Laitram LARGE BUSINESS WINNER FEATURE By Kim Chatelain |
In 1943, James Martial Lapeyre, then 16 years old, was working at a Houma seafood-packing plant when he came up with an idea to make shrimp peeling easier. Four years later, the teen’s concept led to the issuance of a patent for the world’s first shrimp peeling machine. Lapeyre’s invention revolutionized the shrimping industry and spawned a Harahan-based company known today as the Laitram Corporation, which includes four operating divisions and about 2,000 employees worldwide – just over 1,700 of whom are in the New Orleans area. A global leader in the manufacturing of conveyor belts, the company holds more than 1,300 active patents. Laitram – a name derived by spelling Lapeyre’s middle name backwards – attributes much of its success to a workplace featuring an
8
Top Workplaces New Orleans 2020
PHOTOS BY CHRIS GRANGER
intense commitment to innovation, integrity and a culture where employees support one another for the common good of the company, its shareholders and customers. Employees at Laitram, Large Companies winners for The TimesPicayune | New Orleans Advocate’s 2020 Top Workplaces competition, say they value a work environment that allows them to be self-managed professionals with an eye toward the type of creative autonomy that fosters corporate success and high company morale. “The work environment at Laitram is deeply rooted in our business philosophies and they ground us in everything we do,” said Jennifer McMillan, the company’s human resources director. “Most businesses hang the posters up touting their business
philosophy or principles and it stops there. But employees at Laitram live them every day.” McMillan said the company has an aggregate employee turnover rate of 7% and a corporate office turnover rate of about 3%, both far below industry averages. The national turnover rate for all industries has hovered around 17%, studies show. Gregory Washington, an extrusion supervisor in the company’s Intralox Division, said he values the autonomy the job provides. “No one is micromanaging your efforts or telling you what to do,” Washington said. “Creativity, productivity and individual growth expectations are set high by all of us. We challenge and motivate one another to improve and soar to new heights.” Washington said the company
