ICI Services Corporation’s Post

One of the most critical elements in any industry is for customers to provide clear signals indicating long-term demand. This is what drives capital investment, hiring, and technology development. The most significant thing it provides is certainty - the opposite of risk. In our world, risk represents non-value added cost. There are plenty of cost elements that have to be expertly managed (and our shipbuilding industrial base does an expert job at this). However, this is one that is out of industry's hands. If we know these ships are to be built, it is difficult to understand why we are adding unnecessary cost that can be avoided in its entirety.

On 31 January 2023, Birdon America Inc. acquired Metal Shark Boats’ 32-acre shipyard in Bayou La Batre, Alabama. This acquisition brings a fully developed shipyard into Birdon’s growing portfolio of facilities throughout the US and will allow us to provide a further range of shipbuilding and repair services. The acquisition of this shipyard will ensure the successful delivery of the Waterways Commerce Cutter (WCC) Program, a vital component of Birdon’s $1.187 billion contract to design and build 27 new vessels for the U.S. Coast Guard. As part of the acquisition, Metal Shark’s existing workforce will transfer to Birdon and will continue to execute the current order book of repair work. In the near term, Birdon plans to make significant capital outlays in the shipyard’s infrastructure as a further investment in the future. This will foster job creation, accelerate technological advancement, and provide positive growth to the region’s economy. A direct result will be the creation of 300 new jobs in the area over the next two years. This is a fully developed shipyard fronting a dredged deepwater inlet. It includes five steel buildings for fully self-contained fabrication and construction work, with over 1,700? of waterfront, a 660-ton Travelift, multiple cranes, and all required equipment for the construction of steel and aluminum vessels up to 300′ in length and 1,500 tons launch weight. The shipyard is situated just minutes from the Intracoastal Waterway with direct access to the Gulf of Mexico. #military #defense #defence #militaryleak https://lnkd.in/gSGF7rcr

On Friday, April 26th, Rear Adm. Todd Weeks chaired the Demand Signal Roundtable in Newport Beach, CA to launch the Southern California Talent Pipeline Program (SCTPP). Modeled after other maritime regional Talent Pipeline Programs (TPP), the SCTTP will engage hundreds of shipbuilding and ship sustainment suppliers across the region to create maritime manufacturing talent pipelines that revitalize the defense workforce and address critical skill gaps.   Rear Adm. Weeks emphasized that over the next 10 years, the Submarine Industrial Base (SIB) will need more than 140,000 skilled employees to build and sustain the Navy’s submarine fleet and to support international efforts. "The strength of the talent pipeline is as vital as any capability of a submarine," remarked Weeks. "The skilled tradespeople we need, whether welders, machinists, electricians, and more are the structural foundation that will allow us to build and maintain the world's most advanced submarines.”   TPPs have already proven successful in other parts of the country and support over 300 small and medium maritime suppliers. Since 2021, TPPs have facilitated employing more than 2,700 people.   As global threats expand, the SIB Program’s investment in workforce development remains crucial to ensuring the Submarine and Defense Industrial Bases can meet the U.S. Navy's production goals in the years ahead. To read more about the Demand Signal Roundtable, click here: https://lnkd.in/ezJr9B82

🚨 CALL TO ACTION: Strategic Investment in America's Ship Repair Industry, Safeguarding Our Nation’s Security Read this powerful op-ed by Matthew Paxton, president of the Shipbuilders Council of America, urgently calling for strategic investment in our nation's ship repair industry. Emphasizing the risks associated with outsourcing vital functions of the U.S. maritime-industrial base, and stressing the importance of prioritizing American shipbuilding and repair capacity amidst emerging global challenges. Our military leaders’ are actively exploring outsourcing shipbuilding and repair functions instead of investing in our domestic capacity, which poses a direct threat to national security. Outsourcing not only compromises our nation’s defense but also undermines the resilience of our shipyards, ship repair contractors and the network of small businesses supporting them. The current defense acquisition strategy fosters unnecessary rivalry among U.S. players, hindering collaboration to optimize shipyard throughput. Despite having enough capacity to meet fleet maintenance needs domestically, the Navy’s decision to outsource ship maintenance overseas impacts our domestic workforce and contradicts its commitment to preserving vital jobs. A more strategic approach is needed—one that maximizes throughput in domestic shipyards is key to meeting fleet maintenance needs and competing effectively on a global scale. It's imperative that we fortify our internal capabilities to uphold our nation's strength and security! It's time to course correct – now is time for action. We cannot afford to outsource our national security and assets. It’s imperative that we invest in our own ship repair industry, keeping the work within our shores and supporting the fleet that defends our freedom! One Team. Better Every Day. United in supporting America's ship repair industry. #ProtectOurShipyards #InvestInAmerica #NationalSecurity #maritimeindustry #shiprepair #oneteambettereveryday #maritimedefense #shipmaintenance #maritimesector #fleetreadiness #nationalsecurity #readiness #impact #navywarships

I strongly recommend the insightful op-ed article by the Shipbuilders Council of America, which serves as a compelling call to action for strategic investment in our nation's ship repair industry! The piece underscores the critical need for our country to prioritize national capability and security by leveraging our current ship repair capacity rather than outsourcing such vital functions. Outsourcing not only threatens our national security but also undermines the resilience of our shipyards and the vast network of small businesses that support them. It is essential that we recognize the importance of maintaining and strengthening our internal capacities to ensure our national strength and security. 

