36 Years In Business: A Lousiana Insulation Company Talks About Origins

OPELOUSAS, LA – July 18, 2011 – Situated in central Louisiana, Southwest Insulators, a family-owned insulation company, has made a name for itself in customer satisfaction as well as a long tradition of good quality work. Jody Fontenot, current owner of Southwest Insulators, speaks with Sprayfoam.com about the origins of the company.

“Southwest Insulators was founded in 1975 by my father,” said Fontenot. “In the beginning, my father would collaborate with his uncle on a number of jobs. His uncle would set up the metal frames for a home and my father would come in apply the insulation with him.”

Fontenot first got into his father’s business when he was in high school. He would often take the time to help on various jobs. In the early 1990s, Fontenot became a co-owner of Southwest Insulators.

“My father still owned the company,” said Fontenot. “Even though I'm the head I would usually go to him if I need any help. Back when he handed me the company I recalled him telling me, ‘run it like it’s yours.’ What he said stuck with me and that’s how I’ve been running Soutwest.”

For the next 20 years, Fontenot would help the family business with a growing client base and with work in various residential and commercial buildings. Fontenot further adds, “We usually work in areas around central and southeast Louisiana doing a little bit of everything: residential, commercial, and roofing. Right now I have a client who needs some spraying done at the Louisiana/Texas border.”

According to Fontenot, his company recently got into using spray foam. “We have been working with spray insulation for a very long time,” said Fontenot. “But we got into spray foam about a year and a half ago. It's the same kind of work, just different equipment." Fontenot stated that he taught himself the technique of spray foam by watching countless YouTube videos.

With over 20 years of experience in the insulation business, Fontenot has his fair share of stories. “I could write an entire novel about what I’ve seen,” said Fontenot. One job that stood out from the rest for Fontenot was the installation of spray foam for a client who needed to drop the temperature in his antique car shed.

“When we arrived on the site the client asked us to take a look into the shed,” said Fontenot. “Honestly, with the Louisiana summer beating down on the shed at all hours of the day, it was around 100 degrees inside. The shed was heating up due to the galvanized metal frames that were installed and the client was worried that he would never be able to work on his car. So, my team sprayed about 1 inch of foam onto the roof and wall. Several days later we received a call from the customer that said the temperature was dropped and he was very satisfied with our work."

In terms of the future Fontenot hopes to slowly expand his company with more clients and more work.

When asked what was his motivation for getting into the spray foam and insulation business, Fontenot states, “We are in the business of saving people money. Seeing past customers’ utility bills change due to our energy saving insulation is the reason why I work.”