Interviewer(s): Jason Theriot

Affiliation: University of Houston

Leroy Molaison is the owner and president of Main Ironworks in Houma, LA. He bought the company in 1986 during the downturn. He came into the company through his father-in-law, who was co-founder of the ship yard. Main Iron works specializes in tug/push boat new builds and repair.

Company significance/history: Main Ironworks was started in 1947 as a welding shop by Jack Guidry and Lawrence Mazerak. Both men had worked at Texaco's small ship yard south of Montegut, LA., where they learned boat building expertise. In the early 1950s they started fabricating steel vessels. The tugs were designed and built to service the growing offshore industry to push or haul barges with equipment or product to the rigs in the Gulf of Mexico. Main began with 50 foot tugs and progressed as technology and deep-water demand improved. From the 1960s to the early 1980s Main experienced continuous growth: at one point they employed over 500 personnel and built a tug every month. Today, Main builds some of the state-of-the-art "Z" drive Harbor tugs to service the LNG/Lightering/containership industry coming to port.