Oil is still big business in Acadiana, even if it’s not quite as big it used to be. The IT business is quietly growing here too, specially in Lafayette. What’s interesting about both the natural resource industry and the broadband-based-business is the way they’re growing beyond our borders. We’re now looking at Acadiana-based business from China to Houston.

Acadiana Businesses Stretch Around the World

Christiaan’s guests on this edition of Out to Lunch Acadiana  both run successful operations that have business portfolios that have managed to succeed and even grow in tough times by diversifying what they do and staying inventive. 

Ragen Borel

Ragen Borel runs her family business — an international oil services company Map Oil Tools. Her father founded Map in Texas but moved it to New Iberia. On her way to the top job, Ragen dropped out of college, hopped on at the warehouse and worked her way up to CEO. Today, Map is a small company with an international footprint with operations in the U.S., China and Dubai. In fact, Map has more employees in China than New Iberia.

Ben Johnson

Like Steve Jobs and Apple, Ben Johnson launched his company, Techneaux, in a garage. Ten years ago, he had one client and one co-worker. Since then, Techneaux has added new divisions and dozens of employees with operations in Denver and Houston. In 2019, Techneaux was named one of the state’s top growth companies. It supplies IT and data services for big industry on an innovative business model. 

Christiaan Mader gets his head around the New Iberia China pipeline

Out to Lunch Acadiana is recorded live over lunch at Chopsticks restaurant in Lafayette.

Photos by Lucius Fontenot.

More info about the Acadiana oil biz  on Out to Lunch Acadiana,  here.