Company History
Southland International of Louisiana, Inc. is privately owned by the Joe
Teuton, Jr. family. Mr.
Teuton, affectionately known as “Big Joe,” started selling cars and trucks
with his brother, Jeff Teuton, when they opened Southland Dodge in Houma,
Louisiana in 1968. At that time,
Dodge produced a line of medium and heavy duty trucks, which Big Joe sold
through Southland Dodge. When Dodge
discontinued its medium and heavy duty truck line in the early 1980’s, the
brothers decided to purchase an International truck franchise.
Initially, Southland International operated out of both the Dodge
dealership and its current location on Hord St. in Harahan, Louisiana.
In the early 1990’s, the company moved its main office to its current
location in Gray, Louisiana. Since
then, Southland International has continued to grow.
In
1995, the Teuton family opened its truck leasing business—Southland Idealease,
Inc.—as an affiliate of Idealease of North America, Inc.
In 2002, Southland Idealease moved into a new, larger facility at 1001
Edwards Ave. in Harahan, Louisiana, which is ideally suited to its ever growing
fleet of lease and rental trucks, tractors and trailers.
We are proud of the fact that Southland Idealease has been the fastest
growing lease affiliate in the Idealease network for three straight years.
We expect this growth to continue.
In an
effort to further satisfy our customers’ needs, we have continued to expand
our business operations. In
particular, Southland Truck Parts, L.L.C., a PAI replacement parts franchise in
Harahan, Louisiana, and Southland Trailers, Inc., a stand alone trailer sales
facility in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, both opened for business in 2002.
As other opportunities for growth become available, we will continue to
expand to serve our customers.