W.R. (Grace), a manufacturer of specialty catalysts and materials for the energy, petrochemical and industrial sectors, is preparing for major growth with an approximately $300 million expansion across three of its key Louisiana facilities in Baton Rouge, Norco and Sulphur.
The company is working to significantly enhance production capacity, safety, and efficiency across the board, officials stated on Louisiana Economic Development’s project review website.
The largest investment is $234 million for the company’s Sulphur facility to expand its Zeolite water-softening process by purchasing new equipment and upgrading existing equipment. Additional improvements at the site will include installing a new alumina scale, storage tanks, silos, a 54,000 square-foot warehouse and much more.
Grace also wants to invest $32 million in its Baton Rouge facility in order to streamline the facility’s pyrophoric processes by purchasing major equipment to include product storage units, loading equipment, electrical components and instrumentation, as well as the installation of new hydraulic filters to existing piping. The proposed expansion, officials say, will include improvements to handle greater production volume but is not expected to increase the square footage of the facility.
Completing the project review is Grace’s $15 million Norco project expansion with the company making plans to strengthen its existing control room with the construction of new windows, fireproof and blastproof walls, enhanced instrumentation and a new permanent onsite 10,00 square-foot administration building which will house operations and production management. The company also proposed to increase the facility’s storage capacity with a new storage tank and the supporting infrastructure needed to integrate the tank into the existing manufacturing process.
All three expansions are slated for completion by early 2026.