LEMOINE INFRASTRUCTURE

THIS DIVISION OF LOUISIANA-BASED LEMOINE FOCUSES ON AGGRESSIVE GROWTH, CUSTOMER SATISFACTION

A LEMOINE Infrastructure operator sets a storm box with a Komatsu PC360LC-11 excavator on a subdivision project. “Komatsu machines give us versatility along with good uptime, so our production is high,” said Civil Operations Manager Crawford James.

Seth Lemoine is approaching the 20th anniversary of when he joined LEMOINE full time. However, Seth’s start date actually extends back to when he was still a student.

“I worked for the business part time while I was going to college at LSU (Louisiana State University),” recalled Seth, who is now the President of LEMOINE Infrastructure (a division of LEMOINE). “Fortunately, for the four years I was there, LEMOINE generally had a project within walking distance of the campus.”

LEMOINE was founded in 1975 in Cottonport, La., by Tim Lemoine, Seth’s uncle. Tim’s brother, Lenny, later came on board and is now the company’s CEO.

In the ’80s, they moved the firm to Lafayette, La.

“They relocated here because Lafayette Parish passed a bond issue for several new schools, and they wanted to get in on the work,” explained Seth. “It was a bit of business preservation too because there wasn’t much going on at the time in Avoyelles Parish where Cottonport is.”

Seth Lemoine, President

FORESIGHT LEADS TO MASSIVE EXPANSION

LEMOINE has since expanded into four full-service offices in Louisiana located in Lafayette, Baton Rouge, Lake Charles, and New Orleans. It also has offices in Houston, Texas; Birmingham, Alabama; Alexandria, Virginia; and San Juan, Puerto Rico. Today, it’s privately owned by members of the LEMOINE management team and its private equity partner, Bernhard Capital Partners.

“My uncles’ foresight paid off, and because of that, LEMOINE grew into a highly respected regional company that can take practically any project from

start to finish as a general contractor and construction management firm,” stated Seth. “We work extensively throughout the U.S. as well as in Puerto Rico. Predominantly, however, our Infrastructure jobs are located right here in southern Louisiana.”

With several divisions and subsidiaries, LEMOINE maintains a service list that is long and includes everything from preconstruction to final closeout. It provides general contracting, construction management, design/build and self-performed work. Markets include commercial, civil, industrial, residential subdivision site work and more. LEMOINE service lines also include Program Management and Disaster Services, supported by subsidiaries DCMC Partners and Workforce Group.

Crawford James, Civil Operations Manager

“Our service lines often work on the same project,” noted Civil Operations Manager Crawford James. “For instance, LEMOINE Building Construction serves as a general contractor on a building and LEMOINE Infrastructure does the site work, which includes earthmoving and utility installation. As a separate entity, it bids to LEMOINE Infrastructure, as well as to other general contractors. LEMOINE Building Construction is our largest single customer, but in aggregate it does not account for the majority of LEMOINE Infrastructure’s total workload.”

BUILDING A FLEET OF OWNED EQUIPMENT

LEMOINE Infrastructure is actively growing and aggressively pursuing new earthwork projects. In order to do that, it had to put together a fleet of equipment to move massive amounts of materials, finish grade, dig trenches, put pipe in the ground and backfill. Crawford said when he came on board about five years ago, all machines were rented.

“We took a long look at renting versus buying and realized that you can’t be competitive in today’s market renting everything. You can rent here and there when you need a piece. But your core, what you go bid your jobs with — you’ve got to have equipment that’s competitive,” said Crawford. “A few years ago, we bid a levee job and won it, figuring that we would buy the machines necessary to get it done. If we had done it with rental units, our price would have been higher, and we would have lost out.”

Operator Joe Richard, a 35-year employee of LEMOINE, places dirt with a Komatsu D61PX-24 dozer on a commercial job site in Lafayette, La. “The dozer has excellent visibility,” stated Joe. “I can easily see the edges of the blade, so there is no guessing where I am, which makes me more productive.”

Operator Joe Richard

“Since that time, we have continued to predicate our purchasing on needs for specific work that we are pursuing,” added Seth. “We want to make sure that we are investing our resources wisely and putting them into assets that we know will be utilized long term.”

Seth and Crawford both emphasized that in making those decisions, H&E Equipment Services and Sales Representative Giles Peltier have been valuable resources. They helped with the acquisition of multiple pieces of Komatsu equipment, including D51PX-24, D61PX-24 and D65PX-18 dozers and PC240LC-11, PC290LC-11 and PC360LC-11 excavators.

“Giles and H&E have been great partners in guiding us through the process,” said Crawford, noting that they have also helped with putting WIRTGEN GROUP products on LEMOINE Infrastructure job sites. “They are the experts on equipment and have steered us to the right machines for our jobs so that we get maximum value. The Komatsu machines have been great.

“We rely on H&E for service too, even on brands that they don’t sell, and they always respond quickly,” he continued. “I particularly like the Komatsu Care program (that offers complimentary scheduled maintenance for the first three years or 2,000 hours) because they monitor the machines and call us before the service is due to schedule it. That gives us peace of mind in knowing that it’s done on time by a trained technician.”

LEMOINE Infrastructure President Seth Lemoine (right) and H&E Equipment Services Sales Representative Giles Peltier discuss machinery and service at LEMOINE’s office in Lafayette, La. “We want to make sure that we are investing our resources wisely and putting them into assets that we know will be utilized long term,” said Seth of equipment purchases. “Giles and H&E are great about helping us with that plan.”

A LEMOINE Infrastructure operator digs for storm piping with a Komatsu PC290LC-11.

FURTHER SCALING UP

As LEMOINE Infrastructure continues to pursue more work, Crawford said that it’s inevitable that the equipment fleet will grow. Seth plans to branch out beyond the immediate southern Louisiana area.

“Infrastructure has been fairly concentrated in this market, and we want to push further outside of that, even into other states,” said Seth. “That has been an intentional focus lately as we eye more target-rich and robust environments. For us to scale the business up the way we want to, we have to look for those opportunities.”

He added that no matter where it goes, the LEMOINE legacy will follow. “The people in the LEMOINE family of companies are determined in their pursuit of excellence,” said Seth. “They will not let us be known as mediocre. Our reputation is built on quality, attention to detail and customer satisfaction. It’s no different today than it was in the beginning. I think that’s a major differentiator for us.”