Monsanto Completes Luling, LA Facility Expansion

Monsanto Chairman Hugh Grant welcomed guests to the company’s Roundup agricultural herbicide production facility in Luling, LA, March 5, to celebrate the completion of a nearly $200 million expansion just outside of New Orleans. The expansion was announced and started in April 2008 to increase production of Roundup brand agricultural herbicide.

“This has been a huge project for us in scope and in terms of the financial investment. However, it is more than an investment in this plant; it’s an investment in farmers,” Grant said. “It’s an investment that will help ensure farmers continue to have access to the most trusted and reliable crop protection products available. This expansion allows us to boost Roundup production capacity by 20 percent and help us minimize our impact on the environment by reducing our carbon footprint and scaling back our energy use.”

Rebuilding the Gulf Coast has been a major priority in the region since Hurricane Katrina. Some of the dignitaries attending, including Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal, pointed to projects like this expansion as an example of the rebuilding effort despite the recession. The Luling project took nearly two years to complete, with nearly 1.2 million man hours of construction labor and approximately 90 percent of the value of the labor contracted through companies in Baton Rouge, Thibodeaux and New Orleans.