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our story: The turner family legacy


The Early Years

The Turner Industries story is one of vision, determination, and innovation. Bert Turner was born in 1921 in Elizabeth, Louisiana, and his early life was shaped by the challenges of the Great Depression. At eight, he lost his father to a tragic accident, but Bert was able to persevere and take on odd jobs to support his family.

Bert’s academic achievements and hard work led him to the LSU Engineering School, where he earned a scholarship. His education was interrupted by World War II, during which he served as a commissioned officer in the Pacific campaign. In 1947, Bert married Sue Wilbert Turner, whose support would prove instrumental in the future success of Turner.

The Beginning of Turner Industries

After earning an MBA from Harvard and returning home to Baton Rouge, Louisiana, Bert’s career path led him to Bob Nichols, president of Nichols Construction Co. Inc. When Nichols passed away unexpectedly, the company was sold to Yuba Consolidated Industries, with Bert as vice president and general manager.

In 1961, the pivotal moment occurred. When Yuba Industries declared bankruptcy, Bert purchased Nichols Construction Company, laying the foundation for Turner Industries. At this time, Bert realized the industrial construction cycle is made up of peaks and valleys and, with a strategic vision in mind, he added industrial contract maintenance to ensure a steady stream of revenue.

Growth and Expansion

As the company grew, so did its team of talented individuals. Roland Toups, a young engineer, joined the company and quickly rose through the ranks to become executive vice president.

Turner Industries’ growth continued, and the company established a presence in New Orleans in 1970, setting the stage for future expansion across the Gulf South during the 1980s and into the 2000s. Throughout these years, the company’s services continued to grow as well, adding soft craft services, pipe fabrication and bending, industrial specialty services, environmental remediation services, as well as additional rigging, hauling, and heavy equipment.

Consolidation and Family Ownership

In 2005, Bert made a decisive move, buying out the company’s minority stockholders and unifying the organization under one name: Turner Industries Group LLC. This decision put ownership squarely in the hands of the Turners and solidified the family concept at the heart of the company.

Today, Turner Industries operates as a single entity with four main operating divisions: construction, maintenance and turnarounds, fabrication, and equipment.

A Legacy Continues

On July 18, 2008, Bert passed away at the age of 86, leaving behind a remarkable legacy. During his tenure, he transformed the company from the brink of bankruptcy to achieving over a billion dollars in annual revenue. In the wake of his passing, Turner’s leadership passed to Roland Toups and the company’s division presidents. Under their guidance, the company continued to thrive, expanding services, innovating, and honoring Bert’s legacy of excellence.

Today, the torch of leadership has been passed to a new generation. Bert’s children and grandchildren, as shareholders and board members, continue to uphold the Turner family’s dedication to the company’s success.

Sue Turner: A Lifelong Commitment to Community and Preservation

Sue Turner, the wife and champion behind Bert Turner, was a dedicated philanthropist passionate about education, historic preservation, and the arts. Her lifelong commitment to these causes is evident in her work to secure LSU’s original buildings on the National Register of Historic Places, support LSU’s engineering and music schools, and help create the Baton Rouge Arts and Science Center (now the Louisiana Art and Science Museum). Additionally, her dedication to the United Way and the National Trust for Historic Preservation has left a lasting impact on Louisiana’s cultural heritage.

On December 27, 2020, Sue peacefully passed away, but her legacy of compassion and commitment to bettering her community continues to inspire future generations.

Looking to the Future

As we look ahead, Turner Industries remains committed to the principles that have guided us for more than 60 years. We honor our past while continuously innovating, ensuring that Bert Turner’s legacy of excellence and family-oriented business practices remains at the heart of everything we do.

From its humble beginnings to its current status as an industry leader with 19,000-plus employees working at job sites across the U.S., Turner Industries continues to provide turnkey solutions to the companies that produce fuel, energy, and the materials essential to modern life. As we build on our rich history, we look forward to creating an even brighter future, guided by the vision of our founder, Bert Turner.


