2013 Business Profile

Business/IndustryA look at some of the work thatgoes on in the Teche Area

The Teche Area’s many mili-tary veterans can step back in time and at the same time fi nd what they need at Sur-plus Plus, a military sur-plus store owned by Char-lie Myers, who opened the popular one-stop shopping site almost 20 years ago.

BY KARMA CHAMPAGNE

THE DAILY IBERIAN

JEANERETTE — President Calvin Coolidge was serv-ing as the 30th president of the United States and the community had not yet felt the decline of the economy

by the Great Depression when Aimé Larroque fi rst opened the doors to Larroque Pharmacy in 1924.

Eighty-nine years later and under three different ownerships all remaining within the Larroque family, the Jeaner-ette pharmacy is still thriving on its key ingredient to success — personalized attention and quality customer service.

Despite moving to three Main Street locations within the same block over the 89-year span, the small community phar-macy is still offering the same personal-ized service.

A peek into the back room of the phar-macy stands as a reminder of the days gone by and how technology has brought changes to virtually every business.

“Look around, just about everything is old,” said owner Jacques Larroque, who is the third generation member of the Larroque family to own the business.

A wooden pharmaceutical balance, glass counter, iron scale, empty chemi-cal jugs and binder note books fi lled with notes from customers from the 1920s and 1930s are just a few of the many relics that line the back-room shelves of Larroque Pharmacy — all confi rming the pharmacy withstood the test of time.

“Many people still didn’t have phones then, so they would send a note by their children or a neighbor to or-der the medicine they needed,” he said.

Jacques Larroque’s great-uncle Aimé Larroque founded the pharmacy and Jacque’s father, Adolph Larroque, began working in the pharmacy in 1946 after receiving a degree from Loyola University and serving in the U.S Army. After joining his uncle as a partner, he eventually bought the fam-ily business.

“My father really never retired. He cutback on his work hours, but worked until his death in 2001,” said Jacques Larroque.

As a child, Larroque said the phar-

ma-cy was one of his favorite places to hang out. He was bitten by the pharmacy bug at an early age.

“I just always liked coming here and knew one day I would take over the business,” he said.

“I can remember when my father would come home for lunch and I would wait on the steps for him to make sure he didn’t forget to bring me back to work with him.”

Larroque, a 1986 Xavier University pharmaceutical graduate, did some relief work at various pharmacies be-fore becoming partners with his father in 1991 and eventually purchasing the business.

Through the years, Larroque said the pharmacy did face some rough times. The Great Depression brought much economic decline in the decade preceding World War II and both small and large businesses experienced the devastating effects on the economy. Drugstore chains had popped up across the country and smaller phar-

macies had to compete for business.“The chain pharmacies get their

share of over-the-counter business and it is hard to compete, but you still have those people who value personal service and convenience provided by a small pharmacy. We still deliver and that makes it convenient for the shut-ins and the elderly.”

To get past the declining economic effects of the depression, the drugstore had centralized itself within the com-munity by opening a soda fountain in 1933. It was a place where Jeanerette residents could stop by for a fountain soda drink or ice cream, visit with friends, fi ll their prescriptions and get advice from their pharmacist on how to soothe their ailments. The soda fountain remained opened until 1956 when Larroque Pharmacy moved to its

current location at 1305 Main St.“At that time, an ice cream cone or

fruit sundae sold for 5 cents. Malted milk sold for 5 cents and if you wanted it extra thick, it was an extra nickel,” said Larroque.

Along with three other employees, his mother, Elizabeth Larroque, serves as a payroll clerk and his wife, Mary Ellen, assists as a pharmacy techni-cian.

“I’m delighted to see my son carry on the family business. He loves do-ing this and he loves Jeanerette. He wouldn’t be happy anywhere else,” said Elizabeth Larroque.

The Larroques are hoping the business will eventually fall into the hands of one of their four children.

business / industrya look at some of the work that goes on in the teche area

a special section of The Daily Iberian / Thursday, February 14, 2013

Profi le 2013

Celebrating Our Community

Hunters herd to Peltier’sHundreds of deer hunters have found a deer meat processor who churns out

some of the best sausage around. No wonder the Peltiers have been so busy at Peltier’s Spe-cialty Meats.

Cooking: Family businessAnnie Hines has everything it takes to please the taste buds of diners from the Teche Area

and beyond. ‘My cooking, my bak-ing, that’s me,’ says the owner of Bubba’s Place in Jeanerette. Home cooked meals is her speciality.

INSIDE

• Page 3 • Page 6 • Page 5

Bitten by pharmacy bug at an early age

Jacques Larroque, a third-generation member of the family business, fi lls a prescription at Larroque Pharmacy in Jeanerette. His family

opened the shop in 1924. It has had three dif-ferent owners with the recurring theme of per-sonalized attention and quality service.

Larroque carries on family business started in ’24

SUBMITTEDAimé Lar-

roque greets customers in 1930

in his pharmacy located on Main Street in Jeanerette.

SEE BUG, PAGE 2

CHAMPAGNE / THE DAILY IBERIAN

Memories in store

BY HOPE RURIK

THE DAILY IBERIAN

JEANERETTE — Jimmy Gravois’ father started build-

ing boats as a hobby in the 1970s. Fast forward 40 years and that hobby is now a major Iberia Parish company and employer.

Gravois, 56, said he and his father started building wooden boats and then switched to aluminum, making the boats for themselves and then selling them used.

Slowly, he said, the business evolved and grew.

Around 2004, Gravois met Chris Allard, 29, a Long Island native fresh out of the Webb Insti-tute with a degree in naval architecture and marine engineering.