I have published part 2 of Navy ship maintenance realities. Thank you for all the comments and back and forth on part 1. In this post, I restate the fundamentals of Navy ship maintenance (knowing, planning, doing, and testing) and do a deep dive on Class Maintenance Plans. https://lnkd.in/g37M77JY

The U.S. Maritime Repair Industry has been a long-standing partner to the Navy for ship repair and has supported the combat readiness of the fleet in all Fleet Concentration Areas. The fully-facilitized shipyards require high utilization rates at their facilities to continue investment in infrastructure and skilled labor to the Navy and Fleet Support Ships.  The U.S. shipbuilding and ship repair industrial base lags significantly behind China, having nearly 200 hundred fewer U.S. Navy battle force ships today than the People’s Liberation Army. While the U.S. Navy is incentivizing the ship and submarine building industrial base by supporting industry efforts to expand, the opposite is happening in the ship repair industrial base. Alternatively, in the Maritime Repair Industry, the Navy is affecting a reduction of the ship repair industrial base by creating an operating environment that is disadvantageous to facilitized ship repair yards. It is unclear if the Navy understands the correlation between their actions and the corresponding signals that are being sent to industry. Additionally, the public narrative about under capacity in the shipbuilding industrial base is conflated with the ship repair industrial base for surface fleet ship maintenance. The result includes an industry that has lost more than 2,000 skilled workers in the past two years, many of whom will never return to this industry, as well as a reduction in resource utilization in drydocks and service cranes. Sending U.S. homeported ships to Government subsidized South Korean shipyards takes work from U.S. Tradesman and U.S. Maritime Unions and will create unpredictability in the workload for U.S. Shipyards.  

The Navy’s investment fund to boost the submarine industrial base presents transformative opportunities for stakeholders across defense, manufacturing, shipbuilding, and workforce development. The collaboration opens doors for businesses eager to partner on cutting-edge naval projects, modernize facilities, and scale production to meet unprecedented demand. CRG’s SME-Based Opportunities, INTERIM Advice & Differentiators: Opp - Shipbuilding and Manufacturing Expansion: With the demand for Columbia and Virginia Class subs requiring a 5x industrial base increase, this is a critical chance for manufacturers to integrate into the Navy's supply chain. -         Advice: Focus on advanced manufacturing capabilities, including additive manufacturing and automation to scale production efficiently. Engage in workforce development programs to ensure a skilled labor pool. -         Differentiator: Those who invest in advanced production technologies will stand out as responsive and capable partners. CRG connects clients with strategic partnerships, enabling rapid integration into the Navy’s supply chain. Opp - Investment in Defense Infrastructure: Private investment opens avenues for financiers and construction firms to contribute to the modernization of naval shipyards. -         Advice: Develop investment strategies tailored to maritime infrastructure that offer long-term ROI. Ensure adherence to security protocols to safeguard national interests. -         Differentiator: Clients who establish secure, adaptable funding models will attract sustained government contracts. CRG guides investment strategies, ensuring compliance with government regulations. Opp - Skilled Workforce Training: The creation of 3,000 new jobs demands comprehensive training and development solutions. -         Advice: Partner with vocational institutions to create training programs tailored to submarine production requirements, focusing on both traditional and high-tech skills. -         Differentiator: Companies that develop training pipelines will be seen as crucial enablers of the Navy’s expansion goals. CRG aligns clients with educational partners, ensuring the workforce is ready to meet production needs. Contact CRG today to position your business as a key player in this game-changing naval expansion. 👉 crgroupinc.com | contact@crgroupinc.com - Your Trusted Partner for Contract Success! #CRG #NavalExpansion #Submarine #Production #DefenseManufacturing #USN #WorkforceDevelopment #InfrastructureInvestment #Shipbuilding #DoD #Submarines #Maritime #Hardware #Software

https://lnkd.in/gSnvfgu7 Around 40 projects, totaling $520 million under contract, are in progress at the Portsmouth shipyard, Edelson said. By the time the Navy program outlines the shipyard’s master plan in 2026, he said he expects the number of projects to double. The master plan includes revitalizing the entire shipyard from its dry docks to production buildings to employee parking lots. The effort also aims to trim the amount of time shipyard workers spend tracking down parts and tools by changing the layout of the yard. Data models, Edelson said, have shown reconfiguring the layout of the yard will shorten submarine maintenance availabilities by about 90 days, trimming the ship’s overall time in the yard by 5-10%. Amazing economic benefit for Hampton Roads Chamber City of Norfolk, VA and the surrounding area.

Check out the top stories and insights in defense tech and acquisition from Matt and I. This week we cover: • Portfolio Based Acquisition and the slow progress to implement it. • DoD continues to only honor commercial preference at the margins. • Replicator progressing with more awards across multiple types of companies. • Fixing FMS if we can ever get all the key parties to make synchronized reform. • Autonomous vehicles continue to be delayed and some of the possible reasons. • Marine Corps finally getting its amphibs and at a more reasonable price point. • SDA ready to launch hundreds of new highly capable satellites in next few years. • U.S. and Australia making great strides on the HACM hypersonic missile. #defensetech #defenseinnovation Enjoy! https://lnkd.in/e5ztZjzC