Noble Plastics, a custom injection molding manufacturer, will invest $8.5 million to expand its St. Landry Parish headquarters to supply components for First Solar Inc.’s new $1.1 billion manufacturing facility in Iberia Parish.
The project is expected to create 29 direct jobs while retaining 56 existing positions at its Grand Coteau facility.
The expansion will add manufacturing capabilities, warehouse and office space, and upgrade Noble’s lineup of robot-operated injection molding machines, in-line inspection tools and AI-powered monitoring systems. First Solar selected Noble as part of its domestic sourcing strategy. The company will produce precision-molded components for the connection and energy transfer systems of high-tech solar panels produced at First Solar’s new manufacturing facility 30 miles away in New Iberia.
First Solar, the Western Hemisphere’s largest solar manufacturer, announced in September 2023 that it would build its fifth U.S. plant at the Acadiana Regional Airport. The site is set to begin operations later this summer and, once fully operational, will employ more than 800 workers with an annual payroll exceeding $75 million.
Noble expects to begin construction in the third quarter of 2025 and complete the project by the end of 2026.