Allard was working with a Florida company when he and Gravois met at a Workboat Show, and the two companies came together to make a line to market for military and commer-cial use.

They called it Metal Shark.

Shortly after, Gravois, CEO, and Allard, presi-dent, bought out the Florida company’s stake and Metal Shark became part of Gravois Alumi-num Boats.

The com-pany, housed in an unas-suming metal building on Admiral Doyle Drive in Jean-erette, went from a staff of six to a staff of about 170.

Among the staff members are Gravois’ wife, Donna, and two sons Brenden and Jonathan, as well as Al-lard’s fi ancée Sarah Geiger, originally from Virginia.

Allard said the additional staff means he and Gravois aren’t having to do every-thing them-selves, though Gravois, a machinist by trade, still picks up his tools from time to time.

“You been resting a lot?” Allard asked Gravois.

“No,” Gravois said.“Me either,” Allard

said. “There’s more stress and responsibil-ity.”

But when Gravois and Allard are ready to

relax, they do something to take their mind off of work: They go boating.

Gravois said he still spends his nights build-ing boats, mostly for himself.

Allard, meanwhile, lives on a boat.

“I love boats,” he said. “I love boating as much as he does.”

The two have devel-oped a relationship

outside of work, as well, centered around a surprising subject.

“There’s been some vacationing together,” Allard said.

“On boats. It’s basi-cally all boats all the time here.”

Gravois also regu-larly satisfies the itch when the weather’s nice to go fishing.

But he said he’s not ready to start spend-ing all his time on the water just yet.

“Maybe I’ll step back some,” he said. “I don’t want to do anything else right now. I enjoy seeing production and

making it go smoothly.”Allard said they

expect the company to have continued growth with more internation-al and foreign military contracts through Metal Shark as well as more focus on the Gravois side with recre-ational and commercial boats.

For now, Allard said the company is always hiring welders and as-sembly workers.

“God willing, there will be continued growth,” Allard said. “We expect it, but it’s not something you can count on.”

Page 2 / Thursday, February 14, 2013 / The Daily Iberian business / industryProfi le 2013 / Celebrating Our Community

INDEX■

Contracts keep pouring in for boatbuilderMetal Shark has grown into a major company in Iberia.

— THIS PAGE

Time for a sweet cupcakeJennifer Miller, owner of Berry Cakes, became a part of the ‘Modern Cupcake Movement’ when she opened her shop at 1119 Center St.

— PAGE 3

Painting planes is their businessAvEx, a New Iberia-based company, has been in the niche business of panting the exterior of aircraft for more than 22 years. Their latest client is Boeing.

— PAGE 4

Injection-molded plastic the keySt. Martinville’s Plastic Manufacturing has helped mold the industry ever since the company was started in 1994 by Mark Habetz.

— PAGE 4

Turning out winners in the airYoung athletes are reaching new heights through their training at New Heights Gym, where Shane Leleux has added pole vaulting training to his gymnastics program.

— PAGE 7

BUG: Son followingFROM PAGE 1

Whatever floats your boat

Jeanerette native Jimmy Gravois, left, whose father started Gravois Aluminum Boats, expanded his boat manufacturing

business in the mid-2000s after he met Chris Allard. MetalShark has emerged as a major player in the business.

HOPE RURIK / THE DAILY IBERIAN

Gravois teams up with Allard to start Metal Shark, a major manufacturer

‘Maybe I’ll step back some. I don’t want to do anything else right now.

I enjoy seeing production and making it go smoothly.’

Jimmy Gravois

Metal Shark co-owner■

Their daughter Gabrielle, 21, is pursuing a doctor-ate degree in pharmacy at the University of Louisi-ana of Monroe School of Pharmacy and their son Jacques Larroque Jr. also is enrolled at ULM in pre-pharmacy studies.

“I guess you can say we’ve become a mom and pop business. It would be nice if one of our children could keep it going for a few more generations,” said Mary Ellen Larroque.

“It’s a small pharmacy with a personal touch. When our customers come into the pharmacy, they don’t want to talk just about medicine. They share their stories about their children and grandchildren, garden-ing and other hobbies or what they’re going to cook that day. They even bring us food samples.”

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Processing beau coup deer meat BY CHRIS LANDRY

THE DAILY IBERIAN

Peltier’s Specialty Meats was so busy during the two weeks around

Christmas and New Year’s Day that owners Brent and Sharon Peltier had to create aisles between towering rows of coolers just to get from the front door to their work area and to the freezers where they store the processed deer meat they packaged for their customers.

It’s an indication of just how popular the wild-game processors located on Jane Street in New Iberia have become with Teche Area hunters, who have brought in record numbers of deer this year, beginning in late September and capped by the big holiday rush.

In fact, said Brent Pel-tier, business has basically doubled every year since opening the meat processing shop about seven years ago. Peltier got his start as a teen-ager learning the trade under another game processor. He now works full-time in the meat market at Winn Dixie in Breaux Bridge before coming home to New Iberia to work in his shop cutting up deer, hogs and whatever other wild game hunters bring in.

The two previously owned a meat market but shut it down so she could spend time with their grandchildren. The spe-cialty shop became a way for them to make a little money so she wouldn’t have to work full time, though it’s turned into a full-time job along the way..

Peltier said he cuts up and debones the game that’s brought in and wife Sharon handles much of the rest of the processing, which in-cludes making various types

and blends of sausages. She also is in charge of smoking jerky and making such prod-ucts as burritos and tamales with the meat, whatever the customer asks for, then vacuum sealing and packag-ing the fi nished product.

While Brent Peltier can make

various cuts of ribs, steaks and roasts from deer and hogs, the sausages are among the most popular products they provide customers. Peltier’s will blend the deer meat with pork or chicken in whatever percent-ages customers prefer.

