Covington marine engine company plans $5.85M expansion that will create 5 new jobs

A Covington company that sells and services marine engines and equipment will spend $5.85 million on a new operations center and warehouse at its St. Tammany Parish headquarters, officials said.

The project at Laborde Products is expected to create five new permanent jobs with an average annual salary of $65,000 and help the company retain another 40 jobs, officials said. The investment will also create eight additional indirect jobs and support 90 construction jobs, Louisiana Economic Development said in a news release Wednesday.

The expansion will add space for research and development to help the company broaden its range of products, helping position it for future growth, officials said.  

Laborde was founded in 1998 as a small-engine distributor, and it has grown to supply and service equipment to inland and offshore customers in the maritime, energy and defense sectors across the Gulf Coast, Louisiana Economic Development said.  

The project will add 25,000 square feet of space to the company’s headquarters on La. 25 in Covington. Construction is expected to begin soon and wrap up by the end of 2025, with operations starting in early 2026.

“This expansion in Covington is about more than just adding space — it’s about creating new opportunities for our team, our community and the industries we serve,” Laborde Products President and CEO Brian Laborde said in the news release.

Laborde called the expansion “a strategic move” for the company’s future.

The state put up a $200,000 reimbursable grant from LED’s economic development award program to help cover infrastructure and equipment costs, the news release said. Laborde is also expected to participate in the state’s Quality Jobs program, officials said.

“Growth and innovation aren’t exclusive to the tech and health care industries, they are happening in every sector across every region of our state,” Louisiana Economic Development Secretary Susan B. Bourgeois said.