Notable New Orleanians: A Tricentennial Tribute

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LAITRAM, LLC Above: Founders of the Peelers Company— Fernand, J. M., and Emile Lapeyre, 1949. Below: Laitram’s first building on 619 South Peters in the New Orleans Warehouse District, 1954-1974. As a teen, J. M. Lapeyre spent summers working in his father’s shrimp processing plant near Houma, Louisiana. In the early 1940s, shrimp worldwide were peeled by hand. J. M.’s father, Emile, realizing his son’s fascination with how things worked (combined with the frustration and constant problems associated with hand peeling), challenged his son to make a machine that would peel shrimp. J. M. accepted the challenge and found inspiration while in the unlikeliest of places: church. “I got my original idea, believe it or not, in church,” J. M. said in a 1982 television interview. “When I was supposed to be praying, I was thinking about how to get the shrimp out of the shell because my father had said, ‘If you want to make a lot of money, invent a shrimp-peeling machine.’ And I thought, why not squeeze them out of the shell? And so, when I got down to the plant the next time, I began to step just to the side of the shrimp with my rubber boots to see if I could in fact squeeze the shell from the meat. And…it worked!” To test his theory, young J. M. brought shrimp home from the plant and began running them through the rubber rollers of his mother’s hand-turned washing machine, yielding even more encouraging results. After convincing his father that he had successfully peeled shrimp mechanically, the question became: How to proceed with a project to develop a practical machine, one that would be a real commercial solution to the biggest problem facing the processing industry? As J. M. was only sixteen and still in high school, Emile contacted his brother (J. M.’s uncle Fernand) to assist in constructing a prototype machine incorporating J. M.’s theory and design idea. A year later, on July 25, 1944, a patent application was filed for the first automatic shrimp peeling machine and was awarded October 28, 1947. Peelers, Inc., was founded two years later, (now Laitram Machinery) to manufacture and lease the first automatic shrimp-peeling machine, the Model “A” Peeler, which would peel up to 1,000 pounds of shrimp in one hour. Over the next seven years, J. M. invented the cleaner, deveiner, and grader and these machines were all added to enhance and expand the performance of the Model “A” peeling line. Not satisfied with only local success along the Gulf Coast, J. M. began to think globally. In 1958, he moved his family to Denmark (and later Switzerland) where he designed a machine to peel the much smaller cold-water shrimp species of Northern Europe, Iceland and Greenland. In 1963, Peelers’ name was changed to The Laitram Corporation (J. M.’s middle name “Martial” spelled backwards), and the pioneering spirit of those early days remained as the company continued to grow. By 1974, Laitram had outgrown its cramped quarters and the congestion of the New Orleans Warehouse District and moved to its newly constructed campus in Harahan, Louisiana, where it has continued to expand and is headquartered today. J. M.’s business career began in 1943, when he had the original concept of the present-day shrimp peeling machine. From that day until his death on May 1, 1989, he worked for the company his ideas had created. Although he held many roles throughout the years, he was uniquely productive and happy with his job as inventor and product designer. The challenge of coming up with simple solutions to complex problems inspired J. M. throughout his life, and he was ultimately awarded 190 U.S. patents. Jay Lapeyre, J. M.’s eldest son, joined Laitram in 1979. Leaving the inventing up to his father, he kept his focus on growing the business and in 1987 established the Laitram Business NOTABLE NEW ORLEANIANS: A Tricentennial Tribute 210
Philosophy, which emphasizes continuous improvement through innovation and investment in its employees. Today, Laitram, L.L.C. is a privately held manufacturer of diversified products founded on the inventions of J. M. It has four operating divisions: Laitram Machinery, Intralox, Lapeyre Stair, and Laitram Machine Shop. The company continues to innovate, and generates more U.S. patents than any other company or university headquartered in Louisiana. Laitram Machinery has been in business nearly seventy years and has pioneered highperformance shrimp processing equipment, steam cookers, blanchers, pasteurizers, and graders for processors worldwide. J. M.’s shrimp peeler spawned Laitram’s largest division, Intralox, in 1971. Shrimp were moved from the peelers by way of metal conveyor belts, which required frequent maintenance and replacement due to deterioration from salt water. After pitching his idea of plastic conveyor belts to the major metal and rubber conveyor belt companies to no avail, J. M. invented the first all-plastic, modular conveyor belt. Today, Intralox manufactures the world’s most innovative and complete line of modular plastic belting and related products, and produces world leading conveying technologies for package handling and sorting, and for highly sanitary food processing. Lapeyre Stair was founded in 1981 to manufacture the alternating-tread stair, a safer alternative to steep stairways and ladders and has expanded to include, customized, conventional, precision fabricated industrial stairs. The Laitram Machine Shop provides high-value machining and related services to the Laitram divisions and select outside customers. Over its history, Laitram has developed a worldwide reputation for ethical and responsible business practices, and delivering exceptional customer value and service. With over 2,200 employees worldwide (1,200 on the Harahan campus), the growth and sustained success is the result of a focus on continuous improvement, a core belief in the potential of people, and a commitment to treating employees, customers, and suppliers with honesty, fairness, and respect. Top, left: J. M. Lapeyre in 1985 pictured with his “Lapeyre Stair.” PHOTOGRAPH COURTESY OF MICHAEL F. SUSTENDAL. Top, right: Intralox headquarters in Harahan, Louisiana—our largest division. Left: Jay Lapeyre, president of Laitram, LLC. BUILDING A GREATER NEW ORLEANS 211
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T HE L OUISIANA H ISTORICAL S OCIET
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T HE L OUISIANA H ISTORICAL S OCIET
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LEGACY SPONSORS Through their gener
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INTRODUCTION On the occasion of the
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ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS This volume would
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In every decade, the Society has co
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J EAN B APTISTE L E M OYNE DE B IEN
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U RSULINE S ISTERS AND M OTHER M AR
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G ILBERT A NTOINE DE S T . MAXENT (
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continued to paint and raise the ch