“We mix it with chicken,

pork, brisket, whatever they ask for,” said Sharon Peltier. “Pork is always the most pop-ular (meat to mix deer with) and chicken’s next. With the pork you add, you’re getting a little more fat in it to where it’s not as dry. Some people prefer the chicken fl avor.”

Customers have told the Peltiers their seasoning mix is one of the reasons many come to their business. Peltier’s also vacuum packs its products and puts them in packages that many compa-nies use to give out to their customers, said Brent Peltier.

“A lot of people are telling me they’re tasting our sau-

sage and they’re switch-ing to us,” said Sharon Peltier. “They like the product and they like the way we pack it.”

Brent Pel-tier said there’s less fi nesse in cut-ting up a deer than cutting up beef for use in a grocery store, but he tries to treat it like a piece of USDA meat anyway. The bone

structure is different, he said, but as far as cutting on the saw it’s very similar, he said.

Peltier cuts strips for the jerky and seasons it as well, and then his wife handles smoking it. The Peltiers use Steen’s Cane Syrup in some of their sausages, and summer sausage is also very popular.

“It’s 80 percent deer, 20 percent pork, and then season-ings,” said Peltier. “We put it in fi brous casing and hang it, and when you get it back it’s just like summer sausage you bought at the grocery store, ex-cept it’s deer instead of beef.”

LEE BALL / THE DAILY IBERIANSharon Peltier makes sausage at Peltier’s Specialty Meats, where business has doubled with each succeeding hunting season.

Peltier’s Specialty Meats enjoying busiest season; turning out tasty food

SEE MEAT, PAGE 7

‘... (T)hey’re tasting our sausage and they’re switching to us.’

Sharon Peltier

Peltier’s Specialty Meats

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BY JESSICA GOFF

THE DAILY IBERIAN

The cupcake has been a longstand-ing dessert on

many a childhood party and in recent years the handheld dessert trans-formed a niche product for many gourmet baker-ies.

The “Modern Cupcake Movement,” as reported in a 2012 Washington Post article, is alive and well since it emerged in 2007. The Washington Post cited marketing research fi rm NPD’s report that 669 million cupcakes were sold nationwide between October 2010 and November 2011.

New Iberians have a plenty of love for the mini-treat, Jennifer Miller, owner of Berry Cakes said.

The bakery, located at 1119 Center St., opened in June and specializes in cakes, cupcakes, cookies and now even tiny cakes on a stick known as “cake pops.”

Each morning, Miller and her daughter Alli-son bake dozens of fresh cupcakes tailored to the season from fi g and Ger-man chocolate to berry fl avors.

Right now their king cake cupcakes, each topped with a plastic baby garnish are quite popular, Jennifer Miller said.

“I’ve got a lady coming in to buy 40 of the king cakes cupcakes for a birthday party,” she said.

Cupcakes rather than cake have a simple ap-peal, she said.

“People like them for parties because they don’t have to cut any-thing. It’s already serving

size,” she said.The most popular cup-

cake, which is a bakery staple Miller said she makes each morning, is red velvet.

But her husband, Jeb, said his favorites are the carrot cake and lemon meringue cupcakes.

“I eat quite a bit,” he said with a laugh.

The lemon meringue cupcakes, as well as the bakery’s lemon bars con-tain family grown ingredi-ents, Jennifer Miller said.

She uses lemons fresh from her father-in-law, Eddie Miller’s lemon tree,

she said.Along with red velvet

chocolate, Jennifer said “anything chocolate” seems to big hit with local costumers.

While cupcakes remain a local favorite, a new dessert is fast becoming a rival dessert.

Cake pops, bite-sized balls of frosting-dipped cake, look like lollipop and are also a less-mess convenient alternative to traditional slices of cake, Jennifer Miller said.

“People like to bring themto schools for parties,” the business owner said.

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The Daily Iberian / Thursday, February 14, 2013 / Page 3business / industry Profi le 2013 / Celebrating Our Community

Baking has its sweet rewards at Berry Cakes

Want a Bubba burger? Try this PlaceBY ZACK LASALLE

THE DAILY IBERIAN

JEANERETTE — “My cooking, my baking, that’s me,” said Bubba’s Place owner Annie Hines, who

personally prepares home-cooked Cajun staples from her quaint family-run res-taurant in Jeanerette.

Hines, 58, opened Bubba’s Place, located at 1400 Main St., on March 7, 2013. It’s named after her eldest son, who was killed in Houston. Hines, who said she’s regularly called “Miss Bubba” by customers, has been married to Glenn Touchet for 10 years. She has three other children, two of whom, Lecreshia and Jermaine, work at the restaurant.

“I’m 38 years old, that’s all I know – home cooking,” said Lecreshia Hines. “It was always a family business.”

Annie Hines said she started learn-ing to cook as child and hasn’t stopped since. After years climbing the lad-der as a cook for the Houston school system, she opened a tea room in Lake City, Texas, which sold sandwiches and other light refreshments. She moved her family back to Louisiana after 20 years in Texas, with the goal opening a sit-in restaurant.

Now, nearly six years since Bubba’s Place opened, customers continue to drop by from all every corner of Acadiana.

“I enjoy the people. I enjoy look-ing at them eat,” said Annie Hines. “I’m blessed and thank God it (the

restaurant) supports me. Customers come in and they help out and I’m not talking about just Jeanerette, but my New Iberia and Lafayette customers, too. It makes me feel good knowing that people come from Lafayette to eat here. They like the home cooking. I do no box cooking, everything from scratch.”

