About
GSE Associates, LLC started out in 1944 as a one-man firm named for its founder, Arthur A. De Fraites, Sr., a civil engineer. Mr. De Fraites worked for clients mainly in the oil business and local public bodies. He progressively increased his varied client group by establishing himself as a leader in providing professional, quality solutions. After beginning in New Orleans, the company settled in Houma, Louisiana where the majority of their clients were at that time.
De Fraites Associates re-established itself in New Orleans when it bought Zervigon Associates and increased in size by doing so. This enabled the company to offer electrical engineering as another in-house service.
In 1972 the firm was incorporated as Gulf South Engineers, Inc. to better reflect the majority client and project base the company had become known for.
Arthur A. De Fraites, Jr., like his father before him, became a civil engineer and continued the firm. Over the years, as the company grew, other engineering disciplines were added, such as structural and environmental. As the engineering projects grew in size, they often included buildings as ancillary features and architectural services were needed to address their design. So, in 1981 an architectural division was created.
In 1999, Gulf South Engineers, Inc. changed its name to GSE Associates, Inc. to better identify the full range of professional services it offers.
In 2009, GSE Associates, Inc was changed to GSE Associates, LLC in order to accommodate expansion of the ownership to include two long-term GSE employees, Clay Breaud and Phil Schexnayder, along with Providence Holding Company, LLC. As a Providence Company, GSE Associates now offers services from five office locations in Louisiana (Houma, Metairie, Morgan City, Baton Rouge and Alexandria), two offices in Texas (Dallas and Houston) and one in Gulfport, Mississippi. The Providence family of companies provides professional services including, planning, environmental permitting and compliance, security and infrastructure protection, as well as the full range of architectural and engineering-surveying services.
GSE Associates, LLC confidently looks to the future with a belief that we will continue to flourish based on:
(1) Our solid past and strong corporate structure,
(2) A loyal staff with a wide range of experiences and abilities, and
(3) Our committment to exceptional customer service.