Area Development
A strategic partner to oil and gas operators, Danos selected of the Port of Iberia, Louisiana, for its new $23.2 million, 172,000 square foot manufacturing facility, which will create 100 new jobs.

The Danos manufacturing facility represents a key portion of a larger expansion announced by the company in May 2013. Danos also will build a new Gray, Louisiana, headquarters facility, near Houma, Louisiana, at the intersection of U.S. Highway 90 and Louisiana Highway 24. Together, the headquarters and manufacturing facilities will represent a capital investment of $40 million, with 426 new direct jobs created over the next five years.

The company will also maintain fabrication operations at its current headquarters site in Larose, Louisiana, where Danos was founded in 1947. In New Iberia, Danos will build offshore-bound production modules, as well as structural and process piping products, for the oil and gas industry. The Port of Iberia’s strategic location with direct access to the Gulf of Mexico will expedite product deliveries to all offshore locations, company officials said.

“Danos is thrilled to be in position to commence construction of a world-class manufacturing complex in Louisiana,” said Eric Danos, the company’s Executive Vice President. “We looked across the Gulf Coast and found a site close to home in New Iberia with the right infrastructure and a talented workforce. This new Danos facility will allow us to continue to build on a long legacy of partnering with major oil and gas operators to solve complex energy challenges.”

Governor Bobby Jindal said, “Danos is a major economic driver in Louisiana, and its decision to reinvest in our state represents a tremendous vote of confidence in Louisiana’s outstanding business climate, workforce and infrastructure.”

To secure the headquarters and manufacturing project, the state offered Danos a customized incentive package that includes a performance-based, $1.5 million Economic Development Award Program grant to provide infrastructure improvements for the new manufacturing location. The state also will provide the comprehensive workforce solutions of LED FastStart, the state workforce development training program. In addition, Danos is expected to utilize Louisiana’s Quality Jobs and Industrial Tax Exemption programs.

At the Port of Iberia, Danos will lease 39.74 acres for the manufacturing facility on a waterfront tract of the port’s new 108-acre Millennium Expansion project on the eastern end of the 2,000-acre port complex. Construction of the Danos facility will begin in approximately six months, with hiring starting in the third quarter of 2015.

“The Port Commission and I are excited Danos has chosen the Port of Iberia for their new fabrication facility,” Port Executive Director Roy Pontiff said. “We know the site selection competition was fierce, and we credit our world-class workforce for tipping the location decision in our favor. We look forward to developing a long-term relationship with Danos, and know that they will take their oil and gas construction business to the next level here in Iberia Parish.”