Craig Perciavalle

  • The recently announced promotion of Craig Perciavalle to President, Austal USA was a logical one. At Austal since 2007, he moves up after serving as Senior Vice President of Operations. Significantly, he oversaw Austal’s transition from a conventional commercial shipyard to an efficient, modular manufacturer that has improved its metrics and economy of scale with each new hull. Eventually, that could mean commercial, series build contracts – something Austal USA has already proven it can do. In a domestic shipbuilding market that is fraught with worries about sequester, reduced defense spending and other federal budgetary concerns, Perciavalle takes the helm at a time when Austal’s risk must be managed and bets hedged against any eventuality.

    Austal USA today finds itself plowing into 2013 with the proverbial bone in its teeth, powered by an enviably fat U.S. government backorder book, possibly the most modern and efficient manufacturing infrastructure in U.S. shipbuilding and the leadership of a new President who, over the past five years, helped to make all that happen. Nevertheless, domestic shipbuilders all know that DoD and DHS spending cuts are coming. For those yards heavily leveraged in government contracts – and Austal is certainly one of them – that has to be a nagging concern. That said; Austal may be as well positioned to ride out the storm as anyone.
    Best known as America’s largest aluminum shipbuilding company, Austal USA also benefits from its position as a provider of design, construction and support of customized, high-performance aluminum vessels for the commercial high-speed ferry market. A full tour of the gleaming, meticulously clean Gulf Coast facility reveals an impressive assembly line infrastructure and a walk-through of vessels rapidly approaching completion at its berths. Under contract to build ten 103-meter JHSVs under a $1.6 billion contract and five 127-meter Independence-variant LCS class ships, part of a 10-ship, $3.5 billion contract, that fat backorder book would seem to preclude any need to plunge into commercial waters any time soon.
    Perciavalle, however, and perhaps hinting at what could come next, adds, “We’ve been very fortunate to have constructed a brand new facility, custom designed to support lean manufacturing principals and modular construction.  Our facility and manufacturing philosophy can accommodate various types of vessels within both the Government and Commercial sectors. Furthermore, the layout of our facility is designed to be flexible enough to be adjusted, if necessary, to accommodate other products.” 
    2012 saw Austal USA continue to generate new work, finish existing contracts and commence work on still others. In late December, Austal was awarded a $166 million modification to a previous award for Joint High Speed Vessel (JHSV) 10. Two weeks prior to that, the Military Sealift Command accepted delivery of the first JHSV. With three more of these vessels under construction and as the 12th ship delivered by Austal USA in 11 years, JHSV 1 is part of an enviable benchmark that could easily lend itself to a commercial, series-build capability. Of more immediate concern is what could happen should the budget impasse in Washington rear its ugly head once again.
    Perciavalle remains pragmatic. “We would rather not speculate on what may or may not happen with sequestration. We believe our best defense against sequestration comes from focusing on what we can directly control, successfully executing our existing contracts and providing the two most cost-effective and flexible platforms to the Navy.”
    Leaving aside uncertainties in Washington, it cannot be denied that the Austal USA’s recent success has been one of the more upbeat stories when it comes to domestic shipbuilding today. The new federal contracts will require Austal to increase its Mobile, Alabama workforce to as many as 4,000 employees – something that may be as equally challenging as securing all that work in the first place. Austal’s new President explains, “To support both the LCS and JHSV programs, we’ve been able to grow our workforce by over 2300 employees since January of 2010, from about 1000 to over 3,300 today and counting, all while maintaining an excellent safety record. This has certainly been a challenge, but we attribute much of our success to our geographic location where a vigorous shipbuilding industry and experienced workers are based; our drive to being an “employer of choice” by focusing on providing competitive salary and benefits--as well as a clean and safe work environment for our employees; our lean manufacturing processes which facilitates the incorporation of new hires and enables us to leverage the strengths of all employees of various experience levels; and most importantly, having a robust training program that we’ve been able to develop with incredible support from the State of Alabama.” Austal started the four-year Apprentice Training Program over five years ago and has successfully graduated four classes into its work force.Austal’s unique modular approach to ship manufacturing already has produced 35 of the 37 modules used to form the 127-meter aluminum trimaran Jackson (LCS 6). The economy of scale and lessons learned through its series-build approach are both quickly yielding dividends. Perciavalle adds enthusiastically, “As we move closer to delivering the second ship of each class in the coming months, we’ve seen substantial performance improvement on both programs. As our workforce matures, we anticipate our ability to drive cost out of each ship to consistently increase as we quickly come down the learning curve.” Unspoken in all of that is the eventual ability of this yard to quickly transition those efficiencies to commercial work, if the need arises.
    Managing risk is never an easy task. That said, and over the past few years, Austal has primarily focused on building a shipyard and securing the LCS and JHSV contracts. As it matures its considerable manufacturing processes through its federal work, other opportunities do exist beyond these contracts. Craig Perciavalle therefore has no intention of sitting on his hands even as he oversees a large and profitable backlog. He sums up the Austal philosophy neatly by saying, “We will also focus on diversifying our portfolio and positioning our company to capitalize upon our unique Pacific heritage, our facilities in the Pacific Basin, and our partnerships throughout the Pacific Rim.”