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wrote neo-classic poems celebrating
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1916. Returning home, he practiced
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1. Durham is mentioned in several s
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epresentative, state senator and at
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A. N. Yiannopoulos found “the 180
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18th century until the Civil War an
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distinguished reputation in the war
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years of their deaths. The Memoirs
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his death in 1846. One of his great
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J AMES H. CALDWELL (1793-1863) Jame
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houses of New Orleans. Made to comp
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A RCHBISHOP A NTOINE B LANC (1792-1
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the breakup of the city. As a refor
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Lacroix’s end was not so honorabl
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H ENRIETTE D ELILLE (1812-1862) In
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William Woodward, 1859-1939, Old Ur
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current, or against the wind, but n
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School of José Salazar, Pierre-Jos
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Comte de Beaujolais. French Commiss
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Detail, Marie Adrien Persac (ca. 18
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community was abandoned after 1850
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Charles de Armas, PLAN/OF TEN LOTS
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George Peter Alexander Healy (1813-
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George H. Grandjean, Plan/MICHOUD P
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Louis H. Pilié, PLAN OF A VALUABLE
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Unknown Artist, Roy Alciatore (1902
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Michael P. Smith, Allison "Tootie"
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J AMES R OBB (1814-1881) Antebellum
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D R . LOUIS C HARLES R OUDANEZ (182
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L EON G ODCHAUX (1824-1899) At the
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Born in 1829 New Orleans, Gottschal
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Company, the National Rice Milling
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eflections led to short stories, so
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R ODOLPHE L UCIEN D ESDUNES (1849-1
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first president of the Levee Board.
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J OSEPH V ACCARO (1855-1945) AND F
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A constant interest was the structu
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Matas was one of the first to suppo
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In 1933, Dr. Rudolph Matas (q.v.) t
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contributed a chapter on African-Am
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St. Louis and other points on the i
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and which, in 1966, became The Hist
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of Art.1 His architectural work mad
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By the end of World War II Ochsner
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Richard Strauss. 1 The N. O. Opera
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A LBERT W. D ENT (1904-1987) The ad
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C HINK H ENRY (1910-1974) Clarence
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With her siblings and nephews, Ella
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A RCHBISHOP P HILIP M. HANNAN (1913
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water the industry drilled from flo
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treasurer of the New Orleans Spring
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C OSIMO M ATASSA (1926-2014) Record
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Ambrose’s idea for a local D-Day
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Black activist Bill Rouselle said a
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Foster, Governor, 18, 88 Foucher, 2
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Ursuline Convent. COURTESY OF THE L
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SHARING THE HERITAGE Historic profi
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QUALITY OF LIFE Healthcare provider
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was able to expand his own individu
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way for its students to acquire rea
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two family members or friends, at n
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Business; Education and Counseling;
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college or life after high school.
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Public Administration, and a new Sm
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with its college-preparatory curric
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Accreditation from the Southern Ass
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In the fall of 1931, a freshman cla
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Perhaps the most influential indivi
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Early history points to Sister Mary
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Today, Tulane offers endless educat
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Page 167 and 168: Through many years and name changes
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Page 173 and 174: THE MARKETPLACE Retail and commerci
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Page 181 and 182: facility has three spacious rooms,
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Page 191 and 192: Founded in 1983 by Neal Alford and
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Page 195 and 196: In May 1937, Joseph Merrick Jones,
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Page 205 and 206: as healthcare, food processing, man
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Page 209 and 210: In 1922, Ed. Smith’s moved from N
Page 211: With generations of expertise, Roub
Page 215 and 216: New Orleans was settled by the Fren
Page 217 and 218: Ensuring its clients build on a fir
Page 219 and 220: About the Author ABOUT THE AUTHOR W
Page 221: LEADERSHIP SPONSORS COLUMBUS PROPER
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Notable New Orleanians: A Tricentennial Tribute

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