We know how difficult it is to manage change and solve problems. Continuous improvement is hard work. Founded in 1958, we’ve seen our share of struggles. We’ve failed. We’ve learned and we’ve adapted. We will continue to grow and evolve to meet our customers’ ever-changing needs. To do this, there are three forces that we leverage that will not change: Our Solid Foundation, Innovation, and The Right People. When we bring these three forces together, we get a forward movement. Our logo reflects our respect for the past and our legacy but also supports where our industries are going.
OUR SOLID FOUNDATION
Our foundation includes our experience, our relationships, and our know-how. No one carves a path forward alone. They need a strong team with a strong foundation to enable and inspire them to bring unique perspectives to overcome our customers’ daily challenges. It’s the way we’ve done it since the beginning and its why our customers never have to worry about the outcomes of their projects.
INNOVATIONS
Innovation is problem-solving, coming up with a new way, a better way, to solve a problem. Crest is built around progress; growing year after year, unafraid to embrace bold, new ideas to improve the way we support our customers. We innovate. We try new things. We experiment and we learn as we go. That’s how we continuously improve and grow and how we can successfully bring our customers proven, new solutions for their projects.
THE RIGHT PEOPLE
We hire people who share our values and we put the right people in the right seats, with the skill sets that fit our customers’ challenges and we work hard to develop our people. Our people come to work because it feels like home, no matter where they are from. We place each other above egos because, at Crest, our coworkers are like your family. And like family, we believe in honest and clear communication so that the path towards our customers’ success is a united effort.
Crest Industries lives by the same core values established by its founder, Tucker Robison. Working in his father’s hardware store while growing up, he learned the basic principles of building and operating a successful business. In 1958, he took those principles on the road as he traveled across the entire state of Louisiana selling electric supplies out of the trunk of his car, establishing Crest Industries’ first company, Mid-State Electric Supply. To this day, our customers can expect that same level of personal, unwavering customer service, 24/7, on each and every project.
Every company says safety is an integral part of operations. However, at Crest Industries, we are committed. Safety is not just something we practice. It is embedded in our values and is part of our promise to both our employees and customers. When you treat your team like family, they are protected like family.
Beta Engineering is established.
Purchase of 28E Location in Pineville.
CEO/Owner
Kenny began his career at GE Power Generation in Schenectady, New York in 1988 where he gained valuable experience and learned the ropes of how large companies operate. Two years later, he returned to his hometown in central Louisiana and Crest Industries, the company founded by his father, Tucker Robison.
At Crest he’s worked through the ranks in the high voltage electrical business in engineering, project management, marketing, and business development, ultimately becoming CEO in 1997. Kenny has bachelor’s degrees in Electrical Engineering and Mechanical Engineering from Louisiana State University and a Master of Business degree from the University of Texas, Austin.
Winner of Ernst & Young’s 2013 Entrepreneur of the Year award for the Gulf Coast, Kenny is active on the board of Young Presidents’ Organization serving as Louisiana chairman and a regional officer of the Western Regional Executive Board. He lives with his wife, Camille, and their 3 children.
CEO/Owner
Executive Officer/Owner
Scott is an Executive Officer and Owner of Crest Industries. Scott began his career in 1990 at Destec Energy in Houston, Texas working as a field engineer on gas turbine power plant construction projects in Bakersfield, California. In 1992 he returned to his hometown in central Louisiana and the company founded by his father, Tucker Robison.
Scott rolled up his sleeves and got to work at Crest’s subsidiary, Beta Engineering. There he worked as an electrical engineer, civil engineer, and project manager on high voltage electrical substation and transmission line projects. Throughout his tenure at Crest, he’s been responsible for engineering, design, project management, estimating and marketing. Most recently he served as Crest’s VP of Information Technology where he built the IT team from the ground up.
Scott holds bachelor's degrees in Electrical and Civil Engineering from LSU and a master’s in Engineering and Construction Management from The University of Texas, Austin. Scott is a registered Professional Engineer in both Electrical and Civil Engineering. Scott is also an accomplished jazz musician, plays piano, tenor saxophone, drums, bass, and guitar and is currently writing his own music.
