Page 41: of Marine News Magazine (June 2020)

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ship hull designs has only increased,”

Nelson says. “As ship designers work to make hulls more hydrodynamic and en- ergy ef?cient and make the factories or workspace on the boats more effective, hull designs are becoming more challeng- ing. Now we can more ef?ciently take on these challenges here in Anacortes.

The Dakota Creek purchase of the

Stierli bender was made possible by a 2017 grant from the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Maritime Adminis- tration (MARAD). It was part of $9.8 million in grants designed to strength- en U.S. shipyard competitiveness. The

MARAD grants invested in 18 small

U.S. shipyards through its Small Ship- yard Grant Program, supporting in- dustrial modernizations that increase productivity and allow these shipyards to compete effectively in the global mar- ketplace. Stierli-Bieger is represented in the U.S. by Boschert USA.

Nelson sees great potential for apply- ing the new bender to future projects – both newbuilds and repairs. “We have a number of projects in the queue where we see the Stierli bender being a great addition to our process.”

The installation of the machine on the ?oor of the Dakota Creek manufactur- ing facility caused something of a stir. It attracted a crowd of ten or so operators to see how it worked and what it was capable of bending. Under the guidance of Stierli-Bieger’s Felix Meier, who set up the bender and trained the Dakota Creek staff, the operators began to realize the real capabilities of the machine. “Now that we are seeing how it functions and how easily it can be adapted, we are only starting to realize what other tasks we can perform with it, says Nelson. “It is great to see the enthusiasm of our team as they explore and discover the Stierli’s capabili- ties. It is that kind of interest and excite- ment in doing great work that makes Da- kota Creek successful.” 41 www.marinelink.com MN