The Sunbelt Regions of the Southwest and Southeast United States are two of the fastest growing regions in the country. Louisiana serves as a strategic link between them. Over 37 million people reside within a 500-mile radius of Pointe Coupee Parish. Retail sales within this regional market exceed $200 billion per year and total effective buying income approaches $400 billion. Population forecasts show this 500-mile market will grow to over 41,200,000 by the year 1994.

Louisiana has the greatest concentration of crude oil refineries, natural gas processing plants, and petro-chemical production facilities in the Western Hemisphere. However, not all of Louisiana is heavily industrialized. Many areas of the state offer rural industrial sites which are ideal for labor-intensive manufacturing such as plastic processing or finishing. Within 45 miles of the community of Bachelor, in Pointe Coupee Parish, lie 39 major chemical manufacturing firms, employing approximately 8,000 people. In addition, the Baton Rouge area has averaged in recent years another 5,000 to 6,000 contract maintenance workers within these manufacturing plants.