From the Desk of the Editor in Chief
All year long, we track the winners and losers in site selection competitions featuring locations spanning the globe. This month, the front of our stage is reserved exclusively for winners only—the recipients of our annual Economic Development Deal of the Year Awards and our top honor, State of the Year.
Our 2010 State of the Year is Louisiana. Perhaps no other state in the nation has faced as much adversity in recent times: Louisiana was battered by a trifecta of disasters that would have brought lesser domains to their knees, including a major hurricane, a mammoth oil spill, and the shock waves of a national economic downturn. We are pleased to report the Bayou State not only has weathered these storms, it has reset its compass and is sailing straight into a high-growth future.
The diversity, scope and innovation of Louisiana’s economic development strategy already is yielding a bonanza of high-wage jobs, with the promise of many more to come in growth sectors ranging from digital media to modules for nuclear power plants. The state continues to build on its traditional strength, oil and gas production, and it recently put down a huge marker that will cement Louisiana’s place as a manufacturing stronghold: winning Nucor’s new $3.4-billion iron and steel plant, which also snared our Bronze Award in this year’s Deal of the Year contest.
Bravo, Louisiana, for a well-deserved honor as Business Facilities’ 2010 State of the Year.
