Hilda Cox
July 26, 2016
Chamber staying busy promoting area business
July 27, 2016
When Fleet Supply started in 1974, the store was primarily an AC Delco distributorship.
Today, it has evolved and has become much more.
Now in its 42nd year, the Houma-based business has grown with the times, featuring filters, belts, exhaust products, electric supplies and many other related products to the oilfield industry and beyond.
In 2012, Fleet Supply became even more diverse when it acquired Bayou Black Electric — a purchase that delved the company into electric supply for the first time — another sign of the company’s continual growth.
“We’ve always strived to be reliable, have products that everybody needs and continually keep pace with the latest technologies,” said Chris Lapeyrouse of Fleet Supply. “Our goal is to provide great service to our customers by applying the latest technology, factory training, and on the job experience to the service of our customers.”
Lapeyrouse said the company was founded in 1974 by a couple of individuals, including James Trahan, who is still with the company today, serving as the business’ manager. It was owned and operated in a small, modest 1,500-square-foot warehouse in Houma. The purpose of the business was to serve as an AC Delco warehouse distributor.
But over time, that drastically changed. Lapeyrouse said his father and his partners purchased the business in the early 1980s. They did so to try and better fit the customer’s needs.
Fleet Supply now encompasses a 63,000-square-foot warehouse, has 40-plus employees and has product lines that have grown beyond AC-Delco and now include leading brands like Baldwin, Racor, Donaldson, Gates and Fleetguard, among several others.
The company also has a wide customer base that includes clients and customers from Terrebonne, Lafourche and throughout almost every area of southeast Louisiana.
Adding Bayou Black Electric to the lineup was a big change for Fleet Supply. Previously owned by the Cenac family, the electric supply company was purchased in 2012 by Fleet Supply, and the decision was made to keep the business alive in its former name and location — 5086 La. Highway 311 in Houma.
“We’ve definitely evolved over the years,” Lapeyrouse said. “Our product lines have completely changed. We started as selling strictly AC Delco products, and over time, we’ve enhanced that tremendously. Over time, the business has changed, and we handle a very wide array of product types.
With the purchase of Bayou Black Electric, we are now involved on the electric supply side of things which has expanded our horizons.
We now have a full line of electric supplies and marine cable.”
The product offerings are nice, but Lapeyrouse said it would all be for naught if not for Fleet Supply’s business philosophy of taking care of customers with the best customer service. The key to this is our experienced, dedicated employees, he said.
Lapeyrouse said Fleet Supply takes pride in looking out for its customers, working continually to evolve to stay relevant to the ever-changing market. The company also offers daily delivery service to customers all throughout Louisiana, while shipping products to any location around the world at a customer’s request.
This service, combined with Fleet Supply’s wide array of high-quality products, are a must — the bread and butter of why the business has been able to sustain itself over the past four decades and now beyond.
“We continually keep track of the market and stay in close contact with our customers,” Lapeyrouse said. “We do everything in our power to make sure that we’re providing what they are in demand of, and make sure that we’re sourcing it out properly.”
So what’s next? What does the future hold?
For Lapeyrouse, he thinks it will be the continual pursuit of growth with the constant commitment to customer service and fair business practices.
That’s the recipe that’s worked for the past 40 years, so why change now?
“We’ll continue to do what we’ve been doing. We’ll always continue to offer superior products and top-notch service,” Lapeyrouse said. “We take pride in knowing we have abundant inventory in stock with experienced, factory trained, employees to assist our customers. Also we take pride in our daily delivery routes our customers can rely on.”.
Fleet Supply in Houma has just about everything. With a massive, 1,500-square foot warehouse, the business aims to continue what it’s been doing for the past 40 years to survive the current negative wave in the local economy.
