NEW ORLEANS — Alabama-based Starr Textile Services continues along its path for growth in the Louisiana market. The hospitality-centered commercial laundry services company plans to expand into a new facility it has purchased in nearby Jefferson Parish.
After two years of working alongside the Jefferson Parish Economic Development Commission (JEDCO) to secure a location, Starr was able to acquire a facility in the parish’s Elmwood Business Park, the organizations announced during a press conference last week.
Starr purchased the land and building through an SBA 504 loan, which will also fund new commercial laundry equipment and building renovations. More than $10 million will be invested in the project, Starr reports, with JEDCO financing more than $4.3 million, making it the largest SBA 504 loan in the Commission’s history.
The new facility is expected to create 40 new jobs immediately, with another 25 added in the first two years of receiving loan funding. The plant will also allow Starr to increase its processing capacity to more than 6,000 pounds of laundry per hour to service hotels, restaurants and condominium property management partners in Louisiana and Mississippi around the clock.
Starr has partnered with Kenner, La.-based manufacturer Pellerin Milnor Corp. and distributor Pellerin Laundry Machinery Sales Co. to design and equip the new facility. Starr expects to purchase more than $4.5 million worth of laundry equipment, including a Milnor PulseFlow® tunnel washer.
Starr and Pellerin Laundry Machinery teamed previously to design and equip Starr’s original 30,000-square-foot facility in Foley, Ala.
“Pellerin and Starr make great partners because our business principles and high standards for customer service are aligned,” says Sheila Hodges, owner and chairman of Starr’s parent company, SH Enterprises.
“We are very proud to be partnering with Starr Textile Services on this state-of-the-art laundry facility,” says Scott McClure, vice president of Pellerin Laundry Machinery. “This new laundry will be minutes away from our Kenner plant and will have some of the latest energy-saving technology.”
Their proximity will benefit both businesses, Jefferson Parish President John F. Young believes. “Not only did Starr find a new home in Jefferson Parish…but it also moved closer to a company that can service its equipment needs,” he says.
“The New Orleans area has been very good to us,” says Hodges. “Our commitment back to this area, and now to Jefferson Parish as well, is that we will continue to invest in the community.”
Starr is expected to move its New Orleans operations into the new building by August.
