Ergon Opens Third Location In Wood River

On a bright, clear day in Wood River, Ill., Ergon Marine & Industrial Supply (EMIS) celebrated the establishment of its third location. The company, which offers various supplies and services to mariners on the Mississippi River, is excited to expand its reach to its customers after establishing locations in Vicksburg, Miss., and Memphis, Tenn., more than 40 years ago.

Ergon General Store was founded in 1969 in Houma, La., and flourished while providing supplies for Magnolia Marine Transport Company (MMT), which later became its sister company. Ergon moved its headquarters to Vicksburg in 1975, expanding its services while working alongside MMT in 1975. In 1982, Ergon established its second location in Memphis, and it became known as Ergon Marine & Industrial Supply in 2001. This year, Ergon is proud to unveil its third location.

EMIS is part of Ergon, a group of privately held companies that operate in three primary business segments that include energy and specialty solutions, pavement and coating resources and integrated services and logistics. EMIS and MMT fall under the integrated services and logistics segment, as does Ergonomic Terminaling Inc.

Both Memphis and Vicksburg EMIS establishments offer fueling, bulk and packaged lubricants. The Vicksburg location also provides fleeting, crew changes and a lounge and boasts a full-size store supplying groceries and personal items. The Wood River location will bring much of the same offerings as the other locations.

“We are very proud of our teams in Vicksburg and Memphis,” said Chris Maxwell, vice president of EMIS. “We’re excited to grow and meet customers’ needs in new areas.”

Port Captain Lee Hogue explained that the new Wood River location is also near MMT’s facilities, making collaboration even more convenient.

“MMT and EMIS are both Ergon companies, and we have supported each other since the beginning,” Hogue said.

Maxwell said the choice to bring EMIS to Wood River came from conversations with customers. Through cultivating feedback from the businesses they served, it became clear that EMIS’s next venture should begin in Illinois.

“We want to bring fair market competition to offer customers more choices for service and products,” Maxwell said. “We collaborate with customers frequently to learn where their challenges are and how we can help them.”

Maxwell said that EMIS consistently asks customers about their pain points and works with them to achieve a solution.

“We work through trends and statistics on how we can improve the customers’ overall efficiencies during our short time serving them,” Maxwell said. “The fuel market sets the tone for pricing and is out of our control, but we can control the service before, during and after the sale, and that is our main focus.”

While the Wood River location was started after more than 40 years of steady growth at the Vicksburg and Memphis locations, EMIS has high hopes for continuing to expand over the next several years.

“Our customers have identified a couple of other areas where there is opportunity for us to help them continue to be successful,” Maxwell said.

There is still work to be done in Wood River. Offices are currently being set up, and electrical work is taking place, but Ergon has already begun taking customers in Wood River.

“We’re ready now,” Hogue said. “We’ve taken some customers, and more will come soon.”

Throughout the company’s 55-year history, customer service has always been Ergon’s top priority. Whether it’s delivering groceries despite icy terrain or driving a missed pack of cigarettes to a customer from miles away, EMIS does its best to remain fiercely dedicated to its customers.

“There’s no grey area when it comes to our customer service,” Maxwell said. “It’s important. We don’t say no. If we make a mistake, call us, and we’ll fix it.”

The new Wood River location is recruiting for a variety of positions, but the crew has already grown quickly.

“We are very blessed to work for a family-owned company that has given us the trust and ability to further grow Mr. Lampton’s original dream,” Maxwell said. “We wouldn’t be able to make these big moves and support our customers without the continued support from our leadership and Ergon Inc.”

The third facility also would not have been possible without the dedication and passion of the Ergon team, Maxwell said. He extended his gratitude to the men and women who made Wood River a reality after several years of hard work, and a grand opening will be held in the next few weeks to formally celebrate.

“I couldn’t be more proud of our leadership team and all the work they have done to help make this successful,” Maxwell said. “These guys and gals have worked day and night, weekends and holidays to put all this together. They are fired up and excited to bring their culture and service to a new area. They are the reason we were able to get this done!”

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Featured photo caption: Pictured from top left to right: Caleb Anthony, Jason Carson, James Ahner, Wade Cochran, Jackie Inman, Travis London, Lee Houge, Doug Hasty, Marilyn Jinkins, Michele Griffin, Chris Maxwell and Johnnie Knight. (Photo by Amelia Kingman)