Taylor Industrial Specialties partners with Parker Store at its Houma site

Since opening its doors eight years ago, customers have watched Taylor Industrial Specialties, Inc., on Grand Caillou Road in Houma, grow.

Signs of the latest growth are visible in the front of the store and on the marquees outside the 21,000-square-foot building. “Parker Store: Total Hose and Fitting Service,” reads one; “Taylor Industrials Specialties, Inc.,” reads the other.

In the front portion of the remodeled store, 65 percent of the space is dedicated to showcasing all Parker Store products.

“We started carrying Parker products five years ago, and we have made an alliance with them to offer their products and services,” Houma store manager Dean Schouest said.

According to Parker Store officials, the company offers more than 3,000 parts in stock in all major thread configurations, including metric.

Since 1979, Taylor Industrials has met the demands of the oil and gas field industry, Schouest said. Taylor Industrials caters to oil-field suppliers, with an emphasis on Parker Store and Goodyear assembly products, he explained.

Schouest said Taylor Industrials specializes in hoses for the oil and gas industry, while providing a complete line of industrial supplies including pumps, valves, fittings and gaskets.

“Our advantage over our competitors is our complete and full line of products,” he said. “Most of our competitors only supply hoses.”

Owner Keith Taylor credits his success to working in his stepfather’s hardware store. The older Taylor had a dream of expanding his business since it first opened. When he and his business managers moved to Houma, there staff was comprised of only seven workers.

In 1998, Schouest and Taylor predicted that the employee number would double, and it did. Now, the Houma store has 15 employees that work either in the warehouse or the front offices. There are six Taylor Industrial locations throughout Southeast Louisiana.

“We provide 24-hour sales and services at all six locations. We deliver products to most of the offshore port facilities in Louisiana at no cost to our customers. We provide quality products manufactured by the best in the industry such as Dixon, Graco, Weco and others,” said Schouest.

Sophia Ruffin can be reached at sophia@tri-parishtimes.com.

Staff Photo by SOPHIA RUFFIN • Tri-Parish Times * Taylor Industrial Specialties, Inc., celebrated a milestone last week n a partnership with Parker Store. On hand to celebrate the addition to the oilfield supply company were, from left, business manager Dean Schouest, owner Keith Taylor and his wife Connie and son Miles.