People-Focused Turn Services Goes From Strength To Strength

“We’re just getting started,” Turn Services’ website landing page proclaims. “From our start in 1990 with a single barge fleet at Burnside, La., to today’s fleet of pushboats and locations on both the Mississippi River and Gulf Intracoastal Waterway, Turn Services has had an exciting first 36 years.”

Few companies of any kind, much less marine companies, can boast the kind of steady growth that Turn Services has enjoyed—and that has accelerated over the past 10 years, often by buying smaller companies and fleets. It is now one of the largest fleeting operations on the rivers, with a total of nine fleeting areas, soon to be 10, along the Lower Mississippi River and in the Gulf Intracoastal Waterway.

In 2020, Turn Services acquired Michoud Fleet, located in the Michoud Canal and also completed the acquisition of Bayou Fleet. In 2021, it acquired a new location in La Porte, Texas, on 25 acres of land, which continues to grow. “It took us roughly three years to get all of the permits to be able to dredge,” Chief Operating Officer Lucian Lott said. “We finished dredging at the end of last summer. We doubled capacity. A facility with the capacity for 80+ barges is rare in the Houston harbor, much less the option to fleet 60 loads if needed.” He said a tank barge cleaning operation should be up and running by year end. “Houston has been very fruitful for us, really thanks to the vision of Trevor Lott, and buy-in from the ownership of Turn. Houston was drawn up on the back of a napkin.”

In July 2024, Turn Services bought Texas-based Marine Fueling Service, Inc., with the transaction closing by mid-August. The acquisition included MFS’s fleeting, shifting, and fueling operations, eight motor vessels and facilities at the intersection of the Intracoastal Waterway and the Neches and Sabine rivers.

It is still finalizing its acquisition of St. John Fleeting, also announced last year.

New Fleet Boats

At the beginning of April, Turn Services took delivery of the first of an order of eight boats, all being built by Verrett Shipyard. From now until the order is complete, Turn Services expects to receive a new boat every 60 to 90 days.

They will all have the same layout and machinery packages. These are 65-foot by 26-foot, 1,600 hp. fleet boats with no onboard accommodations. Each vessel has Mitsubishi engines supplied by Laborde Products, Reintjes gears supplied by Karl Senner, John Deere generators supplied by Devall Diesel and 76-inch wheels.

“They are all replacement boats of older assets,” Lott said. “Over the years, with all of our growth and acquisitions, we have acquired quite a collection of boats and equipment of various sizes, with around 13 different engine models, wheel, shaft and rudder sizes varying across the board. It’s tough to realize much, if any, operational synergy or efficiency with a picture like that.”

“That standardization of new boats will help with crew training and safety,” Lott said. “We don’t like moving crewmembers around if we can help it—but when we do, it makes a big difference when crew or mechanics can step onto a vessel and already know where everything is, instead of having to learn a whole new boat. This has proven itself when it comes to running any sort of drill or a real life scenario, or even replacing a small everyday part.”

Lott said the company locked in the order prices for the boats before tariff and trade disputes drove up the price of steel too much. “The price of everything is just out of control!” he said. “The critical importance of realizing operational efficiencies cannot be emphasized enough.”

Team Member Focus

According to Lott, everything Turn Services does is focused on developing its people. It’s a focus that was maintained by Mario Muñoz, the president who retired in November after supervising growth since 2013.

The company has a committed deckhand-to-wheelhouse pipeline. “About five years ago, we started having annual deckhands meetings, an initiative brought forth and implemented by Vice President of Vessel Operations Brad Chauvin,” Lott said. “This has arguably been one of the most fruitful initiatives that the company has put in place, and we continue to see it through. We let them see everything—why we make certain decisions, what risks we are looking at, why we have certain policies and discussions around what is best practice. We try to elevate their views beyond the job and help them see this as a career. Not everyone does this. The primary objective of these meetings is for us as leaders to engage and show this younger generation how to be intentional and career-focused. We want to show them and have them understand the ‘why’ behind every decision.”

It doesn’t matter where team members wind up, Lott said. “We tell them, look, we hope you stay with us forever and progress along the way, but if you go somewhere else because you pursued a better offer or different career path altogether, that’s great. We just want you to leave here a better person than you came in as and have gained something from your time here.”

The company practices not just career training, but life training, including how to manage personal finances and understand credit, what it is, how it is computed and how that affects people. “We teach them financial literacy on and off the job, but, moreover, the significance and impact of little decisions that we all make day in and day out and how to develop habits to lead an intentional life.”

Not that the wheelhouse is the only destination, either. “There are many paths you can go,” Lott said.

Lucian Lott’s connection to the maritime industry began early, accompanying his father, Lucian Lott Sr., to the waterfront at National Marine’s fleet in Mobile, Ala. He launched his career in his early 20s with an investment group in Mobile, gaining exposure to sectors ranging from real estate to oil and gas, which ultimately led him into offshore energy services. After working throughout Central and South America, Lott returned to the United States in 2014 and founded Jubilee Towing.

In 2019, he and his brother, Trevor Lott, sold the business and a Houston fleeting position to Turn Services and joined the company in business development roles. At Turn, Lott quickly advanced, initially leading dispatch and logistics operations before being promoted to vice president and ultimately chief operating officer, where he now oversees companywide operations and continued growth.

Importance Of Fleets

To Turn Services, each location and fleet has its own unique function and importance within the family of business units. Associated Terminals operates the Myrtle Grove Midstream Terminal – a floating grain elevator specializing in the transfer of cargos between barges and ocean vessels at Mile 56.8 A.H.P. (above Head of Passes). Since its inception in 2005, MGMT has surpassed 30 million tons of agricultural exports. “Myrtle Grove is one of our original locations and a core part of our business,” Lott said.

The Carlisle fleet (Mile 61.5) specializes in fleeting and shifting services specifically to the CHS grain elevator. The Jourdan Road fleet is one of the smallest, with only three tiers, but is uniquely positioned for tows to stand by, waiting for the Industrial locks or weather before running out east as well as for accommodating crew changes, loading supplies, boats requiring maintenance and taking on water, Lott said. “Jourdan Road Fleet and Michoud Fleet both function really well with the Dockside fleet (LMR 91.5 near the Inner Harbor Navigation Canal) as part of our lock assist business.”

Another part of the business is located in the 80 acres of batture that is located at Bayou Fleet. Here, Turn Services stores barge covers. “There must be 200 sets of covers on the ground,” Lott said. “It’s a unique use for that real estate that doesn’t flood in a high river. We’re doing a good bit of cover-handling and storage.”

Lott is quick to credit the company’s growth and success to the strength of its leadership team, including Todd Fuller, president of Associated Terminals and Turn Services, Chairman Gary Poirrier, and Chief Financial Officer Kevin Tarleton, who together represent the company’s ownership group, along with Vice President of Vessel Operations Brad Chauvin and Vice President of Fleet Operations John Garner.