One specialty of the restaurant is a mammoth 2-pound hamburger called the Bubba burger. It’s served on bread from LeJeune’s Bakery, located just down the street. In addition to the set menu, Bubba’s Place serves a buffet six days a week.

The restaurant’s interior is decorated from restroom to table with lighthouses. Pictures, fi gurines and wall hangings spruce up the space. Annie Hines said she’s been collecting anything having to do with lighthouses or angels since she was a child.

Currently, Annie Hines’ right hand is wrapped in cast, broken from a bad fall, but the inconvenience hasn’t kept her out of the kitchen. She wraps it in a latex glove and keeps working.

“The doctor told me Monday, ‘My God, what it’s going to take for you to leave that kitchen alone,’” said Annie Hines. “I glove up and that’s it.”

“She does everything,” said Lecreshia Hines. “That’s super woman right there. There’s nothing that you can’t get from her.”

Hines’ Jeanerette eatery popular JESSICA GOFF / THE DAILY IBERIANCupcakes are popular because people don’t have to cut them up, like a cake, Berry Cakes owner Jennifer Miller says.

‘I enjoy the people. I enjoy looking at them eat. I’m blessed and thank God it (the restaurant) supports me. ... I do no box cooking, everything’s from scratch.’

Annie Hines

Bubba’s Place owner

‘I’m 38 years old, that’s all I know — home cooking. It

was always a family business.’

Lecreshia Hines

Bubba’s Place employee and daughter of owner Annie

Hines

It’s diffi cult to keep Annie Hines out of the kitchen of her restaurant in Jeaner-ette. Even with a broken right hand in

a cast, Hines continues preparing home-cooked food that keep people coming back for more at Bubba’s Place.

ZACK LASALLE / THE DAILY IBERIAN

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BY SARAH BLANCHARD

THE DAILY IBERIAN

AvEx, a New Iberia-based com-pany, has been in the niche busi-ness of painting the exterior of

aircraft for more than 22 years, and the company is continuing to expand.

Vice president and general manager Raymond Bernard said the company hired 53 people since the beginning of the year, and he said he expects to hire at least 30 more to continue work on a new contract with Boeing.

“We have been working diligently to expand the business for 22 years. The current expansion is a result of the rep-utation that we have built in the indus-try both nationally and internationally,” said AvEx President Paul Lubomirski.

Kris Hebert, paint production man-ager, said the contract with Boeing is exciting because it is new and different.

“It’s something that rejuvenates your job,” he said.

From 1990 to 1999, the company’s opera-tions were concentrated in the commer-cial aviation market including passenger and cargo airlines, but within the past eight years, operations have expanded to military and corporate markets.

AvEx has painted planes for Southwest

Airlines, United Airlines, Kingdom Hold-ing Co., Continental Express and Air In-dia, according to the company’s website.

“It’s very exciting to be a local com-pany, hire local people, but yet we put out international work, and that’s very excit-

ing. You get to build relationships with people around the world,” Bernard said.

The company has garnered interna-tional clients, painted more than 2,365 aircraft and paid more than $12 million in rent to the Acadiana Regional Air-port, Bernard said. He said the com-pany’s payroll has exceeded $70 million dollars since its start in 1990.

“Although we’re not big like Hallibur-ton or somebody like that, it’s all pretty substantial, especially when no one really sees what we do,” he said.

Bernard said a large military aircraft may take eight days to paint, but a large corporate aircraft may take 30 days to paint because there is so much more detail even though it’s a smaller plane. It is very rare to see an aircraft on the ramp because of the quick turnaround time, he said.

“The aircraft generates no revenue for anyone when it sits out, so it’s our job to get it into the hangar as quickly as possible so we can begin the work on it,”he said. “Then when we’re fi nished, the customer would like to get it back to put it into (earning) revenue.”

Bernard said the company painted the entire Wanula Dreaming for Qantas

BY ZACK LASALLE

THE DAILY IBERIAN

ST. MARTINVILLE — Mark Habetz, vice president of Ad-

vanced Plastics Manufac-turing (APM) in St. Mar-tinville, has helped mold the Teche Area plastics in-dustry for almost 20 years.

Habetz, 50, said he founded the company in 1994 based on the needs of the offshore seismic in-dustry. He designed a plas-tic battery case to protect seismic instruments used in the Gulf of Mexico. Pre-

vious cases had leakage problems and were costly and time-consuming to repair. Habetz’s injection-molded plastic design al-lowed for cost-effective repeatable production of a quality part that was easily serviceable and improved upon the fl aws of earlier cases. That one item jump-started the business.

Now, Habetz and his seven employees produce a variety of items, but still sell a few battery cases. He also manufactures the Fish N Fry home-battering system and attachments

for crawfi sh traps. One of his more popular items is the simple 5-gallon pail, which is the reason why he moved his business from Loreauville to its current location at 1821 Old Span-ish Trail Highway in 2000.

“We just completely outgrew the facility,” said Habetz. “Since we started with pails, it was way too small. Pails take up a lot of room fast.”

Habetz earned his bache-lor’s and master’s degrees in mechanical engineer-

Painting planes propels AvEx

Habetz’ company molds special plastics

Subscribe to Th e Daily Iberian • 321-6769

‘Since we started with pails, it was way too small.

Pails take up a lot of room fast.’

Mark Habetz

Advanced Plastics Manufacturing

vice president

SEE AVEX, PAGE 5

SEE MOLDS, PAGE 5

SARAH BLANCHARD / THE DAILY IBERIANRaymond Bernard, left, vice president and general manager of AvEx, and Kris Hebert, paint production manager, say their company will hire 30 more people.

From cases to pails, his product is ‘Advanced’

ZACK LASALLE / THE DAILY IBERIANThese plastic pieces are manufactured at Advanced Plas-tics Manufacturing in St. Martinville.

