Austal USA expanding yard

Austal?s US operation located in Mobile, Alabama, celebrated the start of work on its Modular Manufacturing Facility (MMF) with a groundbreaking ceremony. The MMF project when complete will include 65,000m2 of manufacturing space, 7,400m2 of warehouse space, and 5,600m2 of office space. In addition to the buildings, the site will provide new permanent parking spaces for Austal?s employees. The MMF expansion will be constructed in two phases and will ultimately accommodate a total workforce of up to 1,200 personnel in the new buildings. The state-of-the-art facility will be capable of constructing six large aluminum vessels such as the Navy?s Littoral Combat Ship (LCS) and/or Joint High Speed Vessel (JHSV) per year.

When asked what impact this facility will have on Austal USA?s capabilities Austal USA CEO, Bob Browning commented, “The design of this facility will be state-of-the-art and will greatly improve the efficiency and effectiveness of our production processes, thereby increasing our throughput. This in turn allows us to offer a greater volume of vessels to our clients at increasingly competitive prices. We are also excited about the prospect of putting more local shipbuilders to work at Austal.”

Austal is in the process of planning the Christening of the LCS Independence, (LCS2), which was launched in April of this year. The LCS2 sea frame is based on Austal?s innovative 127-meter high-speed aluminium trimaran hull-form that enables the ship to reach sustainable speeds of over 40 knots and range in excess of 3,500 nautical miles, with an unmatched interior volume and payload for a vessel of this size.

Austal submitted its final Phase II Joint High Speed Vessel (JHSV) submission to the US Navy this week following an extensive detailed design and review process. Austal was one of three bidders awarded a Phase I contract in January and it is anticipated that a single Phase II contract will be awarded in late 2008 for the construction of up to ten ships. The JHSV requirements and concept of operations are similar to those of the Austal-built “WestPac Express”, which has been successfully serving the Third Marine Expeditionary Force in Okinawa, Japan for over seven years.

Austal was one of three bidders awarded a design contract in January, and company officials said that they anticipate a contract award before year’s end. The Navy could not say what other proposals had been submitted, but teams led by Maine-based Bath Iron Works, a division of General Dynamics, and Louisiana’s Bollinger Shipyards Inc. were also awarded design contracts.