BATON ROUGE, La. (AP) - A company that makes metal weather stripping and other building construction components is expanding its facility in central Louisiana and closing its plant in Alabama.
Louisiana Gov. John Bel Edwards and AFCO Industries President and CEO Don Fowler said Monday that the company will make a $3.62 million investment to expand its facility in Alexandria. AFCO will close its plant in Pell City, Alabama and transfer jobs and operations to the Louisiana location. With this project, the company is adding 93,000-square-feet of production and warehouse space to its Alexandria operation.
AFCO's move will create 16 new direct jobs with an average annual salary of $25,250 per year, plus benefits.
"AFCO Industries is an important manufacturer in Alexandria, and the skilled workforce in Rapides Parish has served the company well for many years," Edwards said. "Louisiana's strong business climate makes expansions like this possible, with production activity and jobs relocating here from elsewhere. We are glad to see AFCO's success story in Central Louisiana continue into the future."
"AFCO chose Louisiana for this plant because of the aggressive 'open for business' atmosphere in the state," Fowler said. "We believe that Central Louisiana has the workforce AFCO needs to produce our products efficiently and to the high-quality standards our customers demand. CENLA is a great place to work, live and raise a family."
To secure the project, LED offered AFCO Industries a competitive incentive package that includes the comprehensive workforce solutions of LED FastStart, the state's workforce training program. AFCO also will be eligible for a performance-based grant of up to $150,000 for relocating equipment and inventory. In addition, the company is expected to utilize the state's Enterprise Zone and Industrial Tax Exemption programs.
