WASHINGTON, La. (KLFY) -- Growth is coming to Washington, where a 140-acre field will soon be home to a brand-new facility from Southland Industrial Coatings, creating hundreds of new jobs, officials said.
Southland specializes in galvanizing, metalizing, sand blasting and fireproofing steel poles used in a variety of industries.
The new 100,000-square-foot facility coming to the Town of Washington is expected to bring in nearly 300 new jobs to St. Landry Parish, from construction of the plant to the full-time positions available at the facility.
Bill Rodier with St. Landry Economic Development says the opportunity for jobs and growth will not stop there.
"Manufacturing jobs typically create multipliers with them," Rodier said. "So, for every one manufacturing job, depending on the manufacturing industry, that might result in an extra two and a half to three and a half of additional jobs created around that. So that could be people in restaurants, it could be people in grocery stores providing different types of services. So, this being a manufacturing company makes it a really strong economic driver in especially in a rural area like that."
The Mayor of Washington, Dwight Landreneau, explained just how much the inclusion of this facility will mean to the town, which he said is struggling financially.
"This brings maybe some economic stability to our hometown," Landreneau said. "We are encouraged and excited to have this so that we can maybe stabilize our budget in Washington and grow."
Construction on the new plant is expected to be completed by Spring of 2025.