LEADERSHIP

Stephen M. Toups

Chief Executive Officer

David J. Franks

Chief Operating Officer

James P. Sylvester

Chief Financial Officer

Amy Kling

Chief Information Officer

Rick Scardina

Chief Administrative Officer

Troy Bergeron

President, Maintenance & Turnarounds

Mark Brittain

President, Construction

John Richard

President, Pipe Fabrication

Mike Morain

President, Equipment, Rigging, & Specialized Transportation

Turner Through the Decades

1960’s

A young engineer named Bert Turner buys Nichols Construction Company out of bankruptcy. The company specializes in industrial construction, heavy equipment, hauling, rigging and equipment rental. It doesn’t take Turner long to realize that the industrial construction industry is a series of peaks and valleys. So, he begins to take steps to ensure a steady stream of revenue, embarking on industrial contract maintenance and other services.

Turner Through the Decades

1970’s

Turner begins to acquire companies and add additional services like scaffolding, as well as continually expanding the equipment fleet and growing a nested maintenance footprint. These moves provide the company with opportunities to manage and control most of the elements that make up construction, maintenance and turnaround work.

Turner Through the Decades

1980’s

The Turner group enters the fabrication business, forming International Piping Systems, and introduces a pipe bending process that revolutionizes the pipe fabrication business in the United States. The company participates in many of the large industrial construction projects being built in the Gulf South at the time.

Turner Through the Decades

1990’s

Industrial specialty services, such as NDE and inspection services, specialized welding, and environmental remediation are added to fill client needs as they arise. Proprietary technology is developed to better track and manage work.

Turner Through the Decades

2000’s

The early companies consolidated into one entity– Turner Industries Group– with four main business lines: Construction; Maintenance & Turnarounds; Pipe and Module Fabrication; and Equipment and Specialty Services.

Turner Through the Decades

2010 – Present

A main focus at Turner today is digitizing the wealth of data generated by our employees and at our clients’ jobsites to make data-driven decisions that reduct costs, save time, and improve safety metrics. Our ever-evolving DECIDE WITH DATA® software and services portfolio offers a digital ”toolbox” that can solve critical client productivity, reliability, and safety issues.

Recent Awards & Rankings

Three-Time CURT CISE Award

Construction Users Roundtable Honors Turner Industries with National Safety Excellence Award

Turner Industries has been honored by the Construction Users Roundtable (CURT) with the Construction Industry Safety Excellence (CISE) Award for its dedication to world-class safety performance. Turner is now a three-time winner of the CISE award—CURT’s highest recognition in safety.

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Rice Global E&C Forum’s 2022 Award for Excellence

Turner Industries received the 2022 Award for Excellence by the Rice Global Engineering & Construction Forum for its Turner Tablet Applications.

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Top Spot on LSU Roaring 10 List

Turner Industries has earned the No. 1 ranking on Louisiana State University’s 2022 LSU ROARING 10 list. The LSU ROARING 10 recognizes the 10 highest revenue generating LSU graduate owned or led businesses from all those that apply for the LSU 100 each year. The LSU 100 recognizes the fastest growing LSU graduate owned or led businesses.

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#1 Top-Performing U.S. Construction Company by ABC

Turner Industries was ranked number one on Associated Builders and Contractors’ 2022 Top Performers list, which ranks its commercial and industrial contractor members that build long-lasting high quality construction projects, based on work hours.

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MULTIPLE WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT AWARDS FROM GBRIA

Turner Industries Group was awarded an Excellence award for General Construction and Maintenance – Division III and the Best in Division award for Division III. Turner Specialty Services, LLC won the Excellence award for Technical Support – Division II and the Best in Division award for Division II.

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2022 ENR RANKINGS

enr top contractors list

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Corporate Responsibility

Maintaining the trust and confidence of owners, employees, customers and other people with whom we conduct business, as well as the communities we work in, is crucial to our continued growth and success.

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National Industry affiliations

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