A sizable fresh assembly hall, called Austal USA , opened on Tuesday and will increase its shipbuilding capacity and provide employment for an estimated 1,100 new employees in Alabama.
The Mobile-based shipbuilder says the new building, to be known as , Final Assembly , 2 or FA2, represents a$ 250 million investment and will provide 192, 000 square feet of workspace” which will enable the erection of large steel modules for , Navy , and , Coast Guard , ships, including the , Offshore Patrol Cutter , ( OPC ) and , T-AGOS , programs”. The OPC is a , Coast Guard , deliver, while the T-AGOS is a , Navy , sea monitoring group.  , Austal , has arrangements in hand for both.
While the novel house will help Austal’s rapid shift into steel shipbuilding, it was evident at Tuesday’s groundbreaking ceremony that the process is well under way: A portion of , a large steel drydock , that , Austal , is building for the , Navy , loomed outside, blocking out part of the Mobile skyline.
” It was not long before,  , March 2021, we had the most recent breakthrough when we met , to break surface for a metal screen line , not too far to the north” , , Larry Ryder, Austal USA’s evil leader of business development and physical affairs, told an audience of state and local economic development officials and politicians. ” Thank you for coming back , in April of 2022  ,]when ]  , Governor Ivey , joined us to cut the ribbon on our new steel panel line facility. That facility is operational, enabling us to construct sizable steel modules. Those modules will be transported to this new building,  , Final Assembly , 2, where the vessels will be erected and launched.
” So what exactly are we building? ” Ryder continued”. When finished, this new structure will almost double the capacity of all of our previous assembly bays and allow the construction of large steel modules for the ships… In addition to the manufacturing capacity of these new buildings, a ship lift will be added to give ships a secure and reliable system of launch once they are finished in the assembly buildings. Additionally, the ship lift will enable bringing ships back to the land side facility for repairs and maintenance.
Michelle Kruger,  , who was confirmed as Austal USA’s president in April , after a period as interim president, said the 25-year-old shipyard was just getting started.
” We’ve all heard of dog years, but we probably have n’t talked about shipyard years,” she said”. But in shipyard years,  , Austal , is very much in, maybe, I would say, infancy to toddler]years ] in comparison to some of the other bigger companies with shipyards that have been here a century or more. And I have to say that when you consider that, we have accomplished an incredible amount of development and expansion over the past 25 years.
” Austal , USA , is once again answering the nation’s call to expand the defense industrial base to meet the needs of our military,” Kruger said”. The secretary of the , Navy , and the chief of naval operations have called upon industry to step up and invest in our facilities. The secretary demanded that industry act quickly to make significant investments in the industrial base.  , Austal USA , is answering that call today. Our investment of$ 250 million is a clear indication of our willingness to make an investment when there is a strong demand signal.
Ellen McNair,  , who took office as Alabama’s Commerce Secretary in January, also spoke.
” This is the type of company and the kind of project that helps define our state,” said McNair. It truly does. And I want to thank Michelle, your company, for 25 years of investment and reinvestment to the state of Alabama.”
Austal USA , currently has two large assembly halls on the , Mobile River , waterfront directly across from downtown. The new hall will sit to the south of them on the other side of the facility where , Austal , makes the modules that are then pieced together to form vessels such as , the Navy’s Independence-class Littoral Combat Ships.
According to Ryder, the placement comes with a very significant advantage. Currently modules must pass over the , Wallace Tunnel , and in some cases also the , Bankhead Tunnel , on their way into the old assembly halls. There’s a weight limit, and steel is heavier than aluminum.
When FA2 is up and running, that wo n’t be an issue: Modules transferred there wo n’t pass over the tunnels.
Ryder said the , Austal USA , workforce is about 3, 100 people at the moment. The opening of FA2 will create a need for about 1, 100 more workers”. We want to have the workforce ready when the building opens because we’re ramping up as the building grows, he said.
More construction is coming, as are more jobs.  , Austal , has landed contracts for work assembling modules that will go into nuclear submarines.  , Austal , said a building will be constructed to house that work, which he said will employ about 800 workers.
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