Port board approves long-term lease with Ready Mat, a defense-contractor tenant

The Lake Charles Harbor Terminal District on Nov. 25 approved Submission 2024-049, authorizing the executive director to enter into a long-term lease with Ready Mat for a roughly 4-acre site at the end of Bridal Street on the Calcutta River. The board adopted the item by voice vote after brief presentation and no objections.

Ready Mat founder Chuck Stenbeck told commissioners the company manufactures an airfield damage recovery system used by military customers and has operated on a month-to-month lease at the site since about 2012. "We've got long term contracts with US Air Force," Stenbeck said, and the business "employ[s] about 30 people full time down there." He said Ready Mat plans to spend a minimum of about $250,000 on the facility, with immediate needs including roof coating and sealing.

Port staff introduced the submission and asked Ready Mat representatives to describe operations and community benefits. Stenbeck said the company sources labor in part from the Calcasieu Correctional Center as a job-training pathway and estimated that roughly 80 percent of participants who worked for them have remained long-term employees.

A commissioner moved to adopt the lease authorization and the chair declared the item passed after hearing no objection. The transcript records a voice approval but does not include a roll-call or individual vote tallies.

The lease is intended to provide Ready Mat with a stable, long-term facility to support existing defense contracts and pending international orders, according to the company's statements to the board. Commissioners did not record additional conditions or amendments in the meeting discussion. The item will be implemented by the executive director per the authorization granted by the board.