Executive Officer/Owner
Chief Financial Officer
As Chief Financial Officer, Paul provides strategic planning and oversight for accounting, finance, tax, audit and family office at Crest. He is a licensed Certified Public Accountant and holds the Certified Internal Auditor designation. Paul is a graduate of Louisiana College where he earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Business Administration. Paul also graduated with a Master of Professional of Accountancy degree from Louisiana Tech University. He has more than 20 years of accounting, tax, and audit experience. Prior to joining Crest in October 2016, Paul worked at Cleco Corporation for about 16 years where he served in various roles and capacities in corporate tax, internal audit and financial reporting. He has led several key initiatives pertaining to corporate governance, tax dispute resolution, accounting and tax research and systems implementations. This experience gives Paul a broad perspective of the utility industry and the various functions such as IT, fuel procurement, customer service, safety, and regulations. Paul also worked for the Louisiana Department of Revenue where he specialized in income/franchise and sales/use tax audits.
Paul attributes his successful career to his work and life philosophy. “Integrity is doing the right thing, even when nobody is looking,” says Paul.
He is a life-long resident of the central Louisiana area and is married to his wife, Laura. Paul and Laura have three children who keep them constantly busy, Bradley, Rebecca, and Maggie. In his spare time, Paul enjoys playing golf, fishing, and spending time with his family. They like doing anything outdoors and love to travel, often to the Emerald Coast.
Chief Financial Officer
Chief Administrative Officer
John is the Chief Administrative Officer and Corporate Secretary for Crest Industries. He also serves on its Board of Directors. John is responsible for Crest's Legal, Accounting & Finance, IT/ERP, Program Office teams, as well as, Crest Properties, Crest Natural Resources, the Crest Flight Department and Shareholder Relations. His responsibilities include executive recruiting, corporate strategy and acquisitions as well as day to day leadership.
John is a licensed Louisiana attorney with 30 years' experience. He joined the Crest leadership team in 2008 after more than 20 years in private legal practice. He was Crest’s first in-house counsel and built the Crest legal department. He also led the creation of the Program Office and the recruitment of its first executives. He served stints as Executive VP of Legal and Organizational Development, and Chief Operating Officer of Crest Operations before assuming his current position.
John received his B.S. from LSU in 1985 and his J.D. degree from the LSU Paul M Hebert School of Law in 1988, graduating Order of the Coif. He currently serves on the boards of LABI and the Central Louisiana Chamber of Commerce and is Chairman of the Christus St. Francis Cabrini Hospital Strategy Subcommittee. He is also the past chairman of the City of Alexandria Civil Service Board.
John is a life-long resident of Alexandria, Louisiana. He received his B.S. and Law degree from Louisiana State University. John is married to 9th Judicial District Court Judge, Mary Lauve Doggett. Together, they have three children and one grandchild. In his spare time, John enjoys golf, hunting, fishing, and playing with his grandson.
Chief Administrative Officer
Chief Information & Systems Officer
As Chief Information & Systems Officer (CIO), James provides strategic insight and direction for our Family of Companies, guiding our teams through this new age of technological advancement.
James joined the Crest team in 2017 after retiring from a successful career at P&G where he held multiple national and global digitization leadership roles. With nearly 40 years of experience in information technology, he will help to create and develop the next generation of IT and data systems to allow our businesses to grow beyond what we believe is possible.
Outside of work, he likes to relax at his camp and spend time with his friends and family – Suzanne, his wife of 39 years, and their three children.
Chief Information & Systems Officer
Chief Operating Officer
Industrial Services & Distribution
In addition to being the COO over Crest’s Industrial Services platform, Matt leads the merger and acquisition efforts for all Crest Industries operating companies. Matt’s worked in the service industry for more than 30 years. Matt started his career at KPMG and has subsequently been involved in financial and operational leadership roles within banking, technology services, and medical services companies. Matt has participated in more than 30 acquisitions throughout his career. He moved from Dallas to join Crest in August 2013 and started within the Program Office.
