Brown Builders in Bossier City is changing the landscape of north Louisiana.

Under Kristen Brown’s leadership, earlier this year Brown Builders was awarded the 2014 Butler Manufacturing North American Volume Builder of the Year Award and named the Butler Builder of the Year – and for good reason. Brown Builders put together the Benteler Steel/ Tube Manufacturing construction project that is under way. The Benteler deal is one example of a renaissance of manufacturing that appears to see businesses returning to the United States for their manufacturing needs.

A Manufacturing Hub

Phase I has begun on Benteler Steel/ Tube Manufacturing, an 885,000-squarefoot facility, which is a business unit of the Benteler Group headquartered in Salzburg, Austria. The facility will be the company’s first facility in the United States and is expected to create more than 1,000 construction and supplier jobs as well as an estimated 675 full-time jobs when the facility opens. The mill will be able to produce up to 320,000 tons of steel tubes annually. Construction will include an administration building, a tube rolling and finishing mill, a central maintenance lab and warehouse building, billet storage area and electrical and mechanical utility buildings. Brown estimated the completion of Phase I to be April 15, 2016.

The Caddo/Bossier Port proximity is one of the primary ingredients that make this development such a sweeping lucrative partnership for so many in north Louisiana. The port’s staff and board are anticipating the partnership will bring a total investment of approximately $975 million to the port.

“We were able to offer Benteler an ideal multi-modal greenfield, shovel-ready site,” Executive Port Director Eric English said. “But it was really the Caddo and Bosser citizens’ decision to invest in the port years ago that made an opportunity like this happen. The future is bright when it comes to north Louisiana and multimodal transportation.”

David Rockett, executive director of the Greater Bossier Economic Development Foundation, agreed and said the size of the Benteler plant is unique to the area.

“There are a couple of other large plants, such as the General Motors plant, but construction of something this large is rare,” he said. “I see a real gamut of opportunity and I’m optimistic about what this means for our manufacturing opportunities both in north Louisiana and the [United States.] To earn manufacturing opportunities is not as easy as it was in the past but we are seeing a return to the [United States.] Manufacturers have learned that cheap labor is not everything. Overseas, goals could not be met and there were other issues. We are seeing a renaissance of manufacturing.”

Rockett also said the financial partnerships were formed through the incentives package from Benteler. “It came with certain benchmarks of employment,” he added, “and their partnership with the advanced manufacturing studies at Bossier Parish Community College was a direct result of that.”

Tracy McGill, public relations director at BPCC, explained the partnership.

“Benteler, Louisiana Economic Development and BPCC came together to bring the center to fruition,” she said. “Benteler has their side for training production. On our side we have an advisory committee made up of local manufacturers for all of our programs. These business leaders meet with faculty and tell us what they need and our curriculum changes to evolve with the industry.”

McGill said the space housed by Benteler will continue job training for the community down the road. “Once Benteler gets up to speed and full capacity, that space can be retrofitted for another manufacturer in town,” she said. “It’s a new age of manufacturing, not the same old same old. There are ever-changing computers and techniques involved. We are just thrilled to have the opportunity to collaborate with these companies to create a manufacturing hub and bring jobs to north Louisiana.”

Building Benteler

So much has changed since Brown’s father first introduced the design-build concept to the north Louisiana region over 40 years ago. Since Brown became president of Brown Builders in 2012, the company is the largest certified womanowned general contractor in Louisiana, with over 100 employees. She brings what the Brown family refers to as a unique holistic approach to general contracting and design-build needs.

Brown said her holistic approach helps clients achieve their goals for their new space, even if clients don’t always know exactly how to articulate those needs.

“Some contractors insist on a perfect set of plans and they have someone draw them up and you end up with a building that matches the plan but doesn’t match the needs of the client,” Brown said. “We ask questions like, ‘Will this work for the consumer?’ And then we adjust the plans as we move along and discover more about their needs and goals.”

Brown said the Benteler project was similar to a lot of their previous work.

“We’ll have an owner come in with a concept, such as, ‘We need an office building. We have three [executives] who need a certain size office,’ or perhaps they need a certain manufacturing temp or type of floor. Because of our experience, we can help them come up with what they really need before we bring an engineer or designer into the project. We have many good relationships and resources, and we select the right people to match our clients and get the job done right. It’s a different holistic approach, where we look at the whole project instead of sticking to plans.”

Brown said Benteler was committed to using a local builder. “We have the reputation of being the highest quality and the best warranty here,” Brown said. “We had the experience as the only contractor in this area that had done similar projects.” Brown’s Legacy Just a small sampling of Brown Builders’ clients over the last 40 years include businesses and government entities in Shreveport-Bossier City such as Capital One, Heard, McElroy & Vestal, Glen Retirement System, VOA Veterans Home, Superior Steakhouse, Shreve Memorial Library, Parkway High School and Barksdale Air Force Base. Brown also has designed and built multifamily residential spaces in Bossier City, Covington and New Orleans.

“We find ourselves to be a good match with a lot of clients who are looking for a quality product that they’ll certainly get a good value for their money. Once we find we’ve got a good fit, it’s almost a marriage in a lot of ways. We develop that trust.”

Hardy Hopkins, with Louisiana Cat, has used Brown Builders on their projects for years and he agreed. “It’s been a lasting relationship because they understand us,” he said. “When we need something, we don’t always know exactly what we want. They help us get to that point. We’re working with Brown now to finish an addition to one of our existing facilities. We collaborate on our needs and then we have the freedom to modify and adjust. We like that. It’s been a good relationship since the 1980s.”

Stirling Properties is another one of Brown’s high-profile jobs, featuring anchors such as Target and Michaels in a 36,000-squarefoot shopping complex. Brown is also working on two Zaxby’s restaurant locations on Benton Road and Barksdale Boulevard and a number of multi-family developments along the Interstate 10 corridor.

Brown is also an affiliate of Butler Manufacturing, the world’s leading producer of steel building systems. Butler buildings offer a sometimes more affordable option for a wide range of building needs while still maintaining architecturally appealing and environmentally friendly options.

Even with all of the latest technology moving the industry forward, the construction industry still means jobs for the community, Brown said.

“The future of construction belongs to the computer savvy,” Brown said. “On-screen takeoffs are replacing the manual, email is making the fax machine nearly obsolete, plans are stored electronically and all but the most curmudgeon field superintendent has to agree that it’s much more convenient to tote an iPad on site for a quick plan check than a set of plans. But construction is an industry that can’t ever be completely automated. It will always be necessary to use people to do major aspects of our work.”