A Division of Inland Industries, Inc

I would like to take this opportunity to thank you for inquiring about our newly constructed marine equipment and to tell you a little about our company. My name is Randy Lee. My brother Ricky Lee and I have been in various marine businesses together and with our father, Raymond Lee, since our early teens. We have owned and operated inland push boats and barges, a midstream fueling service, and shipyards that specialize in inland marine equipment construction and repair. Raymond retired from the marine industry in the late 1970s. Ricky and I have continued to build, own and operate inland push boats and barges. Since 1980 Ricky and I have worked solely in new construction of marine equipment and have perfected the truckable inland push boat, so popular in today’s market. We construct coast guard certified vessels, as well as, ABS classed vessels.

We have brought to the marine construction industry our years of experience and knowledge in operating push boats and build the best inland push boat at the best price. Other companies have joined the industry in the last 10 years, imitating what we have perfected. You may ask yourself,"What sets the shipyards apart?" While we do not profess to know all of the business practices of the other shipyards, I can tell you what makes us the best in the business.

Our shipyard is located on Cow Bayou in Orange, Texas. We are located on a navigable waterway, only 2 miles off the Gulf Intercoastal Waterway. We set every boat in the water to be tested. Every boat is run in the water and put through sea trials. The engines are run up to temperature, the steering is checked, all aspects of the vessel are thoroughly tested before the vessel leaves our shipyard. We do this at no additional charge to the customer. Some shipyards today charge for sea trials, while others simply do not even offer the service. We have built vessels as small as 100 horsepower up to 1500 horsepower triple screw inland push boats, and barges that measure 120' x 30' x 7'. Our vessels are constructed out in the open, on our 5 acre water front location, because we are a true shipyard. Using a 100 ton Manitowac crane for lifting, precludes the use of an interior building. Some work is done in our fabrication shops, as with most of the true shipyards, the majority of the work is preformed outside. Many of the shipyards today use the same new John Deere marine engines, yet the horsepower descriptions are different company to company, for the same engine, this can be confusing. These engines are rated by John Deere for the correct horsepower. We do not use the yacht ratings of M4 to give our boats the appearance of more horsepower, we use the commercial inland ratings of M2. By using the correct engine ratings, given by John Deere, you can be assured that the horsepower you actually get is the horsepower you were told to expect. We verify the correct gear and wheel for the application. Using the wrong rating can cause the engine to run hot and result in the vessel having the wrong gear and wheel, thereby voiding your engine or gear warranty.

In constructing your vessel we will use steel angle and channel structural components. Some companies use flat bar in the hull, reducing the overall weight of the vessel, reducing the strength of the hull, and reducing the cost of construction. Reducing the weight of a push boat reduces the boats performance.

Additionally, since Ricky and I have owned, operated and maintained inland marine equipment, we know what works, what simply cost more money, and what is easiest to repair. We strive to build our vessels in a manner that makes them easy and cost effective to operate, maintain and repair. We provide our customers with the manuals and warranty information on the engines, gears, and any other items that we install. All of our construction techniques meet or exceed the industry standards of today.

We feel these are a few of the things that set us apart from the rest of the industry. Feel free to come by for a visit and see what we are building today.

Sincerely,

Randy Lee, President

Inland Industries Inc.