Fifty companies we can't do without? Of course there are more than 50 private companies the corridor can't do without. We could fill 10 issues of 10/12 writing about hundreds of locally owned, privately held businesses that are crucial to the life and economy of the region. Instead, what we hoped to accomplish with this list was a unique way of representing within the covers of a single issue what the corridor, both economically and culturally, has been in the past and might be in the future. And—as always—a way of helping leaders in each part of the corridor understand the entire corridor.

It's easy to think of businesses that provide thousands of jobs as "companies we can't do without"—and they usually are. But we wanted this list to be about more than just large employers or economic driver firms, so we also looked for businesses that are 1) important because of their national or global footprint, 2) notable for innovation, 3) good corporate citizens, or 4) critical to key industries, be they the bedrock industries we depend on today or the high-growth industries we hope to build in the future. There are companies we can't do without because they have become ambassadors through which the world knows the corridor, by completing projects and distributing their brands around the world. Others are fundamental to how the corridor knows itself, creating the brands we love and the culture we share. And of course, some businesses stand out in several of these areas.

To create the list, we started by asking for nominations from chambers and economic development organizations up and down the corridor and from Louisiana Economic Development and its network of regional contacts. After extensive research and discussion, our editorial board narrowed the nominations to a final list of 50. (We did not include banks, law firms, insurance companies or media outlets—though each of these sectors certainly plays an important role in corridor communities.) Finally, we asked each company on the list to respond to a survey. The information presented here is compiled from their responses and 10/12's research.

12 Celtic Media Centre

Louisiana's first full-service, state-of-the-art movie production studio facility, Celtic is a key player and investor in Louisiana's growing film industry. It has taken a leading role in incubating and growing businesses and individuals catering to the region's creative industries, from partnering with a local real estate company to relocate film crew into homes in the Baton Rouge area to assisting indigenous filmmakers with tax credits. A venture of The Celtic Group, this company has dedicated itself to establishing a permanent, successful and locally based entertainment industry on the corridor.

At a glance

What they do: Motion picture production studio facility

Company headquarters: Baton Rouge

Top executive: Michael O'Connor

Total employees: 8

Total employees in Louisiana: 8

Year founded: 2006

Market area: Worldwide

Web: celticgroup.com
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