Two years after retiring as CEO of The Shaw Group, Jim Bernhard and his partners in the private equity firm he subsequently founded have announced this week the formation of an integrated energy services firm made up of several existing companies, including the mechanical construction company founded by his grandfather nearly a century ago.
As first reported by Daily Report, the new company is technically a holding company simply called Bernhard. It bills itself as a design-build energy infrastructure firm that will provide energy-engineering, mechanical, electrical, plumbing and development services for commercial and industrial clients.
Jim Bernhard is chairman of the board of Bernhard, which comprises four separate operating companies. They include Lafayette-based Bernhard Mechanical, the Bernhard family business founded in 1919 and run by Bernhard’s brother Kenneth Bernhard; EP Breaux Electrical, a 70-year-old electrical contractor based in New Iberia; and TME, a 20-year-old engineering firm based in Little Rock, Ark.
Also under the Bernhard umbrella is a newly formed company, Bernhard Energy, made up of the leadership of the other three companies. It will be a developer of district energy systems and power plants for commercial, governmental and institutional clients. Together, the combined companies have about 725 employees in 18 locations across the country.
Also this week, Daily Report got the exclusive story on Raising Cane’s founder Todd Graves’ upcoming appearance on Animal Planet’s Treehouse Masters. Graves and his family were joined Monday by friends at their Baton Rouge home on the LSU lakes for the unveiling of a 1,200-square-foot, three-level treehouse built by “tree whisperer” Pete Nelson of the reality TV show.
Everyone will be able to see Graveses’ reaction, as well as their massive new treehouse—the largest ever built by Nelson and his crew—when they appear Friday, March 6, at 9 p.m. Central Time on the season finale of the show, which is dubbed “Biggest Build Ever.”
Here’s a rundown of some of the other top stories making headlines in Daily Report this week:
- The first of 84 scheduled Mississippi riverboat cruises docked at Baton Rouge, bringing hundreds of tourists to the city and marking the start of what local tourism officials say will be a record year for cruiseline dockings. The 84 dockings represent a 47% increase over the 57 dockings in 2014. There were 51 dockings in 2013 and 26 in 2012, the year riverboat cruises returned to the city after the last of a number of operators stopped offering the trips in 2008.
- European river cruise giant Viking announced it will make its first North American home port in New Orleans, with Mississippi River cruises expected to start in 2017. The move means hundreds of jobs and a boost to the state’s tourism industry.
- In response to the announcement by Viking, West Feliciana Parish is seeking an additional embarking site to accommodate the three Viking vessels that will be stopping there in two years.
- Despite increases in home sales in East Baton Rouge and Livingston parishes last month, the eight-parish Capital Region saw 12 fewer home sales to open 2015, compared to January 2014 sales totals, representing a 2.3% decline. The figures were released this afternoon by the Greater Baton Rouge Association of Realtors.
- Despite an arrest of the store’s owner earlier this month on drug charges, the Spanish Town Market at 701 Spanish Town Road remains open for business. But Spanish Town residents and downtown business leaders are concerned about the future of the store, which has a long, and at times checkered, history in the neighborhood.
- Eric Holowacz, the president of the Arts Council of Greater Baton Rouge, resigned after less than two years at the group. An interim leader was not immediately named, but the Arts Council board says it is taking steps to ensure the work of the council continues to run smoothly.
- Despite concerns about the effect of lower oil prices and a shortage of skilled workers in the area, Capital Region plant managers remain optimistic about production, spending and hiring at the plants over the next six months, according to the Greater Baton Rouge Industry Alliance’s latest quarterly survey.
- Metro Councilman, downtown bar owner and attorney John Delgado and business partners Andrew Bayard and Christian Walther announced plans for their latest entertainment venue: a Las-Vegas-style nightclub to be housed in the old Louisiana Theater Building at 336 N. Third St.
- Manda Fine Meats co-owner and CEO Bobby Yarborough will be honored by the Baton Rouge Epicurean Society with its 2015 Grace ‘Mama’ Marino Lifetime Achievement Award at the society’s annual awards dinner this summer.
- Vermeer Texas-Louisiana, a heavy equipment dealer, is expanding its local presence with the acquisition of a 3.46-acre site at 12131 Airline Highway, which it bought for $1.07 million from Waguespack Oil Co. of Thibodaux.
- La Divina Italian Café is one of two Louisiana companies and 102 nationwide recognized with the Small Business Championship award by SCORE, a nonprofit that provides mentoring to small businesses. The Perkins Road restaurant will receive a $1,000 gift card to Sam’s Club, which is a partner in the annual awards program, as well as an all-expense-paid trip to a SCORE training event and mentoring by the nonprofit.
- In preparation for the legislative session that opens on April 13, leaders of the state’s construction industry are putting together their agenda. The two main issues focus on tweaking the state’s public bid law, which was overhauled during the 2014 session, and holding onto as much capital outlay and public works funding as possible.
- Boosted by a strong fourth-quarter—during which the company received a one-time $120.1 million tax benefit as a result of its 2014 conversion to a real estate investment trust, or REIT—Baton Rouge-based Lamar Advertising Co. saw its net income for 2014 skyrocket by 532% to $253.5 million, up from of $40.1 million in 2013.
- Baton Rouge’s largest heavy equipment dealer, H&E Equipment Services, reports that its profit increased by 25% last year to $55.1 million, up from $44.1 million in 2013.
- Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Louisiana President and CEO Mike Reitz announced plans to retire as head of the state’s largest health insurer in June 2016, coinciding with his 40th anniversary with the company.
- LSU says an internal audit of U.S. Sen. Bill Cassidy’s medical teaching at its Health Sciences Center in New Orleans determined the new Republican senator delivered the services for which he was paid. Former Sen. Mary Landrieu had accused Cassidy of collecting a $20,000, taxpayer-funded annual salary for doing little work during her failed re-election bid last fall.
- Aspiring student entrepreneurs will have an opportunity to pitch their ideas and potentially walk away with a share of $25,000 in seed capital when the LSU Student Incubator hosts its fourth annual Venture Challenge April 23 at the Lod Cook Hotel.
