capital Region," said Moret. "It is great news that this company decided to capitalize on the opportunities that Louisiana offers businesses looking to expand their operations. This is another example of how our state continues to attract significant new investments in multiple industry sectors." State and local officials assembled a customized incentive package to help secure the project. If all performance requirements are met, SNF will receive a state incentive package worth approximately $39.4 million, including performance-based financial assistance of $26.55 million for a rail spur and other site infrastructure, as well as performance-based incentive payments of $1.28 million per year for the first 10 years of the project. Iberville Parish will contribute $1 million to fund public infrastructure. SNF also is expected to take advantage of the Quality Jobs program. LSU estimates that the SNF project will result in $107 million in new state tax revenue, as well as $29.9 million in new local tax revenue, from 2010 to 2025, which is the contract term for the associated cooperative endeavor agreement. These estimates exclude property taxes and corporate income taxes. Iberville Parish was selected as the winning plant site after an extensive and competitive, multi-state evaluation of potential candidates. Prior to selecting Louisiana, SNF considered sites located in three other states. About SNF SNF Holding Co. is the American subsidiary of the French company SNF Floerger. It is one of the world's leading manufacturers of water-soluble polymers and specializes in serving the municipal, industrial and wastewater treatment industries, as well as a wide array of specialty applications. Water-soluble polymers from SNF are in use in municipal waste, industrial waste and wastewater treatment facilities around the world.