Champion Home Builders Project Wins Top Community Impact Award for 2018

BATON ROUGE, La. — Today, Trade & Industry Development magazine honored a Louisiana business development project in its 13^th Annual Corporate Investment and Community Impact Awards — known as CiCi Awards — with recognition of Champion Home Builders manufacturing facility in Leesville.

Trade & Industry Development selected 15 Community Impact and 15 Corporate Investment recipients nationwide, for a total of 30 project winners in the 2018 CiCi Awards. Louisiana’s winning project was selected among the Top 15 new Community Impact projects. The project is creating 200 new direct jobs, and Louisiana Economic Development estimates the project will result in 218 new indirect jobs for a total of 418 new jobs in Vernon Parish and Central Louisiana.

“The CiCi Awards recognize those projects that are creating career opportunities and making a significant, lasting impact on communities, and I am proud that Champion Home Builders in Leesville was selected as a Top 15 project in the Community Impact category,” said Gov. John Bel Edwards. “Louisiana Economic Development and its regional partners collaborate to attract projects to the state not only to provide opportunities for Louisianans, but also because of the positive influence these projects can have on a community.”

Trade & Industry Development determines Community Impact winners by the number of jobs created, jobs retained, unemployment figures, regional income levels, plant closings and other relevant factors. The selected projects in the Community Impact category demonstrate how a company’s site selection decisions can make a significant positive difference in the community where it has chosen to locate.

Champion Home Builders is investing $1.3 million in its new operations and it will occupy two existing buildings totaling 246,000 square feet at Leesville’s Northside Industrial Park. A manufacturer of modular homes, park model RVs and modular buildings for the multifamily, hospitality, senior and workforce housing sectors, Champion Home Builders projects that 60 percent of the customer base for the new facility’s products will be in Louisiana, while the remaining 40 percent will be outside the state.

Champion Home Builders will provide step payroll increases and will produce an annual payroll of $8.2 million by 2027. Over a 10-year period, the Champion Home Builders project is expected to produce more than $14.5 million in new state and local tax revenue, which will have a significant impact on a region with a poverty rate that exceeds 25 percent.

“Big congratulations go to 2108 CiCi Awards recipient Champion Home Builders in the Impact category for the corporate development project it plans in Central Louisiana,” said Scott Swoger, publisher of Trade & Industry Development magazine. “There is no doubt the project will provide a highly significant economic boost as a result of the infusion of the 200 direct jobs it promises in an area that has been facing the challenges of a weighty poverty rate. With an average annual salary of $35,000, plus benefits, the Champion Home Builders project should have a transformational impact on the area for years to come.”

Trade & Industry Development magazine is published by Due North Media. Swoger is president of its parent company, Due North Consulting, Inc. For more information on this year’s CiCi Awards, visit www.tradeandindustrydev.com.