Tanmay Desai
Real people, real stories
Tanmay Desai, Chief Executive Officer, The Bayou Companies
What is Bayou Companies and where are you located?
At Bayou Companies we provide pipe coating and insulation. Specifically, for the Keystone XL project, we provide an anti-corrosion coating through fusion-bond epoxy. We receive the pipe via rail or barge, we provide the coating to the exterior of the piple and then ship to a specific route location, This coating preserves the integrity of the pipe.
Why is the Keystone XL project important for your company?
Very significant, the Keystone XL project has provided job security for at least 50 full-time positions and 50-plus contractor jobs for a two-year-plus time frame. Moving forward with the Keystone XL project is helping to keep our company healthy.
Even during these unprecedented times of COVID-19, we are considered essential services and have been able to continue to coat pipe and keep our employees working and putting money back into our local communities. We have been lucky to avoid lay-offs and furloughs as we continue to assist moving this project forward.
Work bonds are easily formed with individuals working in the field or on the ground, but my experience working with TC Energy from a corporate standpoint has been remarkable. Through the ups and downs of the Keystone XL pipeline project, the folks at TC Energy have always been fair and equitable. This relationship has always been centered on ‘how do we work together’.
Safety is our number one priority, how important is safety with your team and your work on this project?
We take an enormous amount of pride in our focus on safety and we are grateful to work with a company like TC Energy who also places safety first.
Ninety percent of the Bayou workforce works in dangerous conditions each day, including the coating of pipe, but also the movement of pipe on and off truck, barge and rail. I am proud to say our safety culture is truly ingrained, which is reflected in the following safety stats.
Bayou safety record since the beginning of the TC Energy project in 2018:
- Approaching 1 million total workhours
- Zero project lost time incidents (LTIR)
- Lowest TRIR in company history during 2019: 0.27
- 2020 YTD zero lost time incidents, zero recordable cases campus wide
You are a local contractor, what does this work mean for your company and your employees?
We are a local contractor in Louisiana and a significant employer in the New Iberia area and our employees are truly contributing to the local economy and helping keep our local economy healthy.
What does a partnership with Keystone XL project team mean for your company?
We are both excited and humbled to be part of this meaningful project. This partnership has allowed us to expand our operations and provided significant technical and professional opportunities across our workforce.