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“This is our 65th year in business, which is pretty remarkable when you look at the rate in which industry changes,” says Forte & Tablada President and CEO Joey Coco. “We’ve completed many thousands of projects through two generations of ownership before me. The age, the legacy of this firm, it’s something to respect and to be immensely proud of.”
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Top executives: John Parsons, Owner & President; Patrick Parsons, VP of Used Truck Sales and JCP Construction Equipment; Lindsey Hernandez, VP of New Truck Sales; Gerald Boudreaux, CFO; Randall Kent, COO
Phone: 225.927.9321
Address: 9107 Interline Ave., Baton Rouge, LA 70809
Website: forteandtablada.com
Throughout Forte & Tablada’s history, the company has acquired several local firms, including Coco’s business, Engensus, in 2012. Eight years later, during the height of COVID19, Coco and a partner, Chad Bacas, acquired the firm from former owner Ann Trappey and Coco became firm principal and CEO.
“It was a scary time,” Coco says. “We were announcing the transition to staff on a Teams call. But I felt confident we would come out okay. Ann is a great mentor. She transitioned the company without imparting strict beliefs and did it with intentionality to let the next generation lead, and she’s been a part of the leadership team since the internal transition.”
MERGING SUCCESS
In 2025, the firm hit another milestone when it acquired PEC, an engineering company that had called Baton Rouge home for about 60 years. PEC and Forte & Tablada had partnered on projects in the past, and many employees had worked at both businesses. The merger, combined with organic growth, has increased Forte & Tablada’s staff from 75 to 125 people in roughly five years.
“It feels surreal, like it was meant to be,” says Coco, speaking about the merger. “This brought together two of the oldest firms in the Baton Rouge area. It’s amazing to see the synergy. It’s so easy to integrate when you have so much alignment, when staff have already shared tenure through partnerships, and (jokingly) when you are rooting for the same football team.”
