Project: US Integration
COMMENCING operations 20 years ago, Austal is now the world leader in the design and construction of customised, high performance, aluminium vessels for commercial and defence applications.
In the late 1990s, the company identified opportunities for its Australian designed and built high speed aluminium vessels within the US market.
The Jones Act prevented Austal from producing ships for US customers from Australia, so Austal commenced establishing its own facilities in the US.
Originally established in 1999, Austal’s mobile, Alabama shipyard now delivers unique high speed aluminium vessels – utilising the company’s leading edge technology and design capabilities – not previously available to US customers.
Significant inter-site transfer between the Mobile yard and the headquarters in Western Australia ensures Austal’s quality culture is maintained.
Since the inception of the US yard, the Australian shipbuilder has adopted a deliberate strategy of carefully growing the capacity and skills of the shipyard in order to be able to confidently deliver larger high performance aluminium vessels.
After just eight years, Austal USA now boasts the largest trained workforce for the construction of aluminium high speed vessels in the US, currently employing more than 1100 workers.
While enjoying considerable success in the passenger ferry market, it has been recent US defence orders that has really brought the Australian company to global manufacturing stage.
In 2004, the US Department of Defense awarded a final design contract for the US Navy’s Littoral Combat Ship (LCS) project to prime contractor Bath Iron Works, a General Dynamics company.
Austal is the LCS seaframe designer and builder. The first order for a US$223 million prototype was successfully awarded to the General Dynamics/Austal Littoral Combat Ship Team in October 2005, with the 127 metre trimaran launched at Austal USA in 2008.
Last November Austal was selected as prime contractor for the US Department of Defence’s 103m Joint High Speed Vessel (JHSV) as part of a 10 vessel program potentially worth more than AUD $1.6 billion.
Since identifying US opportunities and integrating its commercial product into the US Defence market, Austal is now an important US defence supplier.