Page 54: of Marine News Magazine (March 2013)

In a climate of both seemingly fat backlogs and at the same time uncertainty for domestic shipyards, Vigor In- dustrial is one company that continues to make news in the shipbuilding and repair merger and acquisition mar- kets. After acquiring Todd PaciÞ c Shipyards in 2011 for $130 million, Vigor also diversiÞ ed its geographic offer- ings when it scooped up Alaska Ship and Drydock in Ket- chikan after raising $75 million through private equity Þ rm Endeavour Capital. Vigor CEO Frank Foti contin- ues to build scale through acquisitions, while diversifying the companyÕs construction and repair capabilities to in- clude cargo ß eets, barges and workboats, ferries, and US Navy and Coast Guard vessels, among others. VigorÕs quiet expansion is built upon four primary pillars: the acquisitions mentioned above, an aggressive capital spending plan that includes a new vessel assem- bly hall in Alaska and a new drydock that once de- ployed will be one of the largest on the U.S. West Coast, a Workforce development program intended to beef up and augment VigorÕs shipyard staff and last Ð but cer- tainly not least Ð a highest proÞ le effort underway to secure the brass ring of the Coast GuardÕs new Offshore Patrol Cutter replacement program. Any one of those efforts would be fodder for a closer look; together they represent the potential emergence of a new tier I ship- yard in a Þ eld that has been winnowed in recent years by attrition, consolidation and Ð no pun intended Ð vigorous and robust foreign competition. Proceeding Quietly with Vigor Proceeding Quietly with Vigor West Coast Shipyard banks on the old adage, ?if we build it, they will come.? By Joseph Keefe March 2013 54 MNMN March2013 Layout 50-65.indd 54MN March2013 Layout 50-65.indd 543/4/2013 3:52:44 PM3/4/2013 3:52:44 PM