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Dyno Nobel America unveils new ammonia plant in Jefferson Parish

Leaders from global chemical company Dyno Nobel America celebrated the unveiling of their new ammonia production facility in Jefferson Parish Thursday morning. The Jefferson Parish Economic Development Commission (JEDCO), in conjunction with Governor John Bel Edwards, representatives from Jefferson Parish, Louisiana Economic Development, and Greater New Orleans, Inc., joined Dyno Nobel America, and parent company Incitec Pivot Ltd., to announce this significant event.

Dyno Nobel’s announcement marks the completion of a three-year construction project to build an $850 million ammonia production facility at the Cornerstone Chemical Company’s Fortier Manufacturing Complex in Waggaman. The new anhydrous ammonia plant was integrated into Cornerstone Chemical Company’s existing infrastructure; the facility was built on a site where an ammonia plant once operated. Dyno Nobel America chose to locate its facility at Cornerstone for a number of reasons, including Cornerstone’s successful record of strategic alliances. Cornerstone currently partners with several chemical manufacturers, but they plan to leverage investment from other companies to broaden their global reach.

The partnership between Dyno Nobel America and Cornerstone Chemical Company will create a combined investment of more than $1 billion dollars. The new ammonia facility provided the commercial foundation for Cornerstone to continue a planned investment of $175 million in maintenance, upgrades and infrastructure expansion over a six-year period.
The combined investment will create 65 new direct jobs at an average salary of $80,000 and will retain 450 jobs at Cornerstone. It will also employ over 470 people indirectly. In addition, Dyno Nobel employed over 1,200 employees in construction.

Due to JEDCO’s existing relationship with Cornerstone, JEDCO was aware of the company’s desire for co-location opportunities. Through JEDCO’s business retention efforts, the organization was able to successfully assist in pairing Cornerstone Chemical Company with Dyno Nobel America. Additionally, JEDCO worked closely with Jefferson Parish leaders to craft an incentive package for the project. The negotiations will result in $45 million in revenue to the parish over the company’s first 20 years of operation.

“The completion of this project represents the culmination of the largest capital project since JEDCO’s inception nearly 30 years ago,” said JEDCO President & CEO Jerry Bologna. “Dyno Nobel’s decision to locate its ammonia production facility in Jefferson Parish confirms this area’s role as international player in the economic development community and speaks volumes to our attractive offerings: excellent infrastructure, the collaboration between state, regional and local entities, and a world-class, business-focused economic climate. We are thrilled to be a partner in this project and look forward to assisting Dyno Nobel as they begin operating in our community.”

“This is a tremendous day for Jefferson Parish,” says Parish President Michael S. Yenni. “We are grateful for the collaborative efforts between state, regional, and local organizations to bring this project to fruition in our Parish. Dyno Nobel is an asset to our community, creating jobs for our residents and positioning Jefferson Parish as an excellent place to do business on a global scale. We appreciate Dyno Nobel’s investment in our community and look forward to a long relationship with the company in the future.”

Jefferson Parish continues to remain the economic engine of the region with a distinct competitive advantage found in its transportation assets, proximity to the Mississippi River and reliable workforce. The business-friendly environment fostered in Jefferson Parish provides businesses with access to the tools they need in order to grow and experience success.

“This facility demonstrates the appeal of Jefferson Parish and Greater New Orleans as a location for industrial expansion, with a $1 billion+ investment made by Dyno Nobel and Cornerstone Chemical,” said Michael Hecht, President and CEO of Greater New Orleans, Inc. “These companies were able to take advantage of the region’s natural assets of the Mississippi River and supply of natural gas, as well as the financial savings created by our economic climate, fueling growth of the local economy with operations at this new plant.”

“Today’s ceremony marks an important milestone for our world-scale ammonia plant in Waggaman, Louisiana,” Chairman of Incitec Pivot Limited Mr. Paul Brasher said. “This plant is a transformational event for our Dyno Nobel business in the U.S. and for our company. It is the first ammonia plant to have been built in the state in over 25 years and we could not have achieved this without the support and engagement of the State of Louisiana, Louisiana Economic Development, Jefferson Parish Economic Development Commission, Jefferson Parish and the Waggaman Community.”

“Today, we celebrate the dedication of a new world-class ammonia production facility, which is the product of the hard work of thousands of individuals and millions of dollars which were invested in Louisiana to unlock the value provided by our vast wealth of natural resources,” Cornerstone Chemical Company CEO, Greg Zoglio said. “This is just one of many projects that have been made possible through stunning advances in technology that have re-established the U.S. Gulf Coast and Louisiana as the global leader in base chemical manufacturing for decades to follow.”

The new Dyno Nobel plant incorporates state-of-the-art technology to produce the lowest air pollution of any ammonia facility to date in the United States. This will become the benchmark for other ammonia plants around the world. The new Dyno Nobel plant will produce 800,000 metric tons of ammonia per year in Jefferson Parish.

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