The posting
Position Summary: Barnhart is seeking a Business Development Manager to grow our industrial storage and project buffering business across the Gulf Coast — one of the country's most concentrated industrial and petrochemical markets. This is not a warehousing or commodity-space sales role. Storage and project buffering at Barnhart are extensions of our core heavy-lift, rigging, and transport value proposition: protecting our clients' capital assets, absorbing schedule and logistics risk on complex projects, and giving plant reliability teams a trusted place to store mission-critical equipment. The ideal candidate will work early and closely with Barnhart's engineering and operations teams — consistent with our 'Minds Over Matter' approach — to get storage and buffering solutions designed into projects and maintenance programs from the outset, rather than sold after the fact.
Key Responsibilities
- Identify, qualify, and pursue business opportunities for industrial storage and project buffering — laydown yards, module and equipment staging, container storage, preservation, and related services (labor support, trucking integration) across the Gulf Coast market.
- Develop a dedicated pipeline for storage and preservation of mission-critical equipment (e.g., spare rotors, transformers, turbine components, catalyst, rotatable spares) for industrial plants — engaging plant reliability, maintenance, and asset management stakeholders as a distinct buying group alongside project and procurement contacts.
- Position storage and buffering as risk mitigation and schedule protection — reducing laydown congestion, absorbing delivery and schedule slippage, and safeguarding high-value, long-lead-time assets — rather than simply offering square footage.
- Build a pipeline of prospects across EPC contractors, energy and petrochemical owner-operators, manufacturers, and port-related businesses — with priority emphasis on expanding storage and buffering business inside Barnhart's existing rigging, heavy-lift, and transport accounts.
- Engage early in project and turnaround/outage planning cycles, working alongside Barnhart's in-house engineering team to design storage and buffering solutions into projects before scope is finalized.
- Build and nurture long-term relationships with key decision-makers, presenting Barnhart's integrated value proposition (storage + rigging + heavy haul + transportation) as a single-source solution.
- Where an opportunity spans multiple sites or regions — particularly for mission-critical equipment programs — coordinate with other Barnhart branches and business lines to deliver a consistent, network-wide solution.
- Collaborate with operations, engineering, and project management teams to create customized proposals and ensure seamless service delivery.
- Conduct market research and competitive analysis on trends, opportunities, and threats in the Gulf Coast industrial storage and reliability/maintenance sectors.
- Represent Barnhart at industry events, trade shows, and networking functions to increase brand visibility and generate leads.
- Achieve or exceed annual revenue and gross margin targets, and support utilization targets for existing Barnhart yard and facility capacity in the Gulf Coast region.
- Provide regular forecasts, activity reports, and market intelligence to leadership.
Qualifications & Requirements
- Bachelor’s degree in business, Marketing, Logistics, Supply Chain, or a related field (or equivalent experience).
- 5+ years of business development or sales experience selling complex, solution-based services into industrial, energy, or petrochemical accounts — heavy equipment, industrial services, reliability/maintenance programs, or capital projects preferred over general logistics or warehousing backgrounds.
- Strong understanding of the Gulf Coast industrial landscape (petrochemical, refining, ports, power, manufacturing) and how storage and buffering needs arise within turnaround, outage, and capital project cycles.
- Demonstrated success navigating long, multi-stakeholder sales cycles involving project planning, procurement, and plant reliability/maintenance functions.
- Excellent communication, negotiation, and presentation skills.
- Ability to travel extensively within the Gulf Coast region.
- Self-motivated with strong organizational and time-management abilities.
- Proficiency in CRM software (e.g., Salesforce) and Microsoft Office Suite.
Preferred Qualifications
- Experience with heavy lift, rigging, or transportation services.
- Familiarity with rotatable/critical spares management, plant reliability programs, or MRO practices.
- Established network in the Gulf Coast industrial community, including plant reliability and maintenance contacts.
- Knowledge of safety regulations, project management, and contract negotiations in industrial settings.
PURPOSE – Barnhart is built on a strong foundation of serving others. The fruit of our labor is used to grow the company, care for our employees, and serve those in our communities and around the world.
MINDS OVER MATTER – Barnhart has built a reputation for solving problems. We specialize in the lifting, heavy-rigging, and heavy transport of major components used in North American industry.
NETWORK – Barnhart has built teams that form one of our industry’s strongest networks of talent and resources with over 70 branch locations across North America working together to serve our customers. This growing network offers our team members constant opportunity for career growth and professional development.
CULTURE – Barnhart has a strong team culture -- the “One TEAM.” We are looking for smart, hard-working people who strive for excellence in their work and appreciate collaboration. Join a team that values Safety, Servant Leadership, Quality Service, Innovation, Continuous Improvement, Fairness, and Profit with a Purpose.
EOE/AA Minority/Female/Disability/Veteran
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