“Everything we do at Crest is centered around the success of our employees and our customers,” says Matt. “We constantly invest in the development of our people which in turn enhances the value our team can provide to our customers.”
Matt received his BBA in Accounting from ULM and his MBA from Southern Methodist University. He lives in Alexandria with his. wife, Tracy. Matt enjoys golf, listening to music, and traveling up north to Wisconsin to visit his daughter, Allie. He’s also an avid college football fan.
Chief Operating Officer
Industrial Services & Distribution
Vice President of Talent
Sarah Sasser is the VicePresident of Talent at Crest Industries.
Sarah has been instrumental in the growth of Crest Industries, leading the talent acquisition team to grow the organization from approximately 400 employees to over 1,200 team members. She has also developed broad based talent development programs to growCrest's employees as humans, teams, and leaders.
She started her career in Talent and Organizational Development at Shriner's Hospitals for Children. She spent some time growing a startup pharmaceutical software company before returning to her hometown of Pineville, Louisiana, in 2012 when she joined Crest Industries.
Sarah has been married to her husband,Thomas, for ten years, and together they have two girls, Reese and Case.
Vice President of Talent
President
Optimal Field Services
As President of Optimal Field Services, Shane helps clear the way for the best mechanical and caltalyst teams in the industry to do what they do best: get quality work done, safely and quickly.
Shane came to Optimal with a wealth of knowledge and industrial field experience under his belt. He’s worked for multiple companies, including Dow Chemical, Nooter Construction, Jacobs, and Turner Industries. He started out as a Pipefitter Helper and over the course of 30 years moved up the ranks to supervisory roles such as Project & Operations Manager, Multiple Site Turnaround Manager, and Vice President. Before working in the industrial field, Shane served four years in the U.S. Air Force.
“Honesty, trust, and integrity will always lead the way,” says Shane.“That’s what I’ve learned through my experience in this industry and that’s the mindset I instill in the Optimal team. In turn, we apply this philosophy to our relationship with our customers. Our customers come first, plain and simple.”
Shane enjoys spending time with his family. Together they spend a lot of time outdoors, golfing, hunting, fishing, and cheering on the LSU Tigers.
President
Optimal Field Services
President Beta Engineering
& Avant Organics
In his role as President for both Beta Engineering and Avant Organics, Brad oversees company operations, leads executive leadership teams, and determines each companies’ strategic direction to ensure the success of Beta and Avant’s team, partners, and customers.
Brad first joined the Crest team in January of 2017 from the specialty chemicals industry. Over the course of a decade, he held several key positions with DowChemical, Novolyte Technologies, and Natural Advantage where he served as VP ofOperations. As VP, Brad scaled multiple pilot operations to multi-site, full-scale production operations.
Once at Crest, he’s held multiple roles. First, as VP ofProject Support Services for DIS-TRAN Packaged Substations (DTPS). There, Brad worked alongside the DTPS’ teams to garner an understanding of all aspects of the organization. He inspired trust and confidence while managing change and challenges.
“If you hire good people, invest in their future, and put them in the right environment they will do wonderful things,” explains Brad.
As VP, his team developed a planning & scheduling work process, a factory 6S program, quality management processes, and a flexible staffing plan. Ten months later, Brad assumed the role as President of DTPS. He has played an integral role in helping DTPS deliver outstanding customer service and custom, pre-fabricated, factory-built products to their customers. Brad assumed the role as Beta’s President in October of 2021.
Brad holds a Bachelor of Science degree in ChemicalEngineering from Louisiana State University. He’s married to his wife, Andre. Together, they have three kids, Ava, Thomas, and Jacques. Brad is very involved in youth sports, enjoys fishing, reading, and homebrews his own craft beer.
