By Pat Culverhouse
An orange glow in a September, 1998 night sky could have signaled the end of a local manufacturing company, but it only ignited the resolve and created a culture that erased the words “can’t do” and “won’t do” from the vocabulary of its owners and employees.
Today, 25 years after a devastating fire leveled the production facility at Minden’s Fibrebond Corp., an on-going $43 million expansion project at the 41-year-old company marks the continued growth at Webster Parish’s largest private employer and number one property tax payer.
All this, according to Fibrebond Chief Financial Officer Patrick Caraway, is a tribute to ownership and to employees who possess a special trait.
“Nowhere else in the country do we see the work ethic of northwest Louisiana,” Caraway told members of the Minden Lions Club. “People here grow up accustomed to manual labor…it’s already ingrained in them. It’s the people in the plant that makes this happen. I wouldn’t trade our people for anyone in the world.”
A video presentation showed devastation that would have ruined many companies, but 1998 Fibrebond President/CEO Claud Walker assured employees and their families that while there might not be business as usual, there would still be business.
During the 11 months the newer, better production facility was being constructed, employees never missed a day of work nor a paycheck. Things were different, but production continued.
“Insurance did cover the rebuild,” Caraway said. “Mr. Walker said Fibrebond wasn’t gone. They could have taken the money and gone to the house but they didn’t.”
Fibrebond employees 530 at the Minden plant with an average tenure of 10 years, a figure Caraway says is unique in industry. Among those employees are 296 Webster Parish residents and 156 from three surrounding parishes, figures that make up 85 percent of the company’s workforce. Just under $28 million in wages are paid with nearly $14 and a half million of those going to Webster Parish residents.
Local businesses are also on the receiving end of Fibrebond revenue with $10 million in vendor spending going to Minden suppliers. Returning money to the local economy is an important economic factor, especially when a large portion of that revenue is coming from other areas.
“About 92 percent of the money brought in is coming from outside Louisiana, invested in Louisiana through payroll, utilities and taxes,” Caraway said. “When we talk to the state about economic incentives, they like to see outside money coming in.”
In its beginning, Fibrebond dealt primarily with the communications industry. There has been a major shift in the company’s business focus as new technology has emerged. Where AT&T and Verizon once topped the customer list, worldwide leaders like Apple and Google are now major clients.
“Data center is a primary industry and that makes up about 79 percent of our total revenue,” Caraway said. “The company has gone from relying primarily on two customers. It is rare to see a company pivot from one one industry to another so quickly and be able to survive. Our CEO Graham Walker had the vision to get into another industry and we have the people who are not afraid. They will keep going and running through brick walls if they have to.”
Data center, Caraway explained, includes information storage such as iCloud where servers in remote locations pull information from anywhere in the world. “We’re seeing no slowdown…it’s incredible to be in right now. With what we hear about artificial intelligence it’s just the beginning. With AI there is ore need for data and processing and the only holdup is power availability,” he said.
Other Fibrebond industry customers include fiber (9 percent), industrial (9 percent), utilities (three percent) and wireless (2 percent).
Another video featured current President/CEO Graham Walker explaining the current expansion project that began in 2022 and connects local workers with worldwide customers. An additional 74 acres has been purchased, an additional 90,000 sq. ft. of parking is available, warehouse space has been expanded for clients’ equipment supplies and technological upgrades have been made for the manufacturing process.
When the new facility is fully operational, 240,000 sq. ft. will be dedicated for structural assemblies to fill client needs, Walker said.
“We are a shock absorber for a long supply chain across the United States,” he said in the video. “We are a small business in north Louisiana building to a world class standard.”