Page 47: of Marine News Magazine (October 2011)

www.marinelink.com MN47Gibbs & Cox and the U.S. Gulf CoastPartners by Design Local relationships, backed by 80 years of experience, help this independentengineering and design firm make waves in the competitive Gulf Coast market.Founded in 1929, Gibbs & Cox naval architects have designed warships and auxiliaries in the U.S. since 1933.In fact, fully 70 percent of the ships built during WWII were built to Gibbs & Cox design. Now fast approaching 7,000 ships in their impressive portfolio, the venerable firm also has no intention of sitting on its laurels in the fast moving world of shipbuilding and naval architecture. And, when Gibb & Cox opened its New Orleans office in February of this year, local shipbuilders sat up and took notice. Ten months later, Gibbs & Cox has solidified an already deep foothold on the Gulf Coast, leveraging expe- rience, a national presence and service rooted in local rela- tionships. Specializing in naval architecture, marine engineering, management support, and engineering consulting, the firm is headquartered in Arlington, Virginia with offices in New York City, Washington D.C., Hampton, VA, and Philadelphia, PA. Gibbs & Cox professionals also work internationally, with a particularly strong presence in Australia. Mark Masor, Gulf Coast Operations Manager for Gibbs & Cox in New Orleans, told MarineNews in September, ?To this office and region, we?ve brought our ISO-certified work standards and best practices of the Gibbs & Cox group ? all based on almost 80 years of experience. Leveraging our existing backlog of work, we were also able to hire some key staff locally.? Indeed, the newest Gibbs & Cox location got off to a fast start in a rel- atively short period of time. FULLSPEED AHEADIn August, Gibbs & Cox announced the award of a con- tract to support BAE Systems, Southeast Shipyards Alabama, by providing functional engineering and detailed production support during the design and con- struction of a hopper dredge. The contract calls for Gibbs & Cox to provide functional engineering, detail design, production and test and trial support to BAE Ship Repair. The dredge will be built in the BAE facilities in Mobile, Alabama. Gibbs & Cox will perform the work in its recently established Gulf Coast Operations, located in New Orleans, Louisiana, coordinating with its other offices as needed. Gibbs & Cox Chief Executive Rick Biben also took time to point out the significance of their newest contract. ?We are extremely proud to have been selected to support BAE on this dredge project,? said Biben. ?This is a key oppor- tunity for our Gulf Coast Operations to develop the design of a complex commercial vessel for a major ship- builder in the Gulf. We are fortunate that in the last six months we have been selected by a number of our part- ners at the shipyards to assist them on commercial proj- ects. This project is both a fulfillment of a corporate objec- tive to enhance our capabilities in the Gulf, as well as a continuation of our growing relationship with BAE.? NAVIGATING NEWORLEANSEric Midboe, Vice President and Group Manager for the Gibbs & Cox Programs Management Group, explained the rationale in opening the New Orleans office. ?First of all, we have strong relationships with many of the compa- nies in this gulf coast region. So, we started with good familiarity of the market itself. We did want to establish a facility down there so we could have that close and trust- ed relationship. We believe that?s very important. Taking advantage of existing relationships, we were able to enhance that with on-site visibility and presence and we?ve successfully entered a very competitive and established market. By bringing Mark (Masor) in, we had someone who had the professional experience, the understanding of how we do business, as well as the local knowledge of the gulf region shipyards and capabilities. So far, the combination looks to be a winning recipe. Gulf Coast veteran and now Gibbs & Cox New Orleans Manager Mark Masor adds, ?The direct repeat interaction MN#10 (32-49):MN 2011 Layouts 10/5/2011 10:42 AM Page 47