Tax incentive has few takers in Lafourche

In the next few months, businessman Lawrence “Trey” Boucvalt III will open the doors to his newest venture, Blackhawk Oilfield Services, an oilfield equipment rental and pipeline construction company based in Thibodaux.

Boucvalt also owns Houma’s ES&H, a company that specializes in emergency response to oil and hazardous materials spills. ES&H has been offering industrial cleaning services and waste transportation and disposal since 1994.

Presently, Blackhawk is still in the development stage. According to the company’s manager, Mike Oncale, a 20-year veteran in the oilfield industry, the business could be up and running as soon as mid-February.

The startup of Blackhawk is a direct response to an industry need as well as a desire to offer quality jobs for working Louisianans, Oncale said.

“There can never be too many oilfield-related jobs in south Louisiana, and there is plenty of room for us all to be prosperous,” he said. “Trey already rents quite a bit of oilfield equipment from other companies, so it was only natural for him to get into the business himself.”

The types of skilled laborers that will work for Blackhawk are qualified welders, pipe fitters and machine operators.

Oncale said the company is expecting to offer more than 40 jobs on the oilfield equipment rental side, and between 100 to 300 jobs on the construction side of the business once it is up and running.

Because of the number of new jobs created, Blackhawk is eligible to participate in Louisiana Economic Development’s Quality Jobs Program, which gives business tax incentives to create jobs in Louisiana.

Marilyn Friedkin, supervisor of LED’s business incentive division, said Blackhawk’s tax incentives could include a six percent rebate of the company’s annual payroll associated with the new jobs created for up to 10 years.

The company is also eligible for a rebate on the state’s four percent sales and use tax for money spent on materials, machinery and equipment during construction of the business.

“That would help us out a lot. We are here because people need jobs,” Oncale said. “Any break we can get to offer new jobs is all right with me.”

But, before Blackhawk can continue through the grant process, LED requires that the company gain the endorsement of the city in which the business headquarters will reside.

Thibodaux Mayor Charles Caillouet and the city council put their stamp of approval on the new company this past December.

“The Quality Jobs Program is an incentive to encourage business to locate or expand existing business in Louisiana to create quality jobs that focus on the Louisiana Vision 2020 plan that was developed in 1998 by then-Gov. Mike Foster,” said Bonnie Lafont, grants development director for the City of Thibodaux.

The Louisiana Vision 2020 program is a road map to change and strengthen Louisiana’s economy, Friedkin explained. The first part of the plan is to offer quality education, followed by improving the economy and quality of life for all Louisianans.

“Foster, along with the state Legislature, composed this strategic long-term plan because Louisianans called for and continued to seek a unified, coherent process to improving the state,” she said.

Blackhawk would be considered part of the second phase of the plan, which involves starting and growing existing businesses in the state.

Friedkin said the nation’s financial problems will have no bearing on Blackhawk’s or any other business participating in the program.

“This program will be here for business to take advantage of regardless of what is going on with the nation’s economy,” she said. “These funds have been set aside to bring business and expand businesses in the state to help keep our economy strong.”

The Quality Jobs Program is not the only LED program that offers tax incentives to existing businesses. The Enterprise Zone (EZ) Program provides income and franchise tax credits to businesses hiring a minimum of 35 percent of its employees in a rural or urban area.

As part of the EZ Program, businesses can receive tax cuts and rebates which include a $2,500 tax credit for each new permanent job created within the first five years of operation.

Businesses are also eligible for the four percent state sales and use tax rebate, Friedkin said.

As with the Quality Jobs Program, the city in which the company is headquartered must pass a resolution for a business to continue through the initial grant process.

The Thibodaux City Council recently approved resolutions allowing Walgreens pharmacy and Raising Cane’s restaurant to continue through the grant process.

The new Raising Cane’s has opened on North Canal Boulevard in Thibodaux. However, the new Walgreens, located on Audubon Drive in Thibodaux, is still in the construction phase.

Both the Quality Jobs and Enterprise Zone programs have been in existence since 1998. In that 10-year span, Thibodaux has been asked to approve eight LED resolutions for existing businesses and startup businesses looking to offer new jobs in the area, according to Lafont.

For more information on how to qualify for the either program, contact the LED at (225) 342-3000.

Mike Oncale, manager of Blackhawk Oilfield Services, handles one of the off-road vehicles that can be rented through Blackhawk. The company is in the developmental stage, but once open in Thibodaux, it will rent equipment commonly used in the oilfield industry. * Photo by SOPHIA RUFFIN