Killian Lapeyre, president of Intralox, poses in one of the manufacturing facilities in Harahan, La., Tuesday, Sept. 8, 2026. (Staff photo by Sophia Germer, The Times-Picayune)
One of the Intralox manufacturing facilities photographed in Harahan, La., Tuesday, Sept. 8, 2026. (Staff photo by Sophia Germer, The Times-Picayune)
Laitram and Intralox in Harahan as seen in this file photo from Tuesday, September 22, 2020.
Laitram and Intralox in Harahan as seen in this file photo from Tuesday, September 22, 2020.
Laitram CEO Jay Lapeyre, as seen in this file photo from Monday, October 17, 2022. (Photo by Chris Granger | The Times-Picayune | The New Orleans Advocate)
Killian Lapeyre, president of Intralox, poses in one of the manufacturing facilities in Harahan, La., Tuesday, Sept. 8, 2026. (Staff photo by Sophia Germer, The Times-Picayune)
In the nearly 40 years since Jay Lapeyre followed in his father’s footsteps to become president and CEO of Laitram, the company has grown from a family-owned business that pioneered automatic shrimp peeling into a global manufacturer with more than $1.5 billion in revenues and clients that include Amazon, Tesla and SpaceX.
The company today has four divisions that design, manufacture and support automated processing systems across a range of industries, more than 2,300 patents and operations in eight countries, with more than 4,300 employees, nearly 2,000 of whom are based at Laitram’s company’s Harahan headquarters and Hammond facility.
Now, Lapeyre, 73, is passing more of the leadership reins to the next generation of family members. In April 2025, his son Killian Lapeyre, 42, became president and general manager of Intralox, Laitram’s fastest-growing and largest division.
Though the elder Lapeyre says he’s not stepping away from the business yet — he’s still chair and CEO of Laitram — Killian Lapeyre is now responsible for shaping Intralox’s business strategy, which determines much of where Laitram overall is headed.
The change comes as Laitram is in the midst of what the Lapeyres call a “major growth moment,” fueled by a booming e-commerce sector that is dominated, largely, by Amazon. The e-retail giant is a longtime customer of Intralox, which makes plastic conveyor belts and package-sorting equipment, and Amazon isn’t slowing down.
As a result, Intralox revenues are on track to grow by 10% this year, pushing Laitram sales to record levels.
“We can sort packages at the fastest rates and the smallest footprints, which is compelling for the large e-commerce players out there,” Killian Lapeyre said.
Killian Lapeyre didn’t always plan to join the family business. After graduating from Vanderbilt University in 2007, he worked as a banking analyst. Though he spent time in Laitram’s offices growing up, he didn’t work with the company in an official capacity until he joined as a summer intern while in graduate school. The internship in the company’s packaging, materials and handling unit, opened his eyes to Laitram’s scale and reach.
After finishing grad school in 2011, he joined Intralox, spending two years with the company’s assembly operation in China before moving back to New Orleans and holding a variety of roles and positions in the company.
One of the Intralox manufacturing facilities photographed in Harahan, La., Tuesday, Sept. 8, 2026. (Staff photo by Sophia Germer, The Times-Picayune)
While Killian Lapeyre was rising through the ranks, Intralox was growing into an ever larger share of Laitram’s operation. Today, the division accounts for more than 80% of Laitram’s overall business, with 3,700 employees worldwide.
Intralox’s growth stems in part from its work with Amazon, which has been a customer since 2016. Seven years later, Amazon became the largest delivery business in the U.S., eclipsing UPS and FedEx. With Intralox’s conveyor belts and package sorting equipment embedded in many of Amazon’s distribution facilities around the U.S., Amazon delivered an estimated 6.7 billion packages in 2025.
Intralox also recently ramped up business with the U.S. Postal Service. Over the last six years, as the postal service has downsized its facility footprint while aiming to more quickly process mail, Intralox has embedded its parcel processing and sorting equipment into local operations around the country.
“We originally were doing things in more of their larger facilities, and now they’re moving to more of their smaller facilities where they’re putting in sortation,” Killian Lapeyre said. “So the pressure on footprint and our technology is important, but we’re delivering there, and those are new opportunities for us.”
While Killian Lapeyre is taking over at a pivotal moment for Intralox, he credits others in the company for laying the foundation for the current growth. Products the Intralox team has worked on over several years are finally catching on and resonating with customers. The growth, in turn, is enabling the company to spend more on research and development.
