Great River Industries

technology. As far as robotics, much of the welding in the shop is sub-arc and automatic. These days, robotic welding is the standard throughout the industry if you want to be competitive. The GRI Natchez complex now incorporates 100,000 sq. ft. under roof, with a 15,000-sq.-ft., outdoor concrete, work pad, a 6,000-sq.-ft. enclosed, climate-and- dust-controlled coating facility, and over 100 acres of outdoor assembly space. “We definitely have room to expand,” says Bourgeois. “We also have unobstructed access to the Natchez-Adams County Port, and a pedestal crane on the Natchez-Adams dock that’s owned by GRI. The big components of fabrication, we can ship anywhere in the world through that access to the Mississippi River. In addition, maintenance and repair is one of the largest divisions of our group. It allows us to be a one-stop-shop for our customers, but we also do those services for people we don’t build equipment for. Depending on what the scope of the project is. If you have a piece of equipment go down that’s in our expertise to repair, we can respond within 24 hours.”