New Tenant Announced for Shreveport’s GM Plant Location

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The North Louisiana Economic Partnership announced on Wednesday a new tenant has been secured for the former GM plant location.  Industrial Realty Group, LLC (IRG), one of the largest industrial real estate developers in the nation, announced that thyssenkrupp Supply Chain Services, Inc, a leader in renewable energy logistics, will join IRG's 3.5 million square foot campus in Shreveport.

The GM Plant opened in Shreveport in the early 80's, manufacturing the Chevy S-10, a small pickup in the Chevy lineup, and later transitioned to the Hummer H3T.  The plant closed in 2012 after bankruptcy proceedings in 2009, and has been vacant for years.

Elio Motors

There was a little bit of excitement when Elio Motors announced their intention to purchase the GM Plant, and open a new auto manufacturing facility.  Elio announced they were purchasing the plant, and expected to hire 1500 workers by the end of 2015. High hopes... but obviously, that pipe-dream never materialized.  Elio still has a website active now touting an all-electric vehicle.

In their description of the GM Plant site, the NLEP website describes it as follows:

Shreveport Business Park is comprised of three buildings totaling nearly 3.5 Million sq. ft. near the Texas
and Arkansas state borders, and the Caddo – Bossier Port. The site is just minutes from Dallas, one of the
fastest growing MSAs in the country. It is well-positioned for accessibility via multiple interstates and throughways.

The site includes: Building A, 1 Million sq. ft. assembly building; Building B an 840,000 sq. ft. former stamping plant; and Building C, a 1.6 Million sq. ft. manufacturing, warehouse and paint facility. The plant includes 530 acres located in southwestern Shreveport, with access to heavy power and active, Union Pacific railroad spurs. Waste water treatment, heating, steam generation, bulk-fluid transfer and conditioned air can be supplied by Shreveport Business Park’s powerhouse.

 

On Thursday, Justyn Dixon, President & CEO of the North Louisiana Economic Partnership told KEEL News:

 thyssenkrupp is going to be joining our eco-system.  They're going to be taking up 600,000 square-feet out there, doing supply chain logistics operations, and we're excited.  It adds to the steel industry that we have that continues to grow in the Shreveport Bossier North Louisiana area with companies like Benteler Steel... like Ternium... like McElroy Metals... we're building that cluster that says, "Hey, we're a metals fabrication type town," and hopefully this will give us an opportunity to grow.

When asked "What does thyssenkrupp do?"  Dixon relpied:

They do a lot across all spectrums of metal, metal production, and in this case metal supply chain. They will be storing, warehousing and distributing heavy metals.

I know people are hesitant to accept good news about the facility after the botched Elio deal.  But after listening to people like Dixon, and State Rep. Thomas Pressley, who also talked with KEEL News on Thursday, it's hard for me not to hope that this is a project that we end up being excited about.