Innovation, expansion, and increased production are driving the 193% year-over-year revenue increase and the 291% revenue increase over the last two years for SSE Steel Fabrication, a DBE-certified, 100% woman-and minority-owned small business headquartered in St. Bernard. The family-owned business, founded in 1996, reported $29.3 million in revenue in 2023, preceded by $10 million in 2022, and $7.5 million in 2021.
“In the past couple of years, we identified and pursued opportunities for expansion into new markets. This allowed us to tap into new revenue streams and broaden our customer base. Because of the new opportunities, we instituted a second shift, and then a third shirt, so that we are now operating 24 hours a day,” said Mindy Nunez Airhart, SSE President and CEO.
Airhart added: “I’m particularly proud of our management team’s response to the decision to implement additional production shifts. This initiative significantly increased the workload for many team members, often doubling or even tripling their daily tasks. While we did eventually expand our management team to alleviate the strain, there were numerous instances in 2023 where our existing team rose to the occasion and met their responsibilities admirably.”
SSE has a 22,000 square foot metal fabrication facility, two-acre blast and paint yard, and a 10-acre laydown yard. The company does steel fabrication, structural steel erection, forming, welding, design and support, product assembly, painting, blasting, and finishing, quality measurement control, and field welding services for on-site fabrication and emergency repair.
Airhart said she is working with the company’s leadership to expand into a new, larger facility later this year, but specific details are confidential at this time. “It will significantly increase our production capabilities and capacity. This expansion will enable us to serve a broader clientele, both locally and nationwide,” said Airhart.
SSE works with some of the state’s largest construction and infrastructure companies such as Archer Western, M.R. Pittman Group, Boh Bros., and Kiewit. SSE has performed large contracts for repairs to the Greater New Orleans and Southeast Louisiana Hurricane Levee Protection System, pumping stations in Orleans Parish, Plaquemines Parish, the Port Allen Locks, the Calcasieu Locks, flood control structures in St. Bernard Parish, as well as many other projects.
On the innovation side, SSE installed the first state-of-the-art robotic CNC (Computer Numerical Control) plasma machine in south Louisiana – the PythonX Structural Fabrication System. SSE has made substantial investments in state-of-the-art robotic processing equipment, including welding cobots, a robotic structural beam line, an HD oxygen/plasma 20′ x 10′ burn table with articulating robotic arm, and a CNC tube processor, among many others.
Airhart said two main challenges for SSE are the fluctuating economy and a growing shortage of skilled labor. “While the U.S. economy is currently robust, the global economy is increasingly volatile, leading to apprehension among entrepreneurs like me who are considering investment in their companies,” she said. “Additionally, the problems in the workforce are well documented, as students are encouraged to go to college instead of learning vocational trades. To address this, we’re collaborating with our partners like Nunez Community College and Tri-Parish Works to establish internships that will encourage students to pursue welding as a viable and rewarding career path.”
SSE is a “Louisiana Growth Leader” by Louisiana Economic Development (LED); on Inc. Magazine’s “Inc. 5000” list of America’s fastest growing companies; and among the “LSU 100,” a list of the fastest-growing LSU graduate-owned or LSU graduate-led businesses in the world. Airhart is a former recipient of CityBusiness´ “Women of the Year” and “Excellence in Construction and Real Estate.”
