Toups Propeller closing down after 70-plus years in business

One of the oldest and longest-running businesses in Abbeville is closing after 70-plus years of operation. 
Toups Propeller Service, located on South State Street, is no longer accepting new orders for repairing marine propellers or ordering new propellers.
Over the next few weeks, Jerry Terpening will keep the door open Monday through Friday to sell as much inventory as possible before permanently closing the business.
Terpening, along with his son Bill and welder Lawson Girouard, were the final three employees. Lawson had been with Toups Propellers for more than 55 years. 
The propeller business did not begin as a propeller business in the early 1950s. Emery “Bijon” Toups began tinkering with marine propellers in his garage on his off time while working offshore in the oil and gas industry.
Eventually, his hobby evolved into a thriving business in South Louisiana that lasted for seven decades. 
“We are immensely grateful for the legacy built by Mr. Emery ‘Bichon’ Toups, whose vision and dedication, along with our loyal and skilled team, drove our success,” said Jerry Terpening. “Most importantly, we thank our loyal customers for the enduring relationships and trust you’ve placed in us over the decades.”
 Terpening joined his father-in-law, Toups, in 1975, and over time, he has witnessed the business peak in 1996, as well as its decline over the last three years.
Over the past 18 months, the prices of materials, along with high insurance costs, have increased. Coupled with the decline in business, this situation has made it impossible to remain open.
“The bank said no more loans,” said Terpening on Monday. “The oil field and shrimping businesses are down. Imported shrimp are hurting the industry.  Sports fishing is also down. It is a combination of things.”
For 70-plus years, Toups Propeller Service has been selling and repairing marine propellers for tugboats, shrimp boats, and recreational fishermen. In addition to sales, a significant focus of Toups Propellers was the repair of marine propellers for these industries.
With Toups Propeller Service closing, Terpening was unsure where boat owners would repair or purchase their propellers.  He heard there were a couple of propeller businesses in Houma and Morgan City, but he wasn’t 100 percent sure, he said. 
There will come a day in the next few weeks or months when Terpening will no longer have to get up and go to work because he has been able to sell most of the store’s merchandise. What will he do after the business closes?
“My wife and I want to travel,” he said. 
Toups Propellers still has a large inventory of outboard and inboard propellers, marine hardware, water-lubricated shaft bearings, hubs, and miscellaneous parts available for purchase. For inquiries, please get in touch with Jerry or Bill at (337) 893-5785.