Atlantic Marine Holding Co News

Shipyards around the world are facing increasingly stringent environmental rules and regulations, adding additional expense to a business sector with an already reputed thin bottom line. Nonetheless, to stay in business shipyards must continuously enhance their capabilities and compliance, in order to successfully woo and complete lucrative jobs. U.S. shipyards have aggressively been augmenting traditional repair expertise with the tools and systems needed to prosper in 2000 and far beyond. The ensuing editorial updates significant activities and enhancements at U.S. ship repair yards. Detyens Shipyards based in North Charleston, S.C., is continuing its upbeat course of developing trusted relationships with customers along the U.S. East Coast — specifically with Hvide Marine, Inc.

According to the Mobile Register, a former secretary of the U.S. Navy, John Lehman, is negotiating to buy one of Mobile's two largest shipyards, Atlantic Marine officials confirmed Wednesday. Lehman's New York-based firm, J.F. Lehman & Co., is expected to complete the purchase of Atlantic Marine Holding Co. within a few weeks, according to a spokesman for Atlantic Marine. Since its 1992 founding, J.F. Lehman has acquired 13 maritime, defense and aerospace companies through $1.2 billion in transactions, according to the company. Lehman said in a statement that he expected to keep all of Atlantic Marine's 600 employees in Mobile and 650 employees in Jacksonville, Fla.

The National Shipbuilding Research Program Advanced Shipbuilding Enterprise (NSRP ASE) announced last month the selection of four new research projects as part of the Navy/Industry co-funded portfolio of 33 projects. The four new projects are valued at $10.3M, including industry cost share. Project: A Lean Enterprise Model for U.S. Participants: Atlantic Marine Holding Co., Todd Pacific Shipyards, Bath Iron Works, Puget Sound Naval Shipyard, and five others. Funding: 3.8M NSRP ASE, $3.8M industry cost share. Description: The principal objective of this project is to complete a comprehensive model for the application of lean manufacturing concepts to multiple market segments of the U.S. shipbuilding and repair industry.

To say the Gulf of Mexico maritime business had a down year would be a major understatement. But rags-to-riches-to-rags experience of the past has resulted in a consolidated, resourceful group of companies poised to pounce on the next market upturn … which should be very soon. The business trends of consolidation and globalization that have largely defined the late 1990s have touched every level of business in the U.S., including the Gulf of Mexico maritime industry. Companies that had largely depended on "business as usual" are generally out of business today. The result: a resilient industrial base that is poised to prosper in good times and bad. "Business is bad right now, as the oilfield is our primary source of business," said Ralston P.

The only logical reason the sustained high price per barrel of oil has not already been dubbed "OIL BOOM 2000" is the fact that hindsight is 20/20. Companies that operate, build and supply vessels for the fickle oil patch have seen schizophrenic markets of days past bring industry goliaths to their knees. There remains a reserve among Gulf of Mexico area companies regarding prospects 2000 and beyond, but there is a growing feeling the business - which has largely been dismal since the end of 1997 - is set to embark on one of those notorious end runs that will fill area yards with healthy backlogs for years. The reason for the "look before you leap" attitude is also largely rooted in changing business dynamics which have effectively altered the way in which the world does business.