Overview
- The project will add more than 300,000 square feet to the Franklin, Louisiana facility, including three new slips, a larger warehouse and a dedicated large‑vessel assembly line.
- Groundbreaking took place in November 2025, with construction targeted for completion by late 2026 and expanded operations slated to begin in early 2027.
- Louisiana Economic Development projects 1,500 direct jobs and about 1,770 indirect jobs, totaling roughly 3,270 opportunities in the Bayou Region.
- The state package includes LED FastStart training support, a $2 million performance‑based grant, $3 million from the Economic Development Award Program and participation in the Quality Jobs program.
- Saronic says the expansion will scale production of its Marauder autonomous ships, describing a 180‑foot design with up to 150 metric tons of payload, a range of up to 5,400 nautical miles and modular container capacity.