Page 48: of Maritime Reporter Magazine (August 2014)

Can you tell us a bit about your background. I graduated from the U.S. Mer- chant Marine Academy in 1971 and be- gan work at Bethlehem Steel Shipyard. Over the next 44 years in the Marine business I was employed both for large vessel operators as Engineering Manager and VP, and as VP-Operations of several Shipyards in the U.S. Gulf of Mexico. I have seen both sides of the business.Having seen your fair share of ?cycles,? de- scribe what you?ve seen over the last year. Gulf Copper dry docks have been steadily booked for the Þ rst half of the year, and the second half of 2014 looks to be just as busy. Our Port Arthur activity has been driven by the Offshore Business with supply vessels , seismic vessels and integrated tug/barge work. In Galveston we have seen several large drilling rig jobs along with a fast paced Þ ve vessel conversion project. Interest in offshore development and an expanded market in Mexico seem to be the primary drivers, along with increased transporta-tion of petroleum cargos. Work for gov- ernment agencies seems to be on the up-tick as the effects of sequestration abate. When you look at the expanse of your op-erations, what do you count as the primary strength of your company? We have a consistent work force and management team. Many our skilled workers and front line supervi-sors have been working with our man-agement group for over 20 years.How is Gulf Copper investing today, in train- ing and in people? Safety and Loss Control remain high priorities. The training in this area is constant. We have also developed a training program for our Outside Ma-chinist department where we have a strong demand. Development of welders is always critical, and we were recog-nized recently for sending our welding instructor to Guam for an apprenticeship program.Looking at the market overall, where do you see the best opportunity for growth? We feel the offshore market will stay strong, especially given the substantial number of large support ves- sels being delivered in the near term. Seismic vessel work has increased for us and looks promising in the near future. The Offshore Tug/Barge business could continue to grow as the production of oil continues on shore in Texas. What have been a few of you most interest- ing projects in the last 12 months? Three unique projects that come to mind were a conversion of an older offshore supply vessel to a Satura- tion Diving vessel, a conversion of a 430 ft. MPSV to a ß otel and the conversion of Þ ve platform supply vessels to the geophysical trade in a 60 day period.REPAIR & MAINTENANCE Dennis Dennis Bu
+ o Bu
+ o Five Minutes with Gulf Copper?s Gulf Copper Vice President and USMMA grad (?71) Dennis Buffo has more than four decades of maritime experience. Here he shares 40+ years in Þ ve minutes with Maritime Reporter. 48 Maritime Reporter & Engineering News ? AUGUST 2014 MR #8 (42-49).indd 48MR #8 (42-49).indd 488/4/2014 12:20:49 PM8/4/2014 12:20:49 PM