Page 42: of Maritime Reporter Magazine (August 2013)

42 Maritime Reporter & Engineering News ? AUGUST 2013 You have been in the president?s chair at Austal USA for more than half a year; how is your mission different to- day than from when you were named to the top spot last December? Honestly my mission has not changed much since December. After smoothly transitioning to the new posi-tion, my focus has been to continue pro-viding the team here with the resources necessary to continuously improve and meet our commitments on each of our existing programs. My other mission is on expanding the business. We are for- tunate to have a sizable backlog today but my focus is to continue growing the business and increasing our orderbook.Coming into the position, what were your primary initiatives for the Aus- tal USA operation, and have they changed? Our primary initiatives con- sistently remain focused around safety, training, productivity improvements and cost reduction. Having the expansion of our manufacturing facilities essentially complete and in full operation, and hav-ing worked through Þ rst in class chal- lenges on our programs, we have been able to stabilize our manufacturing pro-cesses and really zone in on opportuni-ties for additional improvements. The U.S. Navy is an important cus-tomer to Austal USA; can you give our readers a brief overview of the scope of work you conduct for the Navy? We are currently under contract to build ships in two different newly-introduced U.S. Navy shipbuilding pro-grams. The Independence-variant Litto- ral Combat Ship (LCS) is a sleek 127-m aluminum trimaran hullform designed to be the most advanced high-speed mili-tary craft in the world. This vessel is a fast, ß exible Naval Combatant designed to operate in littoral waters across the globe. Our second ship of this class, for which General Dynamics BIW is prime, is nearing completion. We also have a 10-ship contract for which Austal is prime, valued at $3.5 billion, of which three are under construction with the Þ rst scheduled to be launched by the end of the calendar year. The Navy has also contracted Aus- tal to build 10 Joint High Speed Vessels (JHSV); a contract worth $1.6 billion. The JHSV class of ships are 103-m alu- minum catamarans designed to provide rapid intra-theater deployment/transpor- tation of personnel, equipment and sup-plies. The vessel has the speed, volume and ß exibility to perform multiple mis- sions including but not limited to mili-tary logistics, sustainment and humani-tarian relief operations at speeds of up to 43 knots. The Þ rst two ships have been delivered and are operating on the East Coast, while three more are under vari-ous stages of construction at this time.How has Sequestration materially im-pacted your business to date? In the future? Fortunately we have not been impacted by sequestration much at all. In a recent visit by the CNO, Admiral Greenert stated that sequestration would not affect projects already under con- tract and that has been the case. Going forward, we are conÞ dent that our rela- tive low cost but highly ß exible and ca- pable solutions to the Navy, along with our ability to continue to deliver quality ships while meeting expectations, will put us in a favorable position with future business.Austal USA arguably has been one of the more progressive U.S. yards in terms of investment in its operations and shipbuilding technology. That said, how is Austal investing today to ensure its tomorrow? Overall, we?ve invested more than $300m in our facility here in Mo-bile, most of which was completed within the last couple of years. Our fo-cus has been investing in People, Plant and Processes. Quite frankly, we?ve completely transformed how we build ships and manage our business, with very little, if anything, being done today the same way it was done back in 2008. The Shipyard EditionAustal USA Powers Ahead Austal USA has arguably been one of the more progressive and aggressive U.S. shipyards in its investment in technology, facilities and people. Austal USA President Craig Perciavalle took the helm a little more than six months ago, and Maritime Reporter was able to catch up with him recently for insights on pressing matters of the day. by Greg Trauthwein Coronado (LCS 4) USNS Choctaw County (JHSV 2) MR #8 (42-49).indd 42MR #8 (42-49).indd 428/1/2013 9:45:22 AM8/1/2013 9:45:22 AM