R.L. “Sonny” Anderson is the founder of Anco Industries, an industrial specialty contractor offering scaffolding, insulation, painting/coatings and heat tracing services on maintenance, turnarounds and new construction projects, and Scaffolding Rental & Erection Service. Over the course of his career, he has owned or founded more than 30 companies and been heavily involved in industry organizations such as the NPRA and Associated Builders and Contractors, among others.

Claude Barber was the president of Plant Machine Works until his death in 2006. Barber purchased the Baton Rouge, La., equipment repair and fabrication shop in 1976 and grew it into a hugely successful, multifaceted operation. The company is now run by his son Tommy and a team of managers.

Brooks Bradford Sr. is the CEO and chairman of Aimm Technologies Inc., a specialty company that offers a patented cleaning process called Hydrokinetics. Bradford spent the early part of his career in the real estate and banking industries before purchasing Mobile Air, a temporary refrigeration company, in the late ’70s. He sold Mobile Air to Aggreko in 1986 and went on to purchase Aimm Technologies in 1995.

John Egle is the CEO of Hub City Industries — a company that specializes in well production services such as acidizing, coiled tubing, gravel packing, wireline P&A and cementing — as well as Turbine Stimulation Technologies (TST) and Louisiana Marine Transportation. Egle has been involved in the oilfield and land treatment industries for more than two decades, starting and selling several companies along the way.

Helen I. Hodges is the president of Separation Systems Consultants Inc. (SSCI). Hodges, along with her husband Donald, purchased SSCI in 1989 and has led its transition from a one-service company into a comprehensive environmental services and consulting organization.

Jon Hodges is the CEO of Evergreen Industrial Services, which specializes in vacuum, hydroblasting, tank cleaning, turnaround and managed services. Hodges served as a manager for Enclean before purchasing what would become Evergreen Industrial Services in 2000.

Keith Huber is the founder of Keith Huber Industries, the largest independent manufacturer of mobile vacuum loading equipment. Prior to founding his own company, Huber developed one of the first snowmobiles produced in the United States and the first electronic golf cart.

Dave Johnson is the president and CEO of Sparkling Clear Industries, a filtration company that has evolved from residential to industrial service since he purchased it in 1985.

David LaCook is the president and CEO of FabEnCo Inc., which offers the Safety Gate, a self-closing gate that provides fall protection at ladders, platforms and stair openings. LaCook took the helm of FabEnCo in the early ’90s after the retirement of his father, Hardy LaCook, who co-founded the company with Don Henderson.

John McNabb is the founder and chairman of Growth Capital Partners, a firm that provides investment and merchant banking advice to middle-market companies. A Vietnam War veteran and former Duke University football standout, McNabb co-founded Growth Capital Partners with David Sargent and Charlie Stephenson in 1993.

Raymond L. “Bubba” Nelson Jr. is the principal founder of Allwaste Inc. and Sanifill. Nelson earned many accolades over the course of his career, including the Entrepreneur of the Year award (Houston Region), which was given to him by Ernst & Young, Merrill Lynch and “Inc. Magazine” in 1990. He is now retired and resides in Nevada.

R. E. “Bob” Parker is the president of Repcon Inc., a national contractor providing complete turnaround services to the refining, chemical and petrochemical industries, including exchanger, tower and HF alky specialty services; pipe fabrication and installation; welding services; and total project management. Parker founded Repcon in 1983 after working 11 years for Goldston Corp.

John Michael Paz is the president and CEO of Godwin Pumps. Paz was appointed president of Godwin in 1985 by his father, the late John Paz, who had founded the company in the late ’70s. In 2005, John Michael was named Entrepreneur of the Year for the Philadelphia and Eastern Pennsylvania region by Ernst & Young.

Nicky Prejean is the president and CEO of Southland Fire & Safety Equipment Inc., a company he formed in 1972 after working as a warehouseman and materials expeditor for a petrochemical company and running a lawnmower and go-cart repair shop. Southland’s specialties include 24/7 emergency response and other fire and safety equipment services.

R. Dewon Rankin, along with his sons Roger and Curt Rankin, are the founders of HRI Inc., which specializes in industrial repair, maintenance and inspection in situations where high temperature and hazardous conditions make conventional techniques impossible.

Forrest Shook is the founder and CEO of NLB Corp., a company that grew out of a portable cleaning business and became a worldwide leader in high-pressure waterjetting technology (up to 40,000 psi) over a span of three decades. In 1991, he won the Manufacturer/Entrepreneur of the Year award in the state of Michigan, an honor given to him by his peers in industry.

David Starkey is the CEO of Empire Scaffold, an industrial scaffolding company. Starkey began his career in the scaffolding business with Hullinghorst Industries in the ’70s and was later responsible, along with a group of partners, for introducing system scaffolding as a standard in the petrochemical industry.

Bert Turner is the founder and chairman emeritus of Turner Industries Group LLC, one of the largest privately owned industrial construction and maintenance organizations in the Gulf Coast area. Turner began his career as an engineer for Exxon in Baton Rouge, and later went to work for Nichols Construction Co., a company he bought after the death of its founder, Bob Nichols.

Kenneth and Shelia Vermillion are the owners of Glove Guard LP, a manufacturer of belt-loop clips for protective gloves used in industry and other settings. They purchased the company in 1999 and now operate it with the help of their sons, Bryan and Bradley.

Pete Vrettakos is the CEO and chairman of Atlantic Industrial, which is comprised of two subsidiaries, Atlantic Scaffolding and Atlantic Plant Services. Vrettakos founded the company in the early ’80s after working on high-profile scaffolding and rigging projects in the Baltimore and Washington, D.C., areas.