    (As published in the 1Q edition of Maritime Professional - www.maritimeprofessional.com)

     

  • , part of the 10-ship block-buy contract, are under construction at Austal’s Mobile, Ala. manufacturing facility. According to Austal USA President Craig Perciavalle, “We’re pleased with how well our ships are performing once delivered, how well these programs are maturing, and how well our performance continues

  • 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

  • able to successfully support this very important program with these cutting edge, high quality, highly capable yet cost-effective warships,” said Craig Perciavalle, Austal USA President, on the launch of LCS 6. Austal’s growth is not captured solely in buildings and machines. The shipyard has become a prime

  • block buy in 2010.  “The LCS program continues to progress very well as we continue to see marked improvement in performance ship to ship,” said Craig Perciavalle, Austal USA President. With the assistance of Berard Transportation and BAE Systems’ Southeast Shipyard, the launch of Montgomery was conducted

  • MR Feb-24#33 VP of Business Development, Craig Carter. TECHNOLOGIES,)
    February 2024 - Maritime Reporter and Engineering News page: 33

    EALs found to THE DECKS be only slightly less damaging than the phased-out traditional WITH BEST-IN-CLASS MARINE oils,” said VP of Business Development, Craig Carter. TECHNOLOGIES, TURNKEY PARTS AND SERVICE Water lubrication has faced its own challenges over the past decade. Individual class societies have

  • MN Oct-23#44 USA Port of Everett Hires Craig President Resigns The)
    October 2023 - Marine News page: 44

    Sean Strawbridge resigned. fer Cullen to director of labor, work- force and local content. Blocker Graves Austal USA Port of Everett Hires Craig President Resigns The Port of Everett has welcomed Rusty Murdaugh has resigned as president of Austal USA. Michelle Cara Craig as its new trade

  • MR Apr-23#17 greenhouse gasses. Professor Craig Orleans; panelist Shane)
    April 2023 - Maritime Reporter and Engineering News page: 17

    wide voyage toward reduced emissions 2022 Marine Money event held in New Marine highlighting an integrated hy- of greenhouse gasses. Professor Craig Orleans; panelist Shane Guidry, CEO brid energy effort to be undertaken with Philip, a faculty member with Vanderbilt of Harvey Gulf International

  • MN Jan-22#42 North Bay Shipbuilding Craig Perciavalle has been appointed)
    January 2022 - Marine News page: 42

    People & Companies the position of vice president business Leadership Change at operations for Vard Marine Inc.’s North Bay Shipbuilding Craig Perciavalle has been appointed American offces. as vice president and general manager Royal IHC Names Klaver CEO of Fincantieri Bay Shipbuilding, replac- Jan

  • MT Nov-21#60 & Company News NOAA NOAA Craig McLean, NOAA, to Retire)
    November 2021 - Marine Technology Reporter page: 60

    Who’s News? Latest People & Company News NOAA NOAA Craig McLean, NOAA, to Retire Nancy Hann, NOAA Director of NOAA Research to Retire Hann to lead NOAA OMAO, Corps istrator for Oceanic and Atmospheric Re- Craig N. McLean, assistant administra- search (NOAA Research) for nearly sev- The U.S. Senate con?

