ALEXANDRIA, La. — Robinson Carbon will invest $16.3 million to establish a biochar manufacturing facility at England Airpark in Rapides Parish, Louisiana Economic Development announced Nov. 4. The project is expected to create 42 direct new jobs and retain 22 existing positions. LED estimates an additional 60 indirect new jobs.
Robinson Carbon is the carbon products arm of Robinson Lumber Company. Two rotary drum pyrolysis reactors will process about 100,000 metric tons of Southern Yellow Pine residuals annually into 16,500 metric tons of biochar. The state's incentive package includes a $550,000 performance-based grant for site and infrastructure improvements, and the company is expected to participate in the High Impact Jobs and Industrial Tax Exemption programs.
What this means
Location Decision analysis: The "102 jobs" in the state's total is mostly an estimate. Forty-two are direct new jobs, and the other 60 are LED's estimate of indirect work. Read against the direct count, the project is about $388,000 of capital per job ($16.3 million divided by 42).
The $550,000 grant comes to about $13,100 per direct job. The release gives no value for the two other state programs, so that is not the full public cost. The business also rests on two things outside the plant: a steady supply of pine residuals and Puro Standard certification, which the release says is expected to bring approximately 40,000 CO2 Removal Certificates annually.
What to watch
Construction is expected to begin in November 2026, with production anticipated in the second quarter of 2027. Still open: where the residuals will come from, when certification arrives, and what the High Impact Jobs and Industrial Tax Exemption benefits are worth.
ON THE RADAR
Company: Robinson Carbon
Location: England Airpark, Rapides Parish, La.
Investment: $16.3 million
Jobs: 42 direct new; 22 retained; LED estimates 60 indirect
Type: New manufacturing facility
Announced: Nov. 4, 2026
Useful contacts
Company media questions: The LED release lists Brooklyn Legg, Robinson Carbon strategy lead, at [email protected] and 504-321-8788. This is a media contact, not a hiring or supplier inbox.
Careers: The release points job seekers to robinsoncarbon.com/#careers.
Checked Nov. 5, 2026, against the release. No supplier contact is confirmed here.
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