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ing from the University of Southwestern Louisi-ana, now the University of Louisiana at Lafayette, specializing in computer-ized design. He said he got into plastics when he accepted an internship with a software company, where he helped develop plastics design software. Afterwards he headed the plastics division of the Louisiana Produc-tivity Center, which he described as a manufac-turing co-op extension service.

“Plastic has a lot of lon-gevity to it,” said Habetz. “It has a lot of inertness to it. It’s durable. There are a lot of choices in material. So, there are numerous reasons to use plastic. It just really de-pends on the customer and what their objective is and that’s my fi rst dis-cussion with somebody when they come in.”

Habetz, who’s married and has one daughter, said he has purposely kept the business rela-tively small to best meet the needs of his custom-

ers. Despite that, Habetz said he doesn’t turn down projects.

“I like new projects because they’re far and few between nowadays, just because people are afraid to spend that capi-tal,” said Habetz. “Injec-tion molding is a capital-intensive business. You have to have a mold be-fore you can make parts and molds aren’t cheap, relatively speaking.”

APM’s process beginswhen a customer comesin with a design, know-ing at least function-ally how it should work.Habetz then takes thedesign, makes a modeland then makes it manu-facture. Once the moldis made, plastic pelletsare melted into a semi-viscous liquid and fi ttedinto the mold under highpressure to form the nec-essary geometry.

Airway of Australia for its Boeing 747-400 fl eet in the early 2000s, which he said most of the em-ployees agreed was one of the company’s most interesting jobs.

“The signifi cance of that is we’re not in their backyard. We are prob-ably farthest away as we can be from them,” he said.

Lubomirski said the job was unique because of the design that was chosen.

“It was covered with aborigine art depicting

an aborigine dream, and it is recognized as one of the most unique paint jobs in the world,” he said.

The Qantas aircraft would fl y from Austra-lia to Los Angeles for maintenance then to New Iberia for painting, Bernard said.

“Not only the logistics of it, but the layout of the aircraft is some-thing to be very, very proud of to do on an air-craft that is that big,” he said.

Lubomirski said the Boeing 747-400 is the largest aircraft the com-

pany has worked on. “Over the years we

have painted 32 747s, including the entire fl eet of Qantas 747 aircraft, as well as numerous 747s for Air New Zealand,” hesaid.

As for the future of AvEx, Lubomirski simply said he would like to see the business continue to grow.

“We hope to continue to build and strengthen the long term relation-ships that we enjoy with all of our current customers while devel-oping new customers,” he said.

When your life changes, so do yourtaxes. An H&R Block tax professionalwill help you find all the tax breaksyou’ve got coming to help you get themaximum refund you deserve. Guaranteed.¶

1102 E Admiral Doyle Dr, New Iberia, LA 70560 n 337-364-2150

¶If you discover an H&R Block error on your return that entitles you to a larger tax refund (or smaller tax liability), we’ll refund the tax prep fee forthat return. Refund claims must be made during the calendar year in which tax return is prepared. OBTP# B13696 ©2012 HRB Tax Group, Inc.

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The Daily Iberian / Thursday, February 14, 2013 / business / industry Profi le 2013 / Celebrating Our Community

Place to go for surplus & memories is Surplus Plus

BY JESSICA GOFF

THE DAILY IBERIAN

As New Iberia’s only military surplus store, Surplus Plus

has been a one-stop shop for local veterans, mem-bers of law enforcement and outdoors men and women.

Owner Charlie Myers opened the store, located at 600 Center St., almost 20 years ago.

The Center and Robert streets corner building might be familiar to long-time residents, manager Mildred Broussard said.

“It used to be a store. Way back in the day it was called Evan’s Grocery Store,” she said. “The students at New Iberia High across the street would come there all the time. It’s got a lot of memories for a lot of people in New Iberia.”

Myers said Army/Navy surplus stores began to crop up after World War II. As as troops returned home so did military issued goods no longer needed or out of date.

By the 1970s military surplus items became

even more prevalent, My-ers said.

“After Vietnam it really took off,” he said.

Myers started building inventory before opening his store by traveling to auctions at Army bases around the country and surplus shows in major cities such as Las Vegas and New York.

“That’s how it really took off,” Broussard, who has worked at the store for most of its existence along with its only other employee Karen Lohr.

Nowadays, about 90 percent of the inventory is ordered from vendors, Broussard said, but locals, mostly veterans, do bring in items, often clothing, for resale.

The store for many years has been a primary lender of props in Iberia Performing Arts League productions. Many of the props and costumes used in IPAL’s WWII-era musi-cal “South Pacifi c” in 2011 production were from the store. The store also loans items for Veterans Day programs at area schools and VFW funerals and

programs, Broussard said. With no major wars in

recent history and tighter restrictions on the availabil-ity of surplus goods, mili-tary surplus stores often struggle, Broussard said.

But locally, many items, from combat boots, fatigues to canvas belts and thermal socks appeal to the store’s broad costumer base, Broussard said. Heavy duty canvas bags and clothing are sought after by hunt-ers and by other outdoor enthusiasts. Heavy duty ammo cans are popular for waterproof storage often used by boaters. Some are in search of specifi c items that carry sentimental value, she said.

“Especially veterans, lately. They’ll come in if they’ve lost their medals, their patch forms, their platoon crests,” she said.

Lohr, a longtime employee, said for many costumers the store is a trip down memory lane. “There was one man who recently passed away who used to come in all the time. He was a Korean War veteran,” she said. “For most of the military guys it brings back a lot of memories.”

