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next 3 to 5 years. Garner says, ?We are very involved with the LCS project, going all the way back to the design phase back in 2003. We feel that we were helpful in guiding them as to the right products to go into their piping systems. As a result, we?ve remained a strong partner ever since. We stock a good amount of Milspec products to meet that demand.??We?re bullish on the Navy in the Gulf,? adds Garner. Going along with that, the foreign markets have provided W&O with opportunities for foreign navy valve buys. It is here where W&O?s versatility and healthy inventories come into play. Garner explains further, ?When you talk about foreign navies and the Joint High Speed Vessels and the Coast Guard?s newer hulls, those are mostly ABS approved valves. That?s another bene t of working with W&O ? we can walk into a yard with a portfolio of both to be able to  t the needs of wide and varied market requirements.? As shipyards continue to experience dif culties in  nding skilled labor, W&O can step in and help in terms of technical assistance. But, that?s a challenge for W&O, as well. Garner reports that, as W&O expands and grows further, they also have to work hard to  nd quali ed engineers and skilled technical personnel. And, the global slowdown in manufacturing affected the ability of shipyards to source products and stock ? that?s still going on today. Garner has an answer for that, too. ?An advantage of dealing of W&O is that we can stock entire shipsets of pipe ? not a lot of distributors can compete with us in this regard. Shipyards want just-in-time shipments and they don?t want to keep anything in their yards a day longer than they have to. It?s all about time and the costs involved with stocking parts November 201278 MNMNNov2012 Layout 66-81.indd 78MNNov2012 Layout 66-81.indd 7811/7/2012 11:20:11 AM11/7/2012 11:20:11 AM