By Denise Trowbridge, North Shore Report, December 2004

Burris Aquaculture & Specialty Feeds in Franklinton, La, is getting a makeover Washington Parish economic development officials say is the beginning of an era of growth and prosperity for the parish.

The mill has broken ground on a 7,000-square-foot addition that will include an extrusion plant as well as packing and shipping facilities. The $5 million project will boost the mill's production capacity by 30 percent and create up to six new full-time jobs. Construction began shortly after Burris was acquired by Cargill Animal Nutrition, a division of Minneapolis-based Cargill Incorporated, in May.

According to Forbes, Cargill, an agricultural products manufacturer, is the United States' largest private company with $62.9 billion in revenue in 2003 and 101,000 employees in 60 countries. Cargill operates several other facilities in Louisiana, including salt mines in Breaux Bridge and Avery Island, a flour mill in Port Allen and feed and grain facilities in LeCompte and Westwego.

The Burris facility manufactures specialty feeds for commercial fishing and aquaculture ventures around the globe, including alligator, tilapia and shrimp farms. “If it lives in the water or is associated with the water in any way, shape or form, we can feed it,” said General Manager Robert Burris.

Until the merger, Burris and his brother, David Burris, were the fifth generation of their family to own and operate the mill. The company began in 1898 as a dry goods general store and morphed into a tractor dealership, cotton gin, then a specialty pet food manufacturer. Burris entered the aquaculture business in the early 1990s.

Their aquaculture expertise made the Burris mill an attractive acquisition for Cargill. “The primary focus of Burris is aquaculture, and that is an area where Cargill Animal Nutrition would like to grow,” said Cargill spokesman Mark Klein. “We were attracted to Burris because of its strong brand and loyal customers.”

By acquiring the Burris facility, Cargill also eliminated a major competitor in international markets. “For years we competed with Cargill around the world for the same top clients,” Burris said. “Eventually, Cargill began to wonder how a little company in Louisiana could successfully compete with a giant like them and determined that we have some things they would like to have.”

Burris said the company and the town were nervous about the Cargill merger at first. Burris Aquaculture & Specialty Feeds is the largest employer in Franklinton - population 3,900 - with 35 full-time employees. Putting the fate of the town's largest employer in the hands of a large multinational corporation was not an easy decision. “It was the most difficult decision my brother and I ever had to make,” Burris said. “But we knew it was an opportunity to take the business to the next level. As a small family business we had limited assets and limited capacity for growth.

“The more we learned about Cargill the more it seemed like a match made in heaven,” Burris added, “and the multimillion dollar project being built out back is a testament to Cargill's intention to move in here and grow this business.”

Cargill has also made $250,000 in safety upgrades to the plant in the past seven months. “The company's No. 1 objective is to have zero accidents,” Burris said. “[Cargill] spares no amount of time or effort to reach that objective. They go above and beyond to make sure not just employees, but their customers and community are safe.”

Franklinton and Washington Parish economic development officials are confident Cargill's presence will spur further business investment in the parish. “Having a company as large as Cargill is a good thing for Washington Parish,” said Ryan Seal, the executive director of the Washington Parish Industrial Development Foundation. “I am sure the company's size, diversity and reputation will help recruit other businesses to the region.”

Washington Parish may soon earn a reputation as a prime location for conducting business in Central and South American markets as well. The Burris mill has had a large presence in Brazil since 2001, when it inked a deal with Coinbra to supply shrimp feed to Brazil. Cargill plans to extend Burris' presence throughout Latin America. “We are in a prime location for servicing all of Latin America, because of our port system, railroads and the Mississippi river,” Burris said.

Cargill may eventually change the way corporations view Washington Parish's potential in the long term, they have already influenced residents' views about their home territory. “They showed us that even though we are small and don't have an Interstate route or a lot of natural resources, we still do have what it takes to attract big business,” Burris said.