BATON ROUGE, La. — Louisiana Economic Development will honor the 2012 Lantern Award winners tonight during a private reception held at the Louisiana Governor's Mansion. Lantern Award winners demonstrate excellence in manufacturing and outstanding service to their communities through the involvement of their businesses and employees.
"Each year, we recognize manufacturers in our state who embody quality in their work processes and commitment to their communities," LED Secretary Stephen Moret said. "Lantern Award winners are focused on improvement, growth and innovation, and their contributions are helping us position Louisiana as the best state for business investment. We salute their accomplishments and are grateful for the career opportunities they're providing the people of our state."
Lantern Award winners are selected by Louisiana's eight Regional Planning and Development Districts, with selection based on the contributions of the manufacturers to their communities, including investments in employment growth and facility expansion. Each business also must demonstrate sustainability by remaining in operation at least three years prior to the nomination.
Here are the 2012 Louisiana Lantern Award winners:
Acadiana Region
Oceaneering International Inc.
Morgan City
Bayou Region
K&B Machine Works LLC
Houma
Capital Region
Orion Instruments LLC
Baton Rouge
Central Region
Crest Industries LLC
Pineville
Northeast Region
Complex Chemical Co. Inc.
Tallulah
Northwest Region
Omni Industries Inc.
Shreveport
Southeast Region
Turnbull Bakeries LLC
New Orleans
Southwest Region
Southern Bar-B-Que Sauce Inc.
Jennings
As part of the Lantern Awards ceremony, the Louisiana Quality Foundation will recognize a Louisiana Performance Excellence Award winner. This year's winner is St. Elizabeth Physicians of Gonzales.
Since LED launched the Lantern Awards in 1979, the program has recognized more than 270 Louisiana manufacturing businesses. LED's program partners include the Louisiana Industrial Development Executives Association and the Louisiana Quality Foundation.
Award winners receive lanterns handcrafted and donated by Bevolo Gas and Electric Lights of New Orleans. The lanterns have become a trademark of New Orleans, and Bevolo is the oldest and largest copper gas lantern manufacturer in the U.S. and the second-oldest in the world.