Good relationships are key to building a successful manufacturing enterprise. Manufacturers’ Monthly looks at the bond between Austal and Capral.
Founded by John Rothwell in 1988, Austal has taken Australian shipbuilding to the global stage, building a diverse portfolio of vessels.
“It started out as building fishing vessels and has grown from there into building fast ferries, and then into the defence market,” said head of supply chain at Austal, Brent Carey.
Originally an entrepreneurial venture by Rothwell, Austal’s manufacturing capacity has evolved to meet a demanding market.
“We’re up to about 360 vessels for about 60 countries,” said sales operations manager at Austal, Matthew Klingberg.
From starting in Australia 36 years ago, Austal has since expanded its manufacturing to the United States, Philippines and Vietnam.
Adapting to meet national priorities
Austal designs, constructs and supports vessels for a diverse range of global customers, including the Australian Defence Force.
“We build ferries and commercial vessels in our yards in the Philippines and Vietnam, but predominantly in Australia we concentrate on defence vessels,” said Klingberg.
Klingberg, who himself has been with Austal for 19 years, said the company’s ability to produce vessels for different markets stems from a well-resourced and experienced team.
“We’ve got 3,000 years of collective ship building experience here within the Austal precinct in Henderson,” said Klingberg.
“I think what we do differently is we don’t have a product that we try and fit customers into. We provide customised solutions. If you have requirements, then we’ll have a solution for you. That shows in the vast number of ships for different customers that we’ve built all around the world.”
These capabilities are based around two facilities in Western Australia. One is located within the Henderson Defence Precinct, a hub for the development of naval vessels. Austal manufactures the Evolved Cape-class Patrol Boats at the yard, using aluminium.
“It’s lightweight so it allows us to add lighter engines and components to the vessel. It’s less likely to corrode and it’s more resilient,” said Carey.
“It provides a greater level of efficiency over steel and allows us to put some different types of equipment on the vessel, meaning it can meet the functional performance specifications.”
To ensure the successful build of these aluminium vessels, Carey said that Henderson shipyard has now perfected a seamless production line.
“We start out with raw sheets of aluminium, and we start to bring that through into the various assembly bays. And within each of those bays we have people who do fabrication and welding, fit out and electrical,” he said.
“It’s a really quite a broad range of skills that we have.”
Practical materials for dynamic applications
When a vessel’s structural integrity and a supply chain’s success is dependent on a material, having a reliable supplier becomes paramount. Austal recognises this necessity, demonstrated by its 25-year partnership with Capral, an Australian supplier and distributor of aluminium products.
“Capral quality is world class. All the products could be benchmarked against anything around the world,” said Klingberg.
“From Capral, we get a lot of aluminium plate and extrusions, and some of those extrusions are quite intricate, detailed and high quality. The products are also DNV certified, which provides us with peace of mind,” said Carey.
Klingberg further highlighted the importance of Capral’s DNV-certificated products.
“The ships are built to classification society requirements and a part of that is we need aluminium that’s certified,” he said.
Additionally, Klingberg emphasised that Austal not only benefits from the quality of Capral’s products, but also enjoys the advantage of a productive, collaborative relationship.
“Relationships with your clients and your suppliers are key to being successful. That’s why we engage companies like Capral,” he said.
“They’re reliable, so we know what we’re going to get. It’s going to be on time. I think we’ll be continuing to use them for a long time into the future.”
Carey agreed with the sentiment and noted that the trust between the two companies was a catalyst in their continuous, strategic alignment.
“One of the great things about our relationship with Capral is our strategic alignment. It’s nice to have a supplier that shares a vision and values, and that understands our needs,” he said.
In addition to a strong partnership, Capral’s Australian origins play a crucial role in supporting Austal’s shipbuilding operations.
“It’s important that they’re an Australian supplier. They respond quickly to our needs, are highly adaptable and are just around the corner,” he said.
“From cutting a piece of raw aluminium to completing a finished ship in around 15 months is an amazing timeline. Not many people in the world can achieve those sorts of timeframes; there’s a lot that goes into these boats.
“Something like 50,000 individual objects that will go into an Evolved Cape-class Patrol Boat. The team here is managing a lot of moving pieces.”
Months of hard work at Austal culminate in the launch of boats, on average, twice a year.
“You get to see it evolve from a sheet of aluminium into a finished product and then ultimately launched into the water,” said Carey.
“Every time we deliver a boat, we have a ceremony with the ship staff along with our team and our key suppliers.”
Maintaining strong relationships
Carey said that while his time at Austal has sometimes been challenging and complex, there have been many rewarding experiences, too.
“I enjoy working with people, collaborating with our team here on site, and collaborating with all of our suppliers,” said Carey.
Klingberg feels equally as privileged within his role at Austal, which has allowed him to travel the world and fulfill his dream of building world class boats.
“I guess when you are living your dream of what you wanted to do, you feel very privileged,” he said.
In reflection, Klingberg noted that Austal’s success is more satisfying considering that the team is largely homegrown.
“We have great apprenticeship, trainee and graduate programs that attract and recruit many people every year, but we also have a lot of people across the business who have been here for a very long time as well,” said Klingberg.
“They’re highly skilled and very dedicated to Austal. I think you could almost say they’d bleed Austal.”
This continuity of work gives Klingberg confidence in Australia’s shipbuilding industry, especially as Austal works towards becoming the Commonwealth of Australia’s Strategic Shipbuilder in Western Australia, announced in November 2023.
“An apprentice could start this week and spend his whole career here now,” said Klingberg.
With a commitment to strong partnerships, innovation and expansion, Austal continues to reinforce Australia’s reputation as a leader in advanced maritime solutions.