  • MN Nov-21#71 company since Craig Perciavalle re- ment date in)
    November 2021 - Marine News page: 71

    suc- has been serving as interim president of ceeding Bill Harvey, who will stay on as executive vice president until his retire- the company since Craig Perciavalle re- ment date in early 2022 to help ensure signed as president in February 2021. an orderly transition. Palmer Named Inmarsat Murdaugh Vieweg

  • MT Sep-21#8 eight-thruster design,” says Craig easier, while maximizing)
    September 2021 - Marine Technology Reporter page: 8

    stability and maneuverability deployment and entry to con? ned spaces als are now underway, with of? cial mar- of its eight-thruster design,” says Craig easier, while maximizing the power-to- ket release scheduled for October 2021. Saipem SpA www.saipem.com partnership of Senai Cimatec and DFKI, funded

  • MR Aug-21#41 SHIPBUILDING THE SHIPYARDS Craig R. Gundry, GM, said)
    August 2021 - Maritime Reporter and Engineering News page: 41

    SHIPBUILDING THE SHIPYARDS Craig R. Gundry, GM, said the Fassmer Technical Projects team leans on 171-years maritime experience in helping to make ef? cient a whole range of maritime services, from [a] ballast water installation, [b] newbuild projects and [c] retro? ts. [a] Watch the interview with

  • MR Aug-21#40 hopes transit the area,” said Craig R. Gundry, GM, Fassmer)
    August 2021 - Maritime Reporter and Engineering News page: 40

    eral, to be able to professionally service various ship types that more, and larger ships each month. Contreras has high hopes transit the area,” said Craig R. Gundry, GM, Fassmer Techni- for the collaboration with Fassmer, as currently Ciramar has cal Projects. “Luis and I came together a number of years

  • MT Jul-21#54 eight-thruster design,” says Craig Anderson of Box? sh Re-)
    July 2021 - Marine Technology Reporter page: 54

    , such as the advanced stability and maneuverability of collect data on the health of the assets including ? sh biomass, its eight-thruster design,” says Craig Anderson of Box? sh Re- net integrity and water quality.” search. “Additional proprietary arti? cial intelligence onboard en- “ARV-i will return

  • MN Jun-21#16 It’s Time for an Upgrade Dr. Craig Hooper, CEO Themistocles)
    June 2021 - Marine News page: 16

    Column Waterways Commerce Cutter It’s Time for an Upgrade Dr. Craig Hooper, CEO Themistocles Advisory Group In the last week of April, with little fanfare, the U.S. Coast Guard released a much- over 55 years, the riverine workboat ? eet has sprawled into anticipated opportunity to build up to 27

  • MN Jun-21#6 member of the Sen- 3 Dr. Craig Hooper ate Committee)
    June 2021 - Marine News page: 6

    cial ? shing history and issues. has represented Mississippi in the U.S. Senate since December 2007. He is the ranking member of the Sen- 3 Dr. Craig Hooper ate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transpor- is the CEO of the Themistocles Advisory Group, a con- tation for the 117th Congress

  • MN Jun-21#2 48 Advertisers Index By Craig Hooper On the Cover The)
    June 2021 - Marine News page: 2

    Calendar 38 Tech File: Solid 44 Classi? ed Advertising 16 Column: Waterways Commerce Cutter 39 Vessels 48 Advertisers Index By Craig Hooper On the Cover The U.S. Navy’s Mark VI class patrol boat is designed to patrol riverine and littoral waters around the globe. (Photo: Nelson

  • MR May-20#21 ago. A friend of mine, Capt. Craig Tafoya, told me he had)
    May 2020 - Maritime Reporter and Engineering News page: 21

    am right in this case and there may be other cases too. I was frst confronted with titanium as a hull material about 20 years ago. A friend of mine, Capt. Craig Tafoya, told me he had good connections with Russian titanium suppliers and Revenue Cutter Bear before WWI. “This ship is the best looking Swiss

  • MN Feb-20#46 , Inc. of East Boothbay, Maine. Craig Middlebrook, Deputy Administrat)
    February 2020 - Marine News page: 46

    (SLSDC) has placed an order for a newbuild ASD (Z- drive) harbor tug to be delivered by Washburn & Doughty Associates, Inc. of East Boothbay, Maine. Craig Middlebrook, Deputy Administrator of the SLSDC, said, “This new vessel will be used to carry out a variety of construction and maintenance duties

