The company's construction division banks on repeat business as well, says Lester Barback, executive vice president of construction at Turner Industries. "We pride ourselves on the repeat business we do," he notes. "Most of our projects are with repeat customers."

Joe Hilgar, global sourcing manager at Air Products and Chemicals, Allentown, Pa., says he has hired Turner Industries for mechanical construction jobs at the company's Gulf Coast facilities since the mid-1990s. "The hallmark of Turner is consistency and fairness in business dealings," he says. "They have always been above board in dealing with new business."

In addition to leveraging its past relationships, the company is fostering new ones. In recent years, Turner Industries has ramped up work with Valero, including a $250-million contract at its new Diamond Green Diesel plant in Norco, La., which was completed in June.

Turner Industries' construction arm is also able to leverage its in-house fabrication capabilities. The company runs the largest privately owned pipe fabrication, bending and coating operation in the U.S. Barback says prefabrication and modularization have become areas of significant interest for clients looking to improve productivity. "It takes manpower out of their facilities," he says. "It's a lot cleaner and safer, especially when you're working in and around operating units [at a plant]."

Modular work has helped the firm land offshore work with clients that include Chevron and McDermott. "There are tough fabrication and painting requirements on those jobs," Barback says. "Because of the conditions offshore, you use a lot of exotic metals and have to pay attention to a lot of unique details, like painting the inside of [bolt] holes."

One-Stop Shop

Through the years, Turner Industries has also beefed up its internal capabilities to offer one-stop shopping for construction and maintenance services. Recent additions include bolt torquing, catalyst services, integrated solutions procedure management, security services and strategic turnaround services.

Toups says the company is expanding services but hesitates to add engineering. The firm's unsuccessful foray into that line of work in the 1990s turned out to be for the best. "We've used the fact that we're not in the engineering business to our advantage," he says. "We have no conflicts there. Anyone can work with us. If we want to do full [engineering, procurement and construction] work, we can bring on an engineering firm."

Safety Accolades

Perhaps Turner Industries' most notable accomplishment is its safety record. Last year, the company won several key industry citations, including the CURT Construction Industry Safety Excellence Award, Associated Builders and Contractors National Safety Excellence Award in the heavy and civil engineering contractor category and a total of 33 safety merit awards from the American Fuel & Petrochemical Manufacturers, including 23 in Louisiana.