In 1947, Allen Danos Sr., a descendant of south Louisiana farmers, borrowed $2,000 to start a small tugboat company with his brother-in-law, Syriaque Curole. The entrepreneurial-minded duo hung up their Danos and Curole shingle, promptly purchased their first vessel, the Yoyo, and contracted their first customer, Gulf Oil. They kept their overhead low – their wives kept the financial books for the start-up operation, and they conducted business from the Curole kitchen table. The men were proud to be able to provide for their families while creating job opportunities for their community.

During the 1950s, Danos and Curole added crew boats to their tugboat inventory and began providing labor gangs at the request of Gulf Oil. In 1957, just ten years after the company was founded, Syriaque Curole passed away leaving the company reins with Allen Danos Sr. The 1960s brought steady growth as the company added a new customer – Tenneco Oil Company (later became Chevron) – and two new service lines – coatings and shorebase labor – to meet the developing needs of its customers.

In 1970, Allen Danos Sr. passed away, leaving the family business to his sons, 24-year old Allen Jr. and 21-year old Hank. Not easily intimidated, the Danos boys took the helm of Danos and Curole and purchased ownership from the Curole family. Throughout the 1970s and 80s, the second-generation owners grew alongside the company. They both served in the armed forces through the Army Reserve and National Guard, respectively, while successfully leading Danos and Curole through many significant milestones. The brothers acquired new customers – Shell, LOOP and Esso (later became Exxon); added two additional service lines – construction and fabrication; and built the first self-elevating lift boat. While all of these accomplishments are important, the most significant achievement during this chapter of the company’s history was undeniably the beginning of Danos and Curole’s culture of safety. The culture of safety evolution began in the late 1970s when the company began tracking TRIR, hired its first dedicated full-time safety representative, and made a commitment to provide proper training to ensure employee safety on the job.

For Danos and Curole, the 1990s brought great expansion in the international market. The company deployed a fleet of liftboats to work for Chevron in West Africa and sent production operators to work for Arco China in the South China Sea. In addition to the international opportunities, the company expanded their shorebase business.

The 2000s ushered in change, along with new opportunities and accolades for Danos and Curole. Allen Danos Jr. retired, the company’s liftboats were sold, and after graduating from college and gaining years of domestic and international oil and gas industry experience, Hank’s sons, Eric, Paul and Mark, joined the family business. Danos and Curole received numerous customer, industry and government awards in recognition of the company’s industry-leading culture of safety. The company continued to grow its customer base, and in 2010, began working with British Petroleum, managing a significant portion of the Macondo response. In 2012, Danos and Curole rebranded and changed the company name to Danos. Shortly after, the company expanded its operations to include work in the North American shale plays; expanded its services to include scaffolding, environmental services, instrumentation and electrical; and, with the opening of a new deepwater access fabrication facility, added large-scale fabrication to its capabilities.

Today, the second and third generations of the Danos family is at the helm of the growing organization. From a small tugboat company, Danos has grown into a trusted strategic partner for oil and gas operators around the globe. Danos offers onshore and offshore customers an extensive range of integrated services, including: production workforce, fabrication, construction, intelligent integrated materials solutions, project management, coatings, automation, instrumentation and electrical, scaffolding, shorebase and logistics, mechanical maintenance, regulatory compliance, power generation, valve and wellhead. Danos has more than 2,000 employees, with 9 offices in Louisiana and Texas and operations across in the Gulf of Mexico and North American shale plays. Looking ahead, the company plans to continue adding service lines, expanding into renewable energy and increasing operations to meet the needs of its customers. Throughout the past seven decades, one thing has remained the same at Danos: an unfaltering commitment to values, safety and overall results for our clients.