In 2014, Allison Marine Contractors saw a tipping point with its business.“We thought if we continue to just provide our services, we’re going to miss the boat,” said Marc Distefano, vice president of operations for the Amelia company. The company has seen a rapid expansion since 2010 as activity and technology in the oilfield heated up. “We knew the market was shifting, so we wanted to move with the market and move with our clients,” marketing director Erica Geoffroy said. This prompted the formation of Task Force Allison. The task force’s priorities include diversifying the company’s services, integrating divisions, international outreach and expanding facilities.
Allison’s growth this year will help it better support its customers’ changing needs, like sub-sea modules, deepwater support and national infrastructure-related projects. Geoffroy said the company’s employment is expected to grow between 20 and 25 percent as changes are made. The company is hiring welders, painters and structural fitters. For information, visit allisonmarine.net.
In its 20th year, Allison has evolved from providing only barge repairs and scrap work to providing a variety of services for the oil and gas industry. The company has 63 acres at 9828 La. 182 East in Amelia and nine acres at Allison Offshore Services in Lafayette.
The company purchases used platforms and refurbishes and fabricates them. Sometimes this means the company loads, installs and maintains platforms all the way to decommissioning. Allison also refurbishes vessels and builds new ones.
The Amelia location has an 18,000-square-foot fabrication shop, allowing the company to do most of its work in-house. There are assembly areas adjacent to the shop. The land is up against the Intracoastal Waterway, allowing for a seamless transition to the Gulf of Mexico.
The company says it has the largest inventory of used platforms and decks in the Gulf of Mexico. “This inventory provides Allison with the advantage of providing faster and more cost-effective solutions to customers,” Geoffroy said. With the focus and majority of the work moving from the shelf to deepwater, the variety of services the company offers has been of utmost concern of the task force. “When our customer needs deepwater, we can provide that to them,” Geoffroy said.
To support this growth, one of the older office buildings at the Amelia site was demolished in to make room for more projects in 2015. While the recent drop in oil prices may affect some projects in the area, Allison remains optimistic, Geoffroy said.
“Though these companies may stop projects, we still need to maintain the platforms, so it won’t affect us as much,” she said. Distefano said the company is in the right location for the oilfield industry.
By: Aaren Gordon, The Courier Staff Writer, February 2015
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