“We’re developing things far faster than we were two years ago,” said Killian Lapeyre, who estimates R&D spending is up nearly 50% this year over last to a little under $30 million.
Laitram and Intralox in Harahan as seen in this file photo from Tuesday, September 22, 2020.
As an example, he pointed to one of Intralox’s industrial unit products — a water screen made from a vertical conveyor that lifts debris from water. While Intralox has worked on this product for several years, it’s now gaining adoption within nuclear energy and desalination facilities, an industry that itself is growing tremendously around the globe, partly due to huge demand for energy from data centers.
Intralox is gearing up for growth in the Middle East, as the region builds out its food production supply chain and adopts Intralox’s product within its water supply.
“One of the bottlenecks of energy supply is cooling,” he said. “When you keep everything clean and the water system works better, the entire system works better so you can get more electricity out of a given plant.”
While Intralox is driving much of Laitram’s growth, company leaders are also breathing new life into Laitram Machinery, one of its more “sleepy” divisions, according to Jay Lapeyre. The division hasn’t evolved tremendously since its shrimp peeling equipment initially launched in 1947.
Laitram CEO Jay Lapeyre, as seen in this file photo from Monday, October 17, 2022. (Photo by Chris Granger | The Times-Picayune | The New Orleans Advocate)
Over the last 10 years, Jay Lapeyre’s son James Lapeyre, 44, president and general manager with Laitram Machinery, has been developing ready-to-eat shrimp products under the Prime Shrimp brand, starting with a frozen shrimp and seasoning meal, which is selling in Rouses and Whole Foods. It hasn’t gained as much traction with customers as the company hoped, Jay Lapeyre said.
The division is now developing shrimp burgers and shrimp bites, which are meant to compete with chicken nuggets. The products are unique in that the company can automate the entire process, from shrimp peeling to packaging, which leads to a “high quality, very controlled product,” Jay Lapeyre said.
The products are meant to tap into a growing demand within the global shrimp market. The Gulf alone produces around 400 million pounds of shrimp per year, Jay Lapeyre said. Laitram sources its shrimp from a farm in Ecuador, which produces 700 million pounds per year. The industry is expected to grow nearly 8% in the next 10 years, from being valued at nearly $75 billion to about $159 billion by 2036.
“The whole game is to say, how can we dramatically increase shrimp consumption?” Jay Lapeyre said. “How do we move the market?”
Another Laitram division, Lapeyre Stair, also is experiencing new growth. The company designs alternating tread stairs that can be stationed alongside buildings, such as oil rigs or satellite launch sites, that are safer and slimmer than existing designs. The product, which has been on the market for 40 years, has recently gained adoption by notable customers.
“They’ve gotten some high-profile installations recently where Lapeyre Stair is the staircase of choice on these SpaceX launch sites,” Killian Lapeyre said.
While Laitram has remained a family business, family ties don’t guarantee a family member a role. Conversely, nonfamily members, including Killian Lapeyre’s immediate predecessor as Intralox president, Edel Blanks, have held top positions in the company.
Family members who do work for the company — currently, there are 10 spanning two generations — are expected to meet high standards, Jay Lapeyre said.
Laitram and Intralox in Harahan as seen in this file photo from Tuesday, September 22, 2020.
“If you’re a shareholder and part of the family, then you have to be in the top third performer in whatever role you play,” he said.
Working together in the company’s top leadership roles isn’t always easy for father and son. But overall, the transition has been smooth, they said recently.
“He stays out of my business,” Killian Lapeyre said. “Part of it, too, is we don’t think of (disagreements) as clashing. If we’re debating a strategy, the merits of the argument should win … and that’s healthy.”
Jay Lapeyre added, “If we’re all seeing it the same way, there’s a greater risk of having that reinforcement problem. You want to avoid that.”
While the Lapeyres aren’t ready to disclose the company’s succession plans, Jay Lapeyre said Laitram is in good hands for the future.
“We have a plan, and it’s not controversial, and the board and the players are all aware of it,” he said. “The depth of talent that we have across the organization is pretty amazing. I think you could leave the place alone for a long time and it would continue to do well.”
Email Grace Mayer at grace.mayer@theadvocate.com.
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