Hutchins to head A&A Machine, Fabrication

LA MARQUE — A&A Machine and Fabrication has named C. Alan Hutchins president and CEO as the company embarks on what officials predict will be a year of stronger sales, a mending U.S. economy and increased demand for products overseas.

Hutchins, 47, succeeds Fred D. Heineman, a company founder. Heineman and Charles L. Hutchins (Alan’s father) remain as managing partners of the 53-year-old company that provides repair and fabrication services to the petrochemical industry.

Hutchins, a La Marque native, was general manager before his promotion.

Jim Thakkar, who has worked at A&A for several years, has been named fabrication manager.

A&A Machine and Fabrication, with 70,000 square feet of facilities at 3101 Texas Ave., posted $15 million in sales in 2009, compared with $20 million in each of the two prior consecutive years.

Sales slowed as refiners delayed some repairs and maintenance work in response to a sluggish economy.

But the petrochemical industry is expected to increase the amount of maintenance work at refineries and plants as the economy heals, Hutchins said.

“We certainly are making plans to get back up to the level we were a couple of years ago,” he said.

Also helping A&A sustain sales are demands for its products from companies in South Korea and China, Hutchins said.

“We’re shipping products over there, not jobs,” Hutchins said.

With 80 employees, A&A Machine and Fabrication is La Marque’s second largest employer.

Gulf Greyhound Park is the largest.

Hutchins also serves on the executive board of the Texas City-La Marque Chamber of Commerce, of which he was chairman in 2009. He has worked at A&A for 20 years.