AVEX: Continue to grow, hopefully

MOLDS: A lot of longevity to plastic

FROM PAGE 4

FROM PAGE 4

ZACK LASALLE / THE DAILY IBERIANMark Habetz, vice president of Advanced Plastics Man-ufacturing, has helped mold area’s plastic industry.

JESSICA GOFF / THE DAILY IBERIANCharlie Myers’ Surplus Plus has a wide selection of goods, like the clothing she holds above.

ing from the University of Southwestern Louisi-ana, now the University of Louisiana at Lafayette, specializing in computer-ized design. He said he got into plastics when he accepted an internship with a software company, where he helped develop plastics design software. Afterwards he headed the plastics division of the Louisiana Produc-tivity Center, which he described as a manufac-turing co-op extension service.

“Plastic has a lot of lon-gevity to it,” said Habetz. “It has a lot of inertness to it. It’s durable. There are a lot of choices in material. So, there are numerous reasons to use plastic. It just really de-pends on the customer and what their objective is and that’s my fi rst dis-cussion with somebody when they come in.”

Habetz, who’s married and has one daughter, said he has purposely kept the business rela-tively small to best meet the needs of his custom-

ers. Despite that, Habetz said he doesn’t turn down projects.

“I like new projects because they’re far and few between nowadays, just because people are afraid to spend that capi-tal,” said Habetz. “Injec-tion molding is a capital-intensive business. You have to have a mold be-fore you can make parts and molds aren’t cheap, relatively speaking.”

APM’s process beginswhen a customer comesin with a design, know-ing at least function-ally how it should work.Habetz then takes thedesign, makes a modeland then makes it manu-facture. Once the moldis made, plastic pelletsare melted into a semi-viscous liquid and fi ttedinto the mold under highpressure to form the nec-essary geometry.

Airway of Australia for its Boeing 747-400 fl eet in the early 2000s, which he said most of the em-ployees agreed was one of the company’s most interesting jobs.

“The signifi cance of that is we’re not in their backyard. We are prob-ably farthest away as we can be from them,” he said.

Lubomirski said the job was unique because of the design that was chosen.

“It was covered with aborigine art depicting

an aborigine dream, and it is recognized as one of the most unique paint jobs in the world,” he said.

The Qantas aircraft would fl y from Austra-lia to Los Angeles for maintenance then to New Iberia for painting, Bernard said.

“Not only the logistics of it, but the layout of the aircraft is some-thing to be very, very proud of to do on an air-craft that is that big,” he said.

Lubomirski said the Boeing 747-400 is the largest aircraft the com-

pany has worked on. “Over the years we

have painted 32 747s, including the entire fl eet of Qantas 747 aircraft, as well as numerous 747s for Air New Zealand,” hesaid.

As for the future of AvEx, Lubomirski simply said he would like to see the business continue to grow.

“We hope to continue to build and strengthen the long term relation-ships that we enjoy with all of our current customers while devel-oping new customers,” he said.

When your life changes, so do yourtaxes. An H&R Block tax professionalwill help you find all the tax breaksyou’ve got coming to help you get themaximum refund you deserve. Guaranteed.¶

1102 E Admiral Doyle Dr, New Iberia, LA 70560 n 337-364-2150

¶If you discover an H&R Block error on your return that entitles you to a larger tax refund (or smaller tax liability), we’ll refund the tax prep fee forthat return. Refund claims must be made during the calendar year in which tax return is prepared. OBTP# B13696 ©2012 HRB Tax Group, Inc.

EXPERIENCING A LIFECHANGE? OUR EXPERIENCE

CAN HELP MAKE IT LESS TAXING.

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GILBERT J THOMAS JR(337) 560 5595GILBERT "DOC" THOMAS AGENCY INC1403 BANK AVENEW IBERIA

Insurance, discounts and savings subject to terms, qualifications and availability. Discount and availability varies by state and product line. Life insuranceissued by Allstate Insurance Co., Northbrook, IL, Lincoln Benefit Life Co., Lincoln, NE and American Heritage Life Insurance Co., Jacksonville, FL. ©2011 Allstate Insurance Company1331 E St Peter Street New Iberia 337-364-0495

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Place to go for surplus & memories is Surplus Plus

BY JESSICA GOFF

THE DAILY IBERIAN

As New Iberia’s only military surplus store, Surplus Plus

has been a one-stop shop for local veterans, mem-bers of law enforcement and outdoors men and women.

Owner Charlie Myers opened the store, located at 600 Center St., almost 20 years ago.

The Center and Robert streets corner building might be familiar to long-time residents, manager Mildred Broussard said.

“It used to be a store. Way back in the day it was called Evan’s Grocery Store,” she said. “The students at New Iberia High across the street would come there all the time. It’s got a lot of memories for a lot of people in New Iberia.”

Myers said Army/Navy surplus stores began to crop up after World War II. As as troops returned home so did military issued goods no longer needed or out of date.

By the 1970s military surplus items became

even more prevalent, My-ers said.

“After Vietnam it really took off,” he said.

Myers started building inventory before opening his store by traveling to auctions at Army bases around the country and surplus shows in major cities such as Las Vegas and New York.

“That’s how it really took off,” Broussard, who has worked at the store for most of its existence along with its only other employee Karen Lohr.

Nowadays, about 90 percent of the inventory is ordered from vendors, Broussard said, but locals, mostly veterans, do bring in items, often clothing, for resale.

The store for many years has been a primary lender of props in Iberia Performing Arts League productions. Many of the props and costumes used in IPAL’s WWII-era musi-cal “South Pacifi c” in 2011 production were from the store. The store also loans items for Veterans Day programs at area schools and VFW funerals and

programs, Broussard said. With no major wars in

recent history and tighter restrictions on the availabil-ity of surplus goods, mili-tary surplus stores often struggle, Broussard said.

