Companies sought for free 2019 CEO program

Local businessman touts efficiencies learned

Applications are being accepted through March 30 in the Bayou Region for the CEO Roundtable program. It brings together key decision makers 10 times a year to collaborate in a trusted environment to grow their businesses.

The free program, presented by Louisiana Economic Development, will begin meeting in July at Fletcher Technical Community College on La. 311. It offers peer-to-peer learning through discussion, interaction and sharing of experiences with qualified facilitators, expert guest speakers and connections to various small business resources.

“I highly recommend it, especially for those who think they don’t have time to do it,” said Jason Bergeron, partner of Technology Professionals in Houma. “The efficiencies and information you pick up in peer-to-peer conversations pay for time invested. You’re able to take information from each session and apply it to increased earning potential of your company immediately.”

To qualify, applicants must be a CEO, business owner or key decision maker in a company that has between 5 and 100 employees, approximate annual revenue between $600,000-$50,000,000 and the potential to serve customers outside the local area. High-growth potential companies will be given additional consideration.

For more information or to apply, visit OpportunityLouisiana.com/CEO-Roundtables or contact Darrell Johnson at 225-342-4680 or Darrell.johnson2@la.gov. Questions can also be directed to Katherine Theriot at Terrebonne Economic Development at 985-873-6890.

Houma shipbuilder lands two major contracts

A Houma shipbuilder has landed two new contracts as it works to rebound from a four-year offshore oil bust.

Gulf Island Fabrication will build a 245-guest riverboat for the American Steamboat Company, officials said Friday. The new paddle-wheeler, called the American Countess, will be built using the existing hull of the Kanesville Queen, a former gambling boat built in 1995. It’s expected to sail the Mississippi River starting sometime next year.

Gulf Island officials said they will report revenue and man-hours associated with the project in the company’s public financial statements for the quarter ending Sept. 30.

“We continue to break sales records and incredible demand remains for more capacity on the river with each of our boats continuing to sail full,” American Queen Steamboat Company Chairman John Waggoner said in a news release. “We look forward to collaborating with Gulf Island’s team of skilled workers and craftsmen to deliver a riverboat that will once again exceed expectations of our guests and continue raising the bar on domestic river cruising.”

The latest contract follows Gulf Island’s announcement late last month that it has finalized a deal to build a second 3300-horsepower towboat for an unnamed customer. Delivery of the second vessel is estimated two months after delivery of the first.

“We are pleased to be awarded this option for the second newbuild towboat,” Kirk Meche, Gulf Island president and CEO, said in a news release. “This work will be performed at our shipyard in Houma. ... This is yet another indication of confidence from our customers as it relates to our ability to perform and provide quality vessels.”

Gulf Island, based in Houston, is a leading fabricator of oilfield structures, including offshore platforms and ships. It also builds structures for the petrochemical and alternative energy industries. Its Houma fabrication and shipbuilding operations in Houma employ about 600 workers.

Like many oilfield service companies, Gulf Island’s business has been impacted by a four-year offshore oil bust that has stripped an estimated 16,000 jobs from the Houma-Thibodaux economy.

Meche cited some improvements in an Aug. 9 report on the company’s second-quarter financial results. The company reported net income of $500,000 on revenue of $54 million for the three months ended June 30. That compares to a net loss of $10.9 million on revenue of $45.9 million for the same period in 2017. And it’s up from the first quarter of this year, when the company posted a net loss of $5.3 million.

He cited strong performance from Gulf Island’s services division in Houma, as well as income from the sale of a fabrication yard in Ingleside, Texas, for part of the gain.

On June 6, the company landed a contract to build a second marine research vessel for Oregon State University for $67.6 million. And in March, it received a $63.6 million contract to build the first in a new class of Navy salvage, towing and rescue ships. Both projects are being built in Houma.

The company’s reported a backlog of work totaling $347.6 million as of Aug. 8, including projects through 2022.

“As of today,” Meche said in the report, “our backlog is the largest it has been in four years.”

-- Executive Editor Keith Magill can be reached at 857-2201 or keith.magill@houmatoday.com.

Machines will create 58 million more jobs than they displace by 2022, group says

In the next four years more than 75 million jobs may be lost as companies shift to more automation, according to new estimates by the World Economic Forum. But the same projections have an upside: 133 million new jobs will emerge during the same time period, as businesses develop a new division of labor between people and machines.

The Future of Jobs Report arrives as the rising tide of automation is expected to displace millions of American workers in the long term and as corporations, educational institutions and elected officials grapple with a global technological shift that may leave many people behind. The report, published Monday, envisions massive changes in the worldwide workforce as businesses expand the use of artificial intelligence and automation in their operations. Machines account for 29 percent of the total hours worked in major industries, compared with 71 percent performed by people. By 2022, however, the report predicts that 42 percent of task hours will be performed by machines and 58 percent by people.

Previous research offers mixed forecasts on the effects of automation on jobs. It’s unclear if the new jobs created by innovative combinations of automation and human workers will offset the displacements. But the World Economic Forum report confirms that a key challenge for grappling with the future of work will be equipping staff with new skills and fostering workplace flexibility.

“To prevent an undesirable lose-lose scenario - technological change accompanied by talent shortages, mass unemployment and growing inequality - it is critical that businesses take an active role in supporting their existing workforces through reskilling and upskilling, that individuals take a proactive approach to their own lifelong learning and that governments create an enabling environment, rapidly and creatively, to assist in these efforts,” the report said.

The report’s projections mainly represent roles gained and lost within large multinational corporations. Another analysis that focuses on small and medium-sized business or certain sectors, such as health care and education, may show greater potential for new jobs, according to the report.

The report said that technological advances in four areas - the spread of high-speed mobile Internet, artificial intelligence, the adoption of big data analytics and cloud computing - are expected to drive business growth for the next four years. These tech developments, according to the report, will arrive in tandem with broader socioeconomic trends, such as the expansion of the middle class in developing countries, national economic growth and new energy policies.

But other social and political trends may hurt business prospects, the report said. Those factors include heightened protectionism, the effects of climate change, cybersecurity threats and increasingly aging societies.

The World Economic Forum compiled the report by surveying 313 business executives who together represent 15 million employees from around the world.

By Hamza Shaban The Washington Post

Business Dreams become reality for mom

For Nicole Reding, a native of Cut Off, opening a vintage re-sale clothing store in downtown Houma had been a dream she had been working toward for more than two years as she collected inventory at her home and struggled to find a location for her business.

February’s monthly job growth shows significant gains throughout Louisiana

BATON ROUGE – Job creation in Louisiana is showing considerable gains in key areas for the first time in more than a year, according to the most recent released data by the Bureau of Labor and Statistics (BLS) for February 2017.   See complete article below.