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PORT ARTHUR — The guest speaker for Wednesday’s Contractor’s Business Development Group meeting wasn’t a representative of one local industry, but instead is a representative from a company that tracks industrial opportunities across the world.

“This would be the fifth or sixth time that these guys have spoken to several of our groups, from Lake Charles to Houston,” said Travis Woods, chairman of the Contractor’s Business Development Group. “All they do is gather information so you can have access to it. They have subscriptions where you can sign up with them. These guys lay that stuff right in your hands if you work with them.”

Industrial Info Resources, founded in 1983, operates 17 offices across the globe.

“Just covering projects in North America is 240 researchers making day-to-day calls … to try and provide you guys with accurate information on projects and contacts,” said Simon Finlayson, vice-president of sales for the Gulf Coast.

“Our goal today is just to introduce ourselves, reinforce through the Chamber what’s going on in this area as a third-party company — it’s a very active industrial area, and there a tons of fantastic opportunities.”

Christopher Bird, senior account executive, said their researches make more than 3,000 phone calls a day identifying operation sites, key contacts in the plants, operations and process units inside those facilities, expansions and maintenance.

“Obviously, the Gulf Coast is pretty near and dear to us,” he said.

During Wednesday’s presentation, Finlayson and Bird presented information on the Golden Triangle — Beaumont, Port Arthur and Orange. They refer to it as Zone 10.

“In 2024 for Texas Zone 10, we’re forecasting 11 billion in project starts,” Bird said. “That’s next year alone.”

In the Greater Gulf Coast Region, ranging from Corpus Christi to Tallahassee, Florida, Industrial Info Resources is tracking 2,900 projects worth $504 billion.

“That’s active projects that could be in any stage of the game,” Bird said. “We identify early conception, briefing, boardroom conversations all the way through completion and ongoing maintenance of those facilities.”

Of those 2,900, there are 294 active projects being tracked in Orange, Port Arthur and Beaumont totaling $80 billion.

“So many of you guys are in the oil and gas base, and obviously there’s a reason for that,” Finlayson said. “But there are unique opportunities, too, in food and beverage, manufacturing, the data centers, the power facilities.”

For more information, visit IndustrialInfo.com.

— Written by Monique Batson