Navy to occupy new office space by the end of October.
This morning over 30 distinguished guests joined Austal and the Navy in celebrating the official opening of the new Navy Administration Building with a ribbon cutting ceremony. The guests were welcomed by Austal USA’s Senior Vice President of Operations, Craig Perciavalle. Other event participants included: Brian Leathers - Austal USA Interim President and CFO, Capt. Stephen W. Mitchell (USN) – Supervisor of Shipbuilding, Gulf Coast, Bess Rich – Mobile City Council Representative, District 6, Connie Hudson – President, Mobile County Commission, .
Mr. Leathers had this to say regarding the completion of this building construction project, “We are grateful to the City of Mobile and Mobile County for their economic support which resulted in today’s cause for celebration.” Leathers added, “This state-of–the-art, energy-efficient building will allow onsite Navy personnel to come together under one roof to better supervise the completion of Austal’s two major Navy shipbuilding programs, the Independence-variant Littoral Combat Ship and the Joint High Speed Vessel.”
Located just across the drive and east of Austal’s new Office Complex on Addsco Road, the 30,000-square-foot Navy Administration Building is expected to be occupied by members of the Navy’s LCS Pre-commissioning crew, LCS Mission Package personnel, Supship and Navy contractor personnel, JHSV crew members, and additional Government Program personnel. The two-story building has 43 individual private offices, 3 large classrooms, 6 conference rooms, 4 breakroom/kitchen areas and parking for 155 including 6 electric car charging stations.
The energy-efficient office space features motion sensor lighting and air conditioning computer-controlled from a central location. It will consolidate Navy personnel from three separate physical locations, a similar advantage to what Austal’s new Office Complex offers by bringing employees from all over Mobile into one location.
TerMac Construction, Inc., of Mobile, Ala., served as the General Contractor for the construction project. They were assisted by other local construction support teams from: Hatch Mott Macdonald (Architects) of Daphne, Ala., Thompson Engineering (Site Work) of Mobile, Ala., Hosea Weaver (Site Work) of Mobile, Ala., Coastal Exposures Landscape (Landscape and Irrigation) of Loxley, Ala., and Port City Glass & Mirror Company, Inc. (Storefront) of Fairhope, Ala.
Austal USA is a full-service shipyard offering design, construction and high-speed vessel service and repair. As Austal USA continues to expand its service and repair capabilities, the company is well-positioned for new business with engineering, test and trials capabilities, and a new waterfront facility all co-located on the Mobile Bay waterfront.
Austal is currently under contract with the U.S. Navy to build nine 103-meter JHSVs under a 10-ship, $1.6 billion contract and five 127-meter Independence-variant LCS class ships, four of which are a part of a 10-ship, $3.5 billion contract.
For the LCS and JHSV programs, Austal, as prime contractor, is teamed with General Dynamics Advanced Information Systems, a business unit of General Dynamics. As the ship systems integrator, General Dynamics is responsible for the design, integration and testing of the ship’s electronic systems including the combat system, networks, and seaframe control. General Dynamics’ proven open architecture approach allows for affordable and efficient capability growth as technologies develop.
These two contracts will require Austal to increase its Mobile, Alabama workforce to approximately 4,000 employees in order to fulfil the contract requirements. “With almost ten percent of these workers expected to reside in the neighboring states of Florida and Mississippi,” said Leathers. “As Austal USA continues to establish its rightful place as one of the world’s premium shipbuilders, I am proud that we are an engine of regional growth for the Gulf.”