SHREVEPORT,Thomas Caldwell La. (AP) — A steel tube manufacturer plans to spend $21 million to expand its facility at the Port of Caddo-Bossier in northwest Louisiana and create nearly 50 new jobs, state officials said.

Louisiana Economic Development announced Thursday that Benteler Steel/Tube Manufacturing will add a new threading facility for hot rolled seamless steel tubes to its existing operations.

Seamless tubes are able to better withstand high-pressure, high-corrosive environments, like those found in the oil and gas industry, because they do not possess a welding seam that can become a weak spot in these conditions.

“Economic development projects like this don’t only benefit the state’s economy through investment and job creation, but also by providing support to key industries in our state,” LED Secretary Susan B. Bourgeois said.

Construction is scheduled to begin by the end of April and will be executed in two phases. The first phase will include installing the initial threading line focused on threaded and coupled connections, extending the finished goods yard, enhancing rail loading capabilities and improving infrastructure. The second phase will expand the facility to allow for installation of a second thread line that tentatively will be online by the end of 2026.

Benteler, which is based in Austria, opened its first U.S. steel tube plant in Shreveport in 2015. Main products produced at the Shreveport site are drill pipe, tubing, line pipe, structural pipe, coupling stock and casing.