Turn Services expands in Texas

Turn Services has announced the opening of its new Houston location; Turn Services La Porte Fleet. Located adjacent to Mile 29 on the Houston Ship Channel, the new facility currently offers over 20 acres of shoreside access, barge fleeting, shifting, towing, crew change, potable water and trash disposal needs.

 

“We are extremely excited to expand our footprint into Texas with our new facility. This location will allow us to offer logistical solutions for our customers in both the Gulf and Mississippi River regions. In the near future, the size of the property will give us the ability to add to our slate of services and explore additional growth opportunities,” stated Mario Muñoz, President of Turn Services.

 

Turn Services, founded in 1990 and headquartered in New Orleans, Louisiana, is one of the largest independent fleeting and shifting companies in the United States. Combining a team of highly skilled and experienced professionals with top-quality vessels and equipment, Turn Services provides outstanding services at all of its locations. It offers a broad range of barge-related resources including cleaning, repair and vessel services along the Lower Mississippi River from Baton Rouge to the mouth of the river. It also offers towing services on the Gulf Intracoastal Waterway from Texas to Florida.

 

When Turn Services started 30 years ago, it had a single barge fleet in Burnside, Louisiana, and no vessels — but it had a vision of how to best serve its customers, its team and its community. In those early years, Frank Morton managed payroll and contracts from his home. Operations later moved to Davant, Louisiana where Turn Services provided barge fleeting, cleaning and topside repair for companies like Electro-Coal, IMT and ACBL.

 

By the early 2000s, business growth led to the company’s acquisition of the first towboat, the Valley Sunrise, later renamed Sir Barton. In 2004, Morton teamed up with David Fennelly and Gary Poirrier, co-chairmen of Associated Terminals, a major terminal operator on the Lower Mississippi River. Turn Services became the primary barge fleeting and service provider for Associated Terminals. That’s when Turn Services began naming towing vessels after champion thoroughbreds, starting with Triple Crown winners.

 

Over the past decade, Turn Services has been growing its fleet and expanding its reach. Under the direction of Muñoz, the Turn team now operates barge fleeting locations throughout the New Orleans region, as well as Michoud Fleet in the Michoud Canal and Intergulf Marine Fleet on the Houston Ship Channel. As the company’s fleet of pushboats has grown, Turn has expanded its barge transport services as well. It now offers shifting, towing and ‘last mile’ services on both the Lower Mississippi River and all along the Gulf Coast while maintaining its core values and commitment to safety.