Acadian Commercial Contractors LLC

Located in Gonzalez, Louisiana, Acadian Commercial Contractors was founded in 1976 by Douglas Diez. Since then, Acadian Commercial has been performing light industrial and all types of commercial projects in the Baton Rouge area. Undertaking an equal amount of private and public work, Acadian Commercial often works for the local school boards and parishes.

General manager Scott Partin credits the company’s longevity to word-of-mouth due to customer satisfaction over the years. “Our website also has a nice display of past projects we’ve done,” says Partin. The company has chosen to remain relatively small in size. With an annual revenue of $5 million, the company employees six to eight people full-time. “We like to stay small and make a decent profit. The way we do things have worked since 1976 so there hasn’t been any reason to change anything.”

The Acadian name is a familiar entity in the Baton Rouge area. In addition to owning Acadian Commercial Contractors, Diez is also the founder of Acadian Residential Contractors, a residential offshoot division of Acadian Commercial. Acadian Residential is responsible for building Pelican Point Resort Living, an 800-acre resort living community located in Gonzalez, Louisiana.

Diez also partners with business associates to form MIE Properties, which specializes in retail, research and development and office space. Acadian Commercial is in agreement with MIE as the primary contractor performing the interior build-outs. “We perform 95 percent of the work for MIE once they lease a space,” says Partin. “They’re probably our biggest client.”  Acadian Commercial is in the planning stages of building a distribution center for MIE. “We have the potential to develop another 20 acres near Pelican Point.”

Lasting relationships

Acadian Commercial has not only survived but also thrived for almost 40 years by maintaining relationships and customer satisfaction. In the private sector, Acadian Commercial is in the developmental stages of two projects for an oil distribution company which has been a previous client of the company.

“We’ve also been in contact with a client we’ve worked with in the past based out of California,” explains Partin. “He’s interested in building an office and warehouse project and also a distribution center right here in Baton Rouge.”

In the public sector, Acadian Commercial performs a majority of work for school boards. “We do a lot of our work for Ascension Parish School Board,” says Partin. “We’re on a blanket purchase order with them every year to perform maintenance. When they call us we’re there that day.”

In keeping with the intention to remain a relatively small company, Acadian Commercial is focused on maintenance and expansion of projects, as opposed to building a school from the ground up. “We have the capability to complete something like that but it would take up all of my employees’ time for a year or two and I’m not willing to do that,” explains Partin.

When it comes to in-house services, Acadian Commercial performs a majority of the interior work of a project. “We typically self-perform the sheet-rock, metal studs and carpentry,” says Partin. When it comes to subcontractors, the company has worked with many of the same strategic partners for more than 30 years. “That’s one of the reasons we’re so efficient at what we do,” says Partin. “The subcontractors that we use know exactly what they have to do.”

Keeping up

Though the construction industry suffered a setback when the recession hit in 2008, Partin says that Acadian Commercial did not experience the devastating effects that many companies in the industry were subjected to. Ascension, the parish in which Gonzalez is located, is one of the fastest growing communities in Louisiana.

“Since Hurricane Katrina we’ve had a lot of growth,” says Partin. “A lot of people moved out of New Orleans and into this area.” Acadian Commercial has also maintained certain business practices which helped the company weather the economic downturn. “We’re like a family,” says Partin. “We all trust each other and everyone does their job. We work great as a team.”

In his eight years with the company, Partin is proud of the quality of work Acadian Commercial produces and enjoys the challenge each job brings. “Every project presents a different challenge,” says Partin. “All of the build-outs that we do for MIE are unique. It’s not like building a chain restaurant over and over. They’re all different.”

Looking into the future, Acadian Commercial Contractors will continue to operate the way it has for almost 40 years, Small and efficient. The company will foster the relationships it has built over time while always being willing to add to the family atmosphere of the company.