Business newcomer says vests are just the beginning

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It’s one thing to say you’re going to give back to the community.

It’s another to do it.


And business newcomer to the bayou region, Beier Radio, is wasting little time partnering its new Gray location with local law enforcement.

After being stationed in the New Orleans area since the inception of the company in 1945, Beier Radio, a worldwide supplier of integrated vessel control and management systems, has relocated operations to a new facility in Gray and has made friends with those in blue by donating seven bulletproof vests to local law enforcement officers.

“We hope you never need to use that vest, but if you do, we’re glad that you have it on, and we’re glad that we could participate,” owner Karl Beier told Houma policemen and Terrebonne Parish Sheriff’s deputies at a donation ceremony Thursday.


Beier Radio extended seven bulletproof vests to local law enforcement units, totaling roughly $3,500 after Keith Gallicio, president of the Houma chapter of the fraternal order of police, reached out to Beier as part of a promotion soliciting funds to purchase items for law enforcement officers in the area.

“And we said, ‘Well, we don’t want to give just money where we don’t see where it goes. We want to do something specific,’ and he jumped on it like gravy on rice,” Beier said.

Gallicio said he initially asked for two vests from Beier, at which Beier not only happily complied but said if they needed any more to let him know.


“So when I left from here we brought one to the guy from city police. He put his on right then and there because he was on duty at the time,” explained Gallicio. “Then I went to the sheriff’s office, and I met with a gentleman with the sheriff’s office. I was giving it to him and we were talking some more, and he said, ‘We’re getting ready to buy five more.’ I said, ‘Really? Well hold on.’ I called back to Mr. Beier’s office and said, ‘Hey can you do five more?’ ‘Yeah, we can do five more,’ he said.”

And the bulletproof vests are just the beginning of Beier Radio pumping dollars into the bayou region, according to the owner.

“We have money available to support other things whether it be schools or children’s homes or the needy for food. Anything. We’re going to be looking locally to do that,” Beier said. “I think the next thing (our marketing director Emily Vaughn) was going to look at after we completed this was talking to the fire people and seeing what do they need. Do they have any requirements for equipment and things? Hopefully if there’s something we can do with the fire department we’ll do that.”


Citing better school systems and less crime along with oil field activity shifting to the bayou region as reasons to move operations to Gray, Beier looks to bring jobs here as well. He said he expects to hire about 30 employees over the next 24 months.

“Most of those in the high-tech end, electronics, maintenance repair, engineering so we think that we’re bringing upper income jobs to the area. We have no job that pays minimum wage. Every job we have is way, way past that,” he said.

In addition to the operations center on the new Gray campus, Beier opened The Marine Training Institute in January offering DP and ECDIS certification for mariners using computer simulation technology, and a 20,000 foot warehouse that is slated open this fall when the entire campus will be decorated with beautiful floral patterns.


“We want the neighborhood to notice that we’re here and that we’re a good neighbor. We don’t want somebody looking at us saying, ‘Aw it’s just another business cause it’s just a whole bunch of concrete.’ We want them to say, Oh that’s a beautiful place. We’re glad they’re in the neighborhood,’ and we want our employees to feel like they enjoy coming to work.

And the local chapter of the fraternal order of police couldn’t be happier that this new neighbor is in town.

“A company that steps up and says yes makes it so much better because that’s one less thing that (patrolmen) have to worry about when the community steps up and says we’re behind you 100 percent. We don’t like coming to people because normally when you see a policeman it’s because something happened to you or you did something. We like it more on this kind of level,” Gallicio said.


Beier Radio owner Karl Beier (center) presented seven bulletproof vests to Houma Police officers and Terrebonne Parish sheriff’s deputies.

RICHARD FISCHER | TRI-PARISH TIMES