Sustainable Development and Public Affairs

"Adding Value to Your Community"

GBRIA serves members in 8 parishes, which are East Baton Rouge, West Baton Rouge, Iberville, St. James, St. John, Ascension, Pointe Coupee and West Feliciana Parishes. So how does industry add value to your community? See the GBRIA Community Presentation and information below.

Making Valuable Products

Industry in our area makes many products that are used every day such as:

Fertilizer – CF Industries
Chocolate & crayons food grade wax – ExxonMobil
Engine Fuels – Motiva Enterprizes, Placid Refining, ExxonMobil, Marathon
Household cleaners & cosmetics – Dow Chemical
Car dashboards – BASF, Honeywell
Piping & plastic wrap – Formosa Plastics
Household Bleach – Occidental Chemical
Styrofoam plates/cups – Americas Styrenics
Paper towels, tissue & copy paper – Georgia-Pacific

And many more…

Many Career Choices

Professionals - Engineers, accountants, economists, logistics, chemists, industrial hygienists, public affairs and more.
Plant technicians/operators – process, instrument, electrical, maintenance, laboratory

Administrative – clerk, bookkeeper, assistant

Construction – welder, scaffold builder, electrician, carpenter, pipe fitter, boilermaker, machinist, rigger, millwright, ironworker, painter, insulator and more.

How Do I Qualify?

Education/Training

For professional positions a 4 year university degree is often required. For technicians, operators, administrative and construction positions a high school diploma is required and usually some post high-school training. The most important skills to be proficient at are math, English and science.

Many opportunities for post high school training are available locally through trade schools or unions; The ABC Craft Training Center, ITI Technical College, the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers and more.

Drug and Crime Free

In addition to education, most employers require that employees be drug and crime free. The petrochemical industry is being regarded more and more as an asset that our national security wants to safeguard.

Providing Good Jobs

• 12,000 plant & regular contract employees work in member facilities at an average salary of $56,000/year.
• 5-6 downstream jobs are created for each plant employee.

Training Workers and Supporting Schools

• GBRIA sponsored the development & building of the Associated Builders and Contractors Craft Training Center and has funded its $1 million/year operation since 1985. Approximately 1,000 craft people are trained at the school each year, earning certificates as boilermakers, pipe fitters, electricians, welders and more. See their website for more information - www.abcpelican.org

• GBRIA also provides steering of programs delivered for industry by the Safety Council of the LA Capital Area. www.abcpelican.org They train approximately 33,000 construction contractors each year in essential safety skills needed to work in industry.

• Promoting Process Technology (PTEC), a two-year associates degree that prepares people to work in the chemical industry as process operators; providing more than $200,000 in PTEC scholarships to students at the five Louisiana campuses offering PTEC. See www.ptec101.com for more information.

• Facilities donate thousands of dollars to schools as well as employee time tutoring students and “Adopt-a-School” programs.

Economic Impact

Local industry employs approximately 8% of the workforce in the Greater Baton Rouge area. The payroll to these employees is over $900 million. These jobs, in turn, employ another 40% of the local workforce.

Over $ 235 million in taxes is paid annually.

Charitable Donations

Industry and its employees provide over $4 million annually to The United Way in the GBR area and industry contributes over $4.5 million to other charities and educational institutions annually.

A Sustainable Future

Local industry is committed to a long term future in the area providing safe facilities that contribute to their local communities.
Chemical companies have reduced Toxic Release Inventory (TRI) emissions by more than 80 percent since 1987
Ozone attainment in the Greater Baton Rouge area is of the highest priority to industry. Additional monitors have been installed, high-tech cameras are being used to detect leaks and extra protective measures are taken on high risk ozone days.