But locally, many items, from combat boots, fatigues to canvas belts and thermal socks appeal to the store’s broad costumer base, Broussard said. Heavy duty canvas bags and clothing are sought after by hunt-ers and by other outdoor enthusiasts. Heavy duty ammo cans are popular for waterproof storage often used by boaters. Some are in search of specifi c items that carry sentimental value, she said.

“Especially veterans, lately. They’ll come in if they’ve lost their medals, their patch forms, their platoon crests,” she said.

Lohr, a longtime employee, said for many costumers the store is a trip down memory lane. “There was one man who recently passed away who used to come in all the time. He was a Korean War veteran,” she said. “For most of the military guys it brings back a lot of memories.”

AVEX: Continue to grow, hopefully

MOLDS: A lot of longevity to plastic

FROM PAGE 4

FROM PAGE 4

ZACK LASALLE / THE DAILY IBERIANMark Habetz, vice president of Advanced Plastics Man-ufacturing, has helped mold area’s plastic industry.

JESSICA GOFF / THE DAILY IBERIANCharlie Myers’ Surplus Plus has a wide selection of goods, like the clothing she holds above.

/ Thursday, February 14, 2013 / The Daily Iberian business / industryProfi le 2013 / Celebrating Our Community

Processing beau coup deer meat BY CHRIS LANDRY

THE DAILY IBERIAN

Peltier’s Specialty Meats was so busy during the two weeks around

Christmas and New Year’s Day that owners Brent and Sharon Peltier had to create aisles between towering rows of coolers just to get from the front door to their work area and to the freezers where they store the processed deer meat they packaged for their customers.

It’s an indication of just how popular the wild-game processors located on Jane Street in New Iberia have become with Teche Area hunters, who have brought in record numbers of deer this year, beginning in late September and capped by the big holiday rush.

In fact, said Brent Pel-tier, business has basically doubled every year since opening the meat processing shop about seven years ago. Peltier got his start as a teen-ager learning the trade under another game processor. He now works full-time in the meat market at Winn Dixie in Breaux Bridge before coming home to New Iberia to work in his shop cutting up deer, hogs and whatever other wild game hunters bring in.

The two previously owned a meat market but shut it down so she could spend time with their grandchildren. The spe-cialty shop became a way for them to make a little money so she wouldn’t have to work full time, though it’s turned into a full-time job along the way..

Peltier said he cuts up and debones the game that’s brought in and wife Sharon handles much of the rest of the processing, which in-cludes making various types

and blends of sausages. She also is in charge of smoking jerky and making such prod-ucts as burritos and tamales with the meat, whatever the customer asks for, then vacuum sealing and packag-ing the fi nished product.

While Brent Peltier can make

various cuts of ribs, steaks and roasts from deer and hogs, the sausages are among the most popular products they provide customers. Peltier’s will blend the deer meat with pork or chicken in whatever percent-ages customers prefer.

“We mix it with chicken,

pork, brisket, whatever they ask for,” said Sharon Peltier. “Pork is always the most pop-ular (meat to mix deer with) and chicken’s next. With the pork you add, you’re getting a little more fat in it to where it’s not as dry. Some people prefer the chicken fl avor.”

Customers have told the Peltiers their seasoning mix is one of the reasons many come to their business. Peltier’s also vacuum packs its products and puts them in packages that many compa-nies use to give out to their customers, said Brent Peltier.

“A lot of people are telling me they’re tasting our sau-

sage and they’re switch-ing to us,” said Sharon Peltier. “They like the product and they like the way we pack it.”

Brent Pel-tier said there’s less fi nesse in cut-ting up a deer than cutting up beef for use in a grocery store, but he tries to treat it like a piece of USDA meat anyway. The bone

structure is different, he said, but as far as cutting on the saw it’s very similar, he said.

Peltier cuts strips for the jerky and seasons it as well, and then his wife handles smoking it. The Peltiers use Steen’s Cane Syrup in some of their sausages, and summer sausage is also very popular.

“It’s 80 percent deer, 20 percent pork, and then season-ings,” said Peltier. “We put it in fi brous casing and hang it, and when you get it back it’s just like summer sausage you bought at the grocery store, ex-cept it’s deer instead of beef.”

LEE BALL / THE DAILY IBERIANSharon Peltier makes sausage at Peltier’s Specialty Meats, where business has doubled with each succeeding hunting season.

Peltier’s Specialty Meats enjoying busiest season; turning out tasty food

SEE MEAT, PAGE 7

‘... (T)hey’re tasting our sausage and they’re switching to us.’

Sharon Peltier

Peltier’s Specialty Meats■

211 Main St. • Loreauville • 377-577-9160www.glcranch.com

GLC MEATMARKET

Raised Locally Sold LocallyFrom the green pastures of Gonsoulin Family Land in New Iberia, Louisiana to your plate.

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50% less saturated fat than grain fed beef

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Jumping to top at New Heights

BY NEAL MCCLELLAND

THE DAILY IBERIAN

The numbers are impres-sive enough, 35 state champions; 10 national

champions; one individual who competed for a spot on the U.S. Olympic team and 26 student athletes who have signed college scholarships — all in six years.

Branching off of New Heights Gym and its gymnastics pro-gram, Shane LeLeux started the pole vault side not long after moving to its current location on Import Drive.

“I wanted to a way to transi-tion my passion of pole vault-ing into the gym and my wife (Bridgette LeLeux) agreed,” said Shane LeLeux. “And the rest is history.

“I’m really surprised that we’ve had this much success in that short of time. All I did was set up a training program, all the rest is attributed to the kids who have been in the program. They come in and do the work.”

