Lapeyre Stair, Inc

Lapeyre Stair, Inc. is a subsidiary of Laitram L.L.C.. With five operating divisions - Intralox, L.L.C., Laitram Machinery, Inc., Lapeyre Stair, Inc., Laitram Machine Shop, L.L.C., and Industrial Microwave Systems, L.L.C., Laitram employs more than 1,400 people worldwide and remains committed to innovation and continuous improvement.

Since 1981, Lapeyre Stair has continuously supplied its customers with customized stair systems to meet their specific needs. Today, industrial stairs, commercial stairs, and alternating tread stairs are designed and fabricated at company headquarters in Harahan, Louisiana.

Using innovative technology, we make the stair design and installation process simple and painless for our customers. We provide flexibility of design with customized configurations to meet your building code requirements. Lapeyre stairs are constructed of all steel and are shipped prefabricated to your jobsite or installation location ready to be installed.

Lapeyre Stair industrial metal stairs and commercial stairs are carefully designed to meet your access needs. We offer a variety of tread surface options, tread widths, and finish colors to provide you with the ultimate cost-effective stair solution.

The Lapeyre Stair alternating tread stairs feature a space-saving design for applications with limited space. The unique alternating tread design provides greater tread depth than vertical ladders, allowing comfortable face-forward descents at steep angles.

History of Lapeyre Stair

To many people, J.M. Lapeyre was known as '...the man who invented the shrimp peeling machine.' This is true, but he did so much more. J.M. was a mere lad of seventeen at the time he co-invented the shrimp peeler. This pioneer invention revolutionized the shrimp processing industry in developed countries around the world and created what is now The Laitram Corporation to manufacture the needed machinery.

Spurred by the need to efficiently load shrimp into the peeling machinery, J.M. invented the first all-plastic, modular construction conveyor belt. Recently pronounced by a federal court as another 'pioneer' invention, these belts have become the standard means of conveyance in countless industrial applications worldwide. His far-sightedness led to the creation of Intralox, now Laitram's largest division.

J.M.'s inventions were not limited to low-tech mechanical devices. In the mid-1960's, he conceived the first digital magnetic compass. This electronic invention lead to the creation of Digicourse. In the early 70's, J.M. invented a high-speed, electronic computer-driven printer, now manufactured under license by some of the world's largest computer companies. Other high-tech inventions include: an automatic method for processing frozen tuna fish, a novel opposed-piston diesel engine, several energy recovery devices, a unique jet engine and a computer keyboard.

As the story goes, J.M. observed a workman having trouble carrying a piece of equipment down a stair on an offshore oil rig. He went home and sprinkled talcum powder on his feet and walked downstairs leaving footprints on the steps of the stair. He noticed that he only used about half of each tread, alternating from left to right. With this in mind, he decided he could make a safer, more compact stair design. By removing the unused half of each tread, the foot could reach the next tread in a straight, direct line, allowing for more usable tread depth. The Lapeyre® stair was born.

Today, there are over 40,000 Lapeyre® stairs in use. The stairs are custom-built to fit specific height requirements and are available in mobile versions with a cantilevered design to work safely over heavy equipment and conveyors. Applications include crossovers, catwalks, loading docks, machine accesses and other places where space does not allow for a conventional staircase

He was an architect by training, but to many of his 'fellow engineers' he was the most complete engineer with whom they had ever been associated. J.M.'s knowledge, acquired by continual study and observations, spanned every major technical discipline: mechanics, electronics, physics, structures, chemistry and computers.

At the time of his death, J.M. had been issued over 130 U.S. patents and over 100 foreign patents. J.M.'s inventions have given employment to thousands of people and generally improved productivity and, consequently, the standard of living in the world today. For these accomplishments, he deserves to be ranked among the great.

To many, J.M. was a genius and this alone was the explanation for his success. This explanation is incomplete; it takes genius, courage and motivation to pioneer new industries.

J.M.'s genius was developed through hard work and objective analysis. When dealing in technology, J.M. was relentlessly objective, recognizing that the laws of reality, 'God's laws', could not be evaded by his or anyone else's whim.

J.M.'s courage was the result of living by his own convictions. He relied exclusively on his own analysis of a problem. From the time he was a young boy, he was told he was 'unrealistic' and 'a dreamer.' He literally spent his life fighting for the ideas in which he believed.

His motivation came from the simple joy in admiring greatness in his own and in other human achievements. J.M. admired the best in his fellow man. He envied no one.

J.M. passed away in 1989, the Lapeyre® stair lives on. Who would have thought that walking down a staircase with powdered feet could lead to such a unique invention!

Our Products

Lapeyre Stair began manufacturing alternating tread stairs in 1981 and has since expanded its product line to supply its customers with customized stair systems to meet their specific needs. Today, we design and fabricate:

• Industrial and commercial metal stairs
  Carefully designed to meet your access needs. A variety of tread surface options, tread widths, and finish colors to provide you with the ultimate cost-effective stair solution.
• Alternating Tread Stairs
  Features a space-saving design for applications with limited space. The unique alternating tread design provides greater tread depth than vertical ladders, allowing comfortable face-forward descents at steep angles.
• Work platforms for aerial access to equipment
  In addition to our complete line of metal stairs, we also offer a variety of landings and platforms to complete your stair system