  • MT Nov-19#54 Reporter. Aaron Beach & Craig Glover of Chasing Underwater)
    November 2019 - Marine Technology Reporter page: 54

    of conference, set of images from the show ? oor. Oexhibition and networking. Rob Howard, Mike All photos Marine Technology Reporter. Aaron Beach & Craig Glover of Chasing Underwater Robin Gang Li, President, Seamor Marine and Drones. Mike Kozlowski of MTR. Amy Reid, Marketing Coordinator, Sea? oor

  • MN Mar-19#56 crude oil, residual fuels. Craig H. Middlebrook, Dep- tually)
    March 2019 - Marine News page: 56

    petrochemicals, refned products, and stone, cement, gypsum and refned wage jobs. Vigor expects to even- black oil, including crude oil, residual fuels. Craig H. Middlebrook, Dep- tually employ approximately 400 fuels, feedstocks and lubricants on the uty Administrator of the U.S. Saint workers at the

  • MT Sep-19#39 in carbon reduction and says Craig Allinson, Survey and Posi-)
    September 2019 - Marine Technology Reporter page: 39

    , was to eliminate health, forward technically while realizing safety and environmental (HSE) risk,” ef? ciencies in carbon reduction and says Craig Allinson, Survey and Posi- HSE risk,” says Primeau. tioning Lead for BP North Sea, also Thanks to the success of the Miller speaking at the event

  • MN Jan-19#54 of MAC Energy Advisors, Craig Perciavalle. With eight de- road)
    January 2019 - Marine News page: 54

    same Directors. McKibben is the founder exciting,” said Austal USA President period in 2017. Grain exports and and CEO of MAC Energy Advisors, Craig Perciavalle. With eight de- road salt were highlights of activity in LLC, an investment and consulting livered, six under construction, and November.

  • MN Nov-18#99 .1%) and Steel Slabs (+51%). Craig cruise passengers each)
    November 2018 - Marine News page: 99

    and dry bulk raw materials, & Concentrates (+180.8%), Pig Iron container cargo and one million plus Huntington Ingalls (+61.1%) and Steel Slabs (+51%). Craig cruise passengers each year. Industries Closes Sale of H. Middlebrook, Deputy Administra- Avondale Weeks Marine Receives tor of the Saint Lawrence

  • MR Oct-18#24 Risk By Dr Joe DiRenzo III and Craig Moss DiRenzo III Moss ENERGY)
    October 2018 - Maritime Reporter and Engineering News page: 24

    2018 Maritime Risk Symposium – Energy and MARITIME RISK Maritime Risk By Dr Joe DiRenzo III and Craig Moss DiRenzo III Moss ENERGY. as consumers and transporters and pro- shipping and ports to explore new en- smooth and prosperous transition into It seems that energy touches every as- ducers of energy

  • MR Oct-18#4 issues) Maritime Reporter. Craig Moss is a Senior Program)
    October 2018 - Maritime Reporter and Engineering News page: 4

    a regular contributor to of the UV-C antifouling technology. Moss One full year (12 issues) $189.00; two years $228.00 (24 issues) Maritime Reporter. Craig Moss is a Senior Program Manager including postage and handling. Jongerius at Oak Ridge National Laboratory, where Direnzo Michel Jongerius (PhD)

  • MN Sep-18#56 oil and New Orleans Craig H. Middlebrook, marine)
    September 2018 - Marine News page: 56

    of experience across vari- Christian, President & CEO, Port of Product Manager for its commercial ous sectors of the international oil and New Orleans Craig H. Middlebrook, marine business. Wolfs has been ap- gas industry. He retired as SVP, Chief Deputy Administrator, St. Lawrence pointed to work closely

  • MT Jul-18#48 Labs, Inc. President & CEO: Craig Bowers, Managing Director E)
    July 2018 - Marine Technology Reporter page: 48

    MTR 10 0 Moog Focal Dartmouth, NS Canada www.moog.com/focal McLane Research Labs, Inc. President & CEO: Craig Bowers, Managing Director E. Falmouth, MA www.mclanelabs.com Focal Technologies, a Moog Inc. company, specializes in pro- President & CEO: Susumu Honjo viding electrical slip rings, ? ber optic