Some Good News for Michoud…

Blowing work to metro New Orleans: An editorial
The Times-Picayune

A major new tenant for the Michoud Assembly Facility could mean 600 new jobs to help replace the thousands that have been lost as the space shuttle program winds down, and an influx of well-paying jobs over the next decade would be encouraging on its own.

But Louisiana’s success in luring Blade Dynamics Ltd. also is notable because the company deals with renewable energy, a forward-looking sector and one that the state has targeted in its economic development efforts. The 3-year-old company, which is based on England’s Isle of Wight, manufactures advanced blades to increase the power and efficiency of high-power wind turbines…

Finding new tenants for Michoud, which is one of the largest industrial campuses in the world and an economic asset, should be a top priority. The state’s efforts to secure Blade Dynamics is evidence that the Jindal administration is focused on filling Michoud. The company was offered a performance-based incentive package that could be worth a total of $30 million. The state is also providing employee recruitment, screening and training services.

Louisiana is working with NASA and Jacobs Technology Inc. to attract more tenants, and with more than 1 million square feet of space still available, that needs to happen. Gov. Jindal predicted that more announcements of high-tech tenants will follow this one. Metro area residents are counting on it.

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