About SSE Steel Fabrication

Mindy Nunez Airhart, President & CEO

Photo by Adrienne Battistella for Biz New Orleans magazine

SSE Steel Fabrication (formerly known as Southern Services & Equipment, Inc.) is the authority in Louisiana for steel fabrication, combining excellence in quality with automation and robotic processing.

SSE is a versatile, large capacity, full-service facility for steel fabrication, structural steel erection, welding, design and support, product assembly, painting, blasting and finishing, and quality measurement control. We also offer field welding services for on-site fabrication and emergency repair. SSE also installed the first state-of-the-art robotic CNC plasma machine in south Louisiana, the PythonX Structural Fabrication System, which helped make SSE a leader in the field of structural steel fabrication. The company has made substantial investments in state-of-the-art robotic processing equipment, including welding cobots, a robotic structural beam line, an HD oxygen/plasma 20' x 10' burn table with articulating robotic arm, and a CNC tube processor, among many others.

SSE is certified by the American Institute of Steel Construction (AISC) as a Certified Fabricator, with an endorsement in Bridge Component Manufacturing.

Located in St. Bernard, La., a short distance from New Orleans, SSE has a 20,000 square foot metal fabrication facility, as well as a 2-acre blast and paint yard and a 10-acre laydown yard.

100% Woman and Minority-Owned Small Business

Mindy Nunez Airhart is the President and CEO of SSE Steel Fabrication. SSE was recognized as a Louisiana Growth Leader by Louisiana Economic Development (LED) in 2022, and was also selected to the 2022, 2023 and 2024 “LSU100”, a list of the 100 fastest-growing LSU graduate-owned or LSU graduate-led businesses in the world. SSE Steel Fabrication was also named to the “Inc. 5000”, which is Inc. Magazine’s list of the fastest growing private companies in the United States, for two consecutive years. Ms. Airhart was selected to the 2024 New Orleans CityBusiness “Power 50”, a list of professionals who have made overall impacts on New Orleans’ economic development, as well as the 2022, 2023 and 2024 classes of Biz New Orleans magazine’s “New Orleans 500”, a collection of profiles of influential, involved and inspiring greater New Orleans executives. She was also named to the 2021 New Orleans CityBusiness “Excellence in Construction and Real Estate” class , the 2020 New Orleans CityBusiness “Women of the Year” cohort, and the 2022 “Leadership Louisiana” cohort. In addition to her professional duties, Ms. Airhart serves as Immediate Past Chairwoman of the New Orleans Chamber of Commerce. She is also an outgoing Chairwoman of the St. Bernard Parish Chamber of Commerce, and sits on the boards of directors of the Coalition to Restore Coastal Louisiana, the St. Bernard Economic Development Foundation, and the First Planning District of the Louisiana Workforce Development Board. She was also an honoree for the Men and Women of Fashion Prix d’Elegance, a fundraiser for the New Orleans Ballet Association in 2024. 

SSE Steel Fabrication is a woman and minority-owned small business, certified as a Disadvantaged Business Enterprise (DBE) with:

SSE is certified as a Small Disadvantaged Business (SDB) in the U.S. Small Business Administration’s SDB Program.

SSE is certified as a Woman-Owned Small Business (WOSB) in the U.S. Small Business Administration’s WOSB Program.

SSE is certified as a Woman’s Business Enterprise (WBE) and a WOSB by the Women’s Business Enterprise National Council South (WBENC).

SSE is a certified Minority Business Enterprise (MBE) by the National Minority Supplier Development Council (NMSDC).