Area Development
Oldcastle Precast Inc. and Module X Solutions, plan a joint venture that will operate in a 750,000-square-foot manufacturing facility in Shreveport, Louisiana. MXS is the major tenant in the building. Module X Oldcastle, or MXO, will chiefly manufacture protective modular buildings for telecommunications, petrochemical, oil and gas, fiber regeneration, and solar properties while MXS will continue in the production of protective building systems for domestic and international government projects.

MXS has operated in the Shreveport manufacturing facility since 2014 when it expanded existing modular building production on the site and began $7.4 million in capital improvements. By combining with Oldcastle Precast, MXS will join forces with a subsidiary of CRH, a construction and building materials conglomerate based in Dublin with more than $26 billion in 2015 sales. Since 2003, Louisiana has led the U.S. in per capita foreign direct investment projects and is No. 2 in overall FDI projects.

“Oldcastle is a great addition to Louisiana’s portfolio of international companies that see our state as the right choice for business and investment,” Governor John Bel Edwards said. “Adding one of the world’s leading building products and materials companies, based in Ireland, to Northwest Louisiana’s economy will serve to strengthen Oldcastle operations and create new jobs in Louisiana.”

“We are excited about the innovative diversified products and services that will be manufactured and deployed by Module X Oldcastle while leveraging our strategic geographic footprint of manufacturing facilities that exist in our current modular building enterprise,” said Oldcastle President David Steevens. “Module X Solutions is known for their modular innovations and merging that with the Oldcastle’s long, successful reputation in the building products industry makes for a dynamic team.”

Steevens said the joint venture provides a model that will allow the companies to reach new and existing customers in many industries, both domestically and internationally, with product lines encompassing concrete as well as light- and heavy-gauge steel.

“The joint venture strategically positions the new company with diversified products and services in projected growth industries while leveraging joint processes and economies of scale to gain global market share,” said MXO Vice President of Global and Sales and Marketing David Schoonover, who oversees global sales and marketing. “The new strategic location for Oldcastle Precast gives the company production locations in Atlanta in the east and Phoenix in the west; and, with the addition of Shreveport reaching the central and southern U.S. markets, Oldcastle becomes a truly national supplier to all of the industries it services.”

“With more than 89,000 employees across the globe, Oldcastle brings considerable strength to MXO Chairman of the Board Steven Schoonover,” Louisiana Economic Development Secretary Don Pierson said. “Schoonover has worked closely with LED, NLEP and Mayor Ollie Tyler to position Shreveport as the right place for Oldcastle to launch this important and significant joint venture. We have now set the stage for both MXS and MXO to achieve significant production growth targets. These combined operations will bring new and vibrant economic activity to Shreveport’s industrial heart in the coming months. Growing the footprint of our existing industry remains a top priority for us at LED.”