President Beta Engineering
& Avant Organics
President
Mid-State Supply
As President of Mid-State Supply, Tré is responsible for leading, coaching and challenging Mid-State’s management team to ensure they become the best leaders and deliver the best customer service every day. Before being appointed to the role of President, Tré started out his career at Crest in its Program Office. Tré came to Crest with extensive logistic and distribution experience. For almost eight years, Tré managed and directed activities for multiple go-to-market strategy implementations at PepsiCo. There, he held multiple leadership roles such as Unit Sales Manager, Logistics/Distribution and Transportation Manager, and Zone Operations Manager. In 2013 PepsiCo recognized Tré as Central Gulf Region Zone Operations Manager of the year.
“I like to challenge those around me to see situations in a different light,” explains Tré. “Helping others understand that challenges are opportunities will create a culture where our teams can grow and improve.”
Tré has a Bachelor’s Degree in Finance from McNeese State University. He’s married to his wife, Janie. Together, they have two young daughters, Lillian and Audrey. In his down time, Tré likes to fish and cook with his family.
President
Mid-State Supply
President
Crest Natural Resources
As President of Crest Natural Resources, David oversees investment decisions and the operations and management of nearly 100,000 acres of timberland and 60,000 acres of minerals throughout Louisiana and into east Texas. He’s been a member of the Crest team since 2004. David has more than 20 years’ experience in land management, having held roles such as Staff Forester, Manager of Operations, and VP of Timber Operations.
In addition to his forestry experience, David also served a total of 8 years in the Army National Guard. David says his past military career instilled a strong work ethic and has helped him learn how to lead. “I like to lead by example,” David explains. “I am firm but fair with my team, contractors, and our customers. I make sure they know I have their back and will help them whenever I can.”
David holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Forestry from Louisiana Tech University and serves as VP of the Louisiana Forestry Association. He’s married to his wife, Jaclyn. Together, they have three children, Jack, John, and Stella. As a family, they enjoy camping in their travel trailer, hunting, and fishing, as well as cheering on the New Orleans Saints.
President
Crest Natural Resources
President DIS-TRAN Steel
& Millennium Galvanizing
Donnie joined Crest Industries back in 1996 as an entry-level engineer at DIS-TRAN Steel. For more than two decades, Donnie has worked in all aspects of the business from Operations to Management. He is also a licensed Professional Civil Engineer. Now, as the President of DIS-TRAN Steel, he oversees all aspects of the company and works closely with Crest's Senior Executive Team to develop systems and processes throughout the company to better serve our customers.
President DIS-TRAN Steel
& Millennium Galvanizing
President DIS-TRAN Packaged Substations
As President of DIS-TRAN Packaged Substations (DTPS), David champions the company’s Culture & Values while overseeing operations, leading management teams, and directing the company’s strategic vision toward shared success with their partners, customers, and team members.
David joined the DTPS team over 10 years ago and assumed the position of President in January 2024. He has held positions such as VP of Project Operations, proposal coordinator, project coordinator, project manager and project manager supervisor. He PMP for project management in 2016.
“I always give 100% effort in everything I do and am willing to help anyone.”
President DIS-TRAN Packaged Substations
With companies located across the United States, Crest Industries is committed to bringing together the best people and the right resources to meet today’s challenges and deliver the innovations of tomorrow. With significant recent growth and company acquisitions, Crest more than ever is a catalyst for change, using a little grit and a lot of determination to drive a forward movement for our customers and our employees.
DIS-TRAN manufacturing facility opens in Pineville, LA.
DIS-TRAN Products divides product lines into corporations – DIS-TRAN Steel & DIS-TRAN Packaged Substations.
Crest moved to new location on Hwy 28E in Pineville, LA.
Kenny Robison becomes CEO of Crest Industries.
Crest Natural Resources established.
Mid-State Supply moves to larger facility on Broadway Avenue in Alexandria, LA.
Crest Industries established.
Mid-State Supply is founded by Tucker Robison & opens a store on MacArthur Drive in Alexandria, LA.