Quality Coastal Initiative Invites all NECA Contractors to Participate in Gulf Coast Industrial Projects

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Researched by Industrial Info Resources (Sugar Land, Texas)--In the past two years, industrial construction work along the Texas, Louisiana and Mississippi Gulf Coast region has increased substantially, mainly for Power, Refining, Chemical Processing and LNG projects. This increase is straining manpower resources and highlighting the importance of the availability of qualified construction crafts. The amount of industrial construction work under development coupled with the shortages of skilled craftsmen and laborers could lead to project delays and cost overruns. The Quality Coastal Initiative (QCI) is working to alleviate this problem by providing qualified, skilled union electrical workers and contractors for industrial projects. At the upcoming National Electrical Contractors Association (NECA) 2007 Conference, on October 5-8 in San Francisco, California, QCI will inaugurate a new program by inviting NECA contractors from across the country to bid on Gulf Coast projects.

Established a few years ago, the Quality Coastal Initiative (QCI) is a partnership between the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers (IBEW) and NECA. QCI’s goal is to increase the use of union electrical workers and contractors on industrial construction projects. QCI is working to establish relationships between Gulf Coast industrial plant owners and qualified electrical contractors by emphasizing quality, safety and productivity.

Tim Overmier, Manager of QCI in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, said: “In the past few years, industrial work has picked up significantly on the Gulf Coast, especially in Texas where several big industrial projects are underway, and in Gulfport, Mississippi, and New Orleans, Louisiana, where hurricane reconstruction work is prominent. We are working extra craftsmen outside of our core group in all of these areas.”

This trend is expected to continue in 2008. A record amount of industrial construction is on the horizon for the Gulf Coast region. In the area covered by the QCI, Brownsville, Texas, to Gulfport, Mississippi, more than 1,100 major industrial projects representing a total investment value of more than $90 billion are planned to begin construction between 2007 and 2010.

Click on the image at right to view a breakdown of this work by state.

Because of the increase in industrial project construction, QCI is initiating a program to bring NECA contractors from other parts of the country to work on Gulf Coast projects that local contractors will be too busy to handle. The QCI program, along with the Code of Excellence program adopted by all QCI local unions, hopes to take advantage of synergies between all NECA contractors with ties to companies operating plants on the Gulf Coast, like ExxonMobil or Shell. QCI will kick off the program at the upcoming NECA 2007 Conference and Trade Show being held October 5-8, 2007 at the Moscone Center in San Francisco, California.

For more information, come by and visit QCI at NECA 2007 at Booth #1139, or contact Tim Overmier at 225-931-9270, or Dale Wortham at 281-840-2857. email: qcivalue@gmail.com

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