Taylor Porter was a presenting sponsor for the Fourth Annual CFMA/ABC South Louisiana Construction Economic Forum, held Thursday, Nov. 1, at the Renaissance Hotel.

Organized by the Construction Financial Management Association and the Pelican Chapter, Associated Builders and Contractors, the annual forum addressed the latest trends in construction and featured a panel on "Economic Opportunity and Development," starring Stephen Toups, executive vice president of Turner Industries Group; Jerry Rispone, owner and CEO of ISC Constructors; and Lee Jenkins, vice president of Performance Contractors. LABI President and CEO Stephen Waguespack served as the panel moderator.

The keynote speaker was James Benham, CEO of JB Knowledge, as he discussed "Future is Now. How Today's Tech is Transforming the Oldest Industry."

More than 200 people attended the event. Along with Taylor Porter, Hannis T. Bourgeois, LLP, and Regions Bank are also presenting sponsors of the event.

The Baton Rouge-area industrial construction sector is expected to boost the local economy by 6,000 projected new jobs in 2019 (+1.5%) and another 8,100 in 2020 (+1.9%), according to economist Loren Scott in his 2019-2020 Louisiana Economic Outlook, An Executive Summary.

Six major projects under construction in the nine-parish Baton Rouge area will drive the majority of the job growth, including Sintech’s $1.4 billion ethane cracker project in Plaquemine, Shell’s $717 million alpha olefins plant in Geismar, Oxychem’s $145 million expansion in Geismar and BASF’s $150 million expansion in Ascension Parish. Of approximately $18.9 billion worth of industrial projects announced in the Capital Region since 2012, Scott says $15.8 billion have been completed or are underway and another $3.1 billion of potential investments are possible in the coming years.

Taylor Porter’s construction lawyers routinely represent and advise local, state and national construction industry leaders, including owners, general contractors, subcontractors, homebuilders, architects, engineers, material and equipment suppliers, and manufacturers.

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