Trade magazine honors Tennille Inc.

TEXAS CITY — Need a set of pipe shoes? How about a plate flange or Y strainer? Who are you going to call?

Often when industrial contractors have a rush job for a piece of fabricated metal, that call goes to Tennille Inc., 928 Fourth Ave. S., in Texas City.

This week, the publishers of the trade magazine The Fabricator recognized the 106-year-old company as one of the top in the state and nation for fabrication work.

The listing, part of the trade publication’s 40th anniversary, ranked Tennille as the second-best fabricator in Texas and the 28th in the nation.

Tennille specializes in metal fabrication, which is taking a raw piece of metal and turning it into something usable at an industrial site. The company’s niche is rush jobs for the city’s petrochemical industry, owner Raymond Guidry said.

“Ninety percent of our work isn’t a planned thing,” he said. “It’s emergency type stuff when (contractors) find they need something inside a (refinery) tower or another job they call us.”

For The Fabricator’s FAB 40 list, a survey was sent out to a select list of metal fabricators as defined by the North American Industry Classification System.

Only those who answered the survey were considered for the listing, the magazine wrote.

Companies were ranked based on 2009 revenues. Tennille’s revenues topped $7 million in 2009 and are expected to maintain that level, according to the magazine’s report.

Guidry credited much of his company’s success to the longevity of his staff.

“We have hardly ever had any layoffs,” he said. “Lot of these guys started out as apprentices and have been here for years.”

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How Do You Say That?

Call Tennille Inc. and the staff answers the phone “Ta-nell.” Most people in town pronounce the company “Ta-nelly.” Even others, thanks in large part to the popularity of the 1970s pop duo Captain and Tennille, pronounce the company “Ta-neil.”

So, which is it? Company President Raymond Guidry said no one really knows.

“That’s why I answer to all of them,” he said.

The company was founded in 1904 by S.A. Tennille and is one of the city’s oldest businesses.