LeLeux, who competed in pole vault in college, kept his passion for the event alive and was able to transfer it to his daughter Morgann, who took it and won 10 state championships in the event in six years of competing for Catholic High.

About the same time that Morgann LeLeux was fi nding her way in the pole vault, Shane LeLeux brought in six student athletes, three girls and three boys, and started the pole vault training at New Heights.

“Those six kids had success right away,” said LeLeux. “And the program took off as more and more students saw that it was a chance to compete and a chance to get a scholarship to college.”

There are 42 athletes enrolled in the program, including Westgate senior Aaliyah Walker, who is the two-time defending

Class 5A outdoor pole vault state champion who just signed to continue her career at the Uni-versity of New Orleans.

“I really came here at fi rst to participate in gymnastics,” said Walker. “But I saw the people training in the pole vault and I wanted to get involved. I had no idea that it would lead me to where I’m going.”

LeLeux didn’t set out to change the pole vault world, but his program has garnered national attention as more and more athletes, especially female athletes from around the nation, call or come to New Iberia to see

what he is doing and how they can become better at the event.

His success has led the build-ing of a new gym specifi cally for his pole vaulting business. Previously he had a little space for his students inside of New Heights Gym and shared time with the students who were learning gymnastics.

Now LeLeux has as close to a top-fl ight facility that included a modern dedicated runway for his athletes, along with a weight room and other training appa-ratus.

But he owes a lot of his suc-cess to his wife, Bridgette.

“She made the gym portion good enough where we could fund the pole vault part,” said LeLeux, whose goal is to even-tually make the pole vaulting business self-suffi cient and have a permanent staff of two assis-tant coaches and a consistent 100 students in his program.

“We have college coaches com-ing in and out of here all making comments about the facility and what we are doing here. I think that we have the best training facility in the state and maybe in the United States.

“We have everything here to train an elite athlete.”

NEAL MCCLELLAND / THE DAILY IBERIANYoung athletes learn the proper pole vaulting techniques while train-ing at New Heights Gym in New Iberia.

NEAL MCCLELLAND / THE DAILY IBERIANShane Leleux has built gym into a top-fl ight facility.

Leleux’s gymboasts 35 state champ vaulters

The big rush this year started even before Thanksgiving, said Sharon Peltier, who also baby-sits the grandchildren in addi-tion to working in the shop. Normally the busy season begins for the Peltiers in late October, but this year it began a month earlier, capped over the holidays.

“It’s just starting to slow down now,” said Sharon Peltier.

“We haven’t had a day off except for Christmas since September,” said Brent Peltier, noting his wife also took off New Year’s Day, though he worked. “That’s talk-ing about Saturday and Sunday (too) — seven days a week. The only day we took off is Christmas. And I wanted to work (that day) but she wouldn’t let me.”

Once hunting season is done, a lot of more exotic animals are brought in from hunts on private pre-serves, often on company hunts, said Brent Peltier. Red stag, hogs throughout the year, some fi sh such as tuna brought in to be cut into fi lets and vacuum packed. He said he’s even cut up an oryx, a type of antelope, that was shot on a private game preserve. The biggest deer he’s done came in the early years when the shop was open and weighed around 190 pounds, he said, though he’s seen some close to that size since.

“This year it seems the deer we’ve been process-ing are a lot bigger than last year’s deer,” said Brent Peltier. “We’ve had some people have brought in that were trophy deer. We’ve had some really big deer that didn’t have the right antlers to be a trophy deer.”

MEAT: Deer have been a lot biggerFROM PAGE 6

MULTI-MILLION DOLLAR EXPANSION

45,000 SQUARE FEET AND 80 FEET TALL

THE MAIN GOAL . . . CREATE MORE JOBS

2013 is starting off with great things for Omega Natchiq, Inc. Omega Natchiq is a subsidiary of ASRC Energy Services located in New Iberia, La., and is a full-service provider for Onshore and Offshore energy producing clients.

Omega Natchiq came into being in 1998 when ASRC Energy Services purchased Omega Service Industries. The oil and gas industry has changed signi� cantly since then, in order to remain a player in the industry Omega has made signi� cant changes as well. ASRC Energy Services has supported the vision and people of Omega Natchiq to meet new business and industry challenges.

Ribbon cutting ceremonies were held on Wednesday, January 23, 2013 for the multi-million dollar expansion. This new pre-engineered steel building is about 45,000 square feet and 80 feet tall. The budget was $4.87 million for the entire project. It will be the largest structure on the company’s 75 acres, it owns 50 and has a long term-lease on 25 – at the Port of Iberia. Part of the project’s expense lies in the purchasing of eight overhead cranes.

Omega President Gary Buchanan said this new facility will allow them to move all of its subsea deepwater fabrication projects that are outdoors into the new facility. It’s going to allow us to expand our footprint and take on more work, and our goal, of course, is to create more jobs. Buchanan said he hopes the new jobs that will be created brings a sense of stability to workers in the Teche and Acadiana areas.

Omega and ASRC Energy Services are committed to do all we can to grow our company and our employees to achieve a higher level of success. And our commitment is for the long term. The new under roof fabrication facility is a step to move Omega forward together as a company, business partner and member of the community.

XNLV73851

Gary Buchanan, President Omega Natchiq, Inc.

Chairman of the Board of ASRC—Crawford PatkotakPresident of Omega Natchiq Inc—Gary BuchananPresident and CEO of ASRC Energy Service—Je� Kinneeveauk

Page 8 / Thursday, February 14, 2013 / The Daily Iberian Profile 2013 / Celebrating Our Community

2013 Business Profile

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Transcript of 2013 Business Profile