Sponsored by Delta Machine & Ironworks
Delta Machine & Ironworks has a knack for seeing the need, then doing whatever it takes to meet that need. Delta’s resilient business model has helped it grow from a small mom-and-pop operation into a $44 million company servicing multimillion-dollar projects for some of the biggest industrial contractors in the country.
Put simply, the 41-year-old manufacturer of custom pipe supports, accessories and plate products doesn’t shy away from growth. Under the leadership of President Cody Odom, Delta has added significantly to its facilities in recent years, become ISO 9000 certified, implemented a business-wide ERP (Enterprise Resource Planning) system and enhanced its internal training program. Delta can also quickly ramp up personnel to meet the demands of any large project with the help of CDR General Services, a local labor solutions company.
The Baton Rouge-based company has far outgrown its roots, and today operates out of an eight-building fabrication facility off Choctaw Drive and a machine shop on Adams Avenue. In 2022, Delta added three office locations for planning, accounting and estimating in Prairieville, Denham Springs and Zachary. “We’ve essentially grown to meet the demand,” says Heidi Holmes, engineering and technology director at Delta. “We’ll do whatever it takes to meet a client’s needs and adapt to their situation.”
Case in point – when a local client needed a fabricator that could work a project in Canada, Delta immediately took steps to become CWB (Canadian Welding Bureau) certified. Ultimately, six of their welders and welding supervisor also received CWB certifications.
The lion’s share of Delta’s work is in large-scale industrial improvement and expansion projects, where they remain in lockstep with their clients from the beginning to the end of every job. Most significantly, they’ve become leaders in the fabrication of structural pipe supports and even ramped up their planning and project management team – currently numbering 15 people – to accommodate the workload.
“We take the pipe supports headache away from our clients,” Holmes says. “In the past, supports were a major delay or holdup. They couldn’t build a spool because they didn’t have the supports yet, or they couldn’t install pipe in the rack or sign-off on a system, because they didn’t have the supports yet.”
Many of their clients, in fact, say they wouldn’t have finished their projects on time if Delta hadn’t taken such a comprehensive role. “We provide a Total Support Solution (TSS),” she adds. “When our clients get the drawings, we get them at the same time, then we’ll provide them with requisitions for what supports they’ll need. When they start a project, we start as well. We take the supports off the ISOs, meet the project specs, submit any necessary RFIs, manage ISO revisions, and more … we do everything, lock, stock and barrel.”
And while other fabricators will “nickel and dime” their clients for services and documentation, such as MTRs (Material Test Reports), drawings, expediting reports, shipping logs and customized tagging, Delta provides it all under one contractual umbrella. “If you go with Delta, there are no surprises,” Holmes says. “The cost is the cost, and the promise dates are met. We hold to our word as true partners – whatever it takes to ensure a strong, successful relationship and superior end product.”
