Avondale Facility News

Local media quote Huntington Ingalls Industries (HII)  as announcing this week the Avondale Shipyard, just upriver from New Orleans, is being sold. The historic, 206-acre facility is on the market after a tumultuous last five years that have included layoffs and threats to close the shipyard. But members of the community hope the new owners will bring business back to the area. Only a skeleton staff remains at the sprawling West Bank facility that once employed more than 5,000 skilled workers. The company that shuttered the shipyard after 76 years may now be looking for a buyer. Jerry Bologna, executive director of the Jefferson Economic Development Commission (JEDCO), said HII is expected to have the property listed for sale in the next 30 to 60 days.

Huntington Ingalls Industries announce that the amphibious transport dock 'Somerset' (LPD 25) has returned from successful U.S. Navy acceptance sea trials. The company's ninth ship in the San Antonio (LPD 17) class returned to the company's Avondale facility following three days of at-sea demonstrations and testing. The 684-foot-long vessel's primary mission is to transport up to 800 Marines, their fighting vehicles and aircraft. "We have now completed successful sea trials on nine LPDs…

Huntington Ingalls Industries (NYSE:HII) announced today that nine employees from its Newport News Shipbuilding and Ingalls Shipbuilding divisions were recognized for achievements in the fields of science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) during the 27th annual Black Engineer of the Year Award STEM Global Competitiveness Conference. This year's conference is being held at the Washington Marriott in Wardman Park through Saturday. Theodore A. Bush is an electrical engineer at Ingalls Shipbuilding. He has played a key role in his group's contribution to the Large Deck Amphibious (LDA) Program and the Navy's newest fleet of the San Antonio-class amphibious assault ships. Bush earned a bachelor's degree in electrical engineering from Alabama A&M University. Tennyson D.

With skilled craftsmen in short supply in U.S. coastal areas, many shipbuilders turn to their own, sometimes extensive, internal training. Because fewer young people are entering shipbuilding out of high school, the industry is faced with an aging workforce that will soon have to be replaced. As good jobs for shipfitters and welders go begging, industry leaders say it's way past time to spread the word about these opportunities. Pascagoula, Miss.-based John Lotshaw directs Operations Workforce Training and Development at Huntington-Ingalls Industries (HII).

The amphibious transport dock Anchorage (LPD 23) currently under construction at Ingalls' Avondale facility has returned from a three-day testing voyage in the Gulf of Mexico following rigorous testing of most of the ship's systems. The ship is  the seventh in the  LPD 17 class. During the five-day acceptance trial evolution on land and at sea, the U.S. Navy's Board of Inspection and Survey (INSURV) observed more than 220 test events demonstrated on the ship by Ingalls' test and trials team.

Huntington Ingalls Industries (NYSE:HII) announced today that the company's seventh amphibious transport dock, Anchorage (LPD 23), returned Friday from successful builder's sea trials in the Gulf of Mexico. The ship is currently under construction at Ingalls' Avondale facility. "The LPD 23 team just finished one of the most successful builder's trials of any LPD so far," said Doug Lounsberry, Ingalls' vice president and program manager, LPD 17 Program. "The ship demonstrated its quality through operational testing over the past four days…

Huntington Ingalls Industries, Inc. reported second quarter 2011 sales of $1.56 billion, down 2.9 percent from the same period last year, and operating margin of 5.8 percent, up from negative 1.2 percent last year. Second quarter diluted earnings per share was $0.80, up from a loss of $0.23 in 2010. Cash provided by operating activities in the second quarter of 2011 was $186 million, up $91 million, or 96 percent, over the same period last year. New business awards for the 2011 second quarter were approximately $1.0 billion, bringing total backlog to $16.8 billion as of June 30. Second quarter consolidated sales decreased $47 million from the same period in 2010…

Huntington Ingalls Industries, Inc. (NYSE:HII) announced a U.S. Navy contract awarded to its Ingalls Shipbuilding division for the construction of the 10th San Antonio-class amphibious transport dock. The contract, worth $1.5 billion, will be used to build John P. Murtha (LPD 26), with construction expected to start in May. Huntington Ingalls Industries, America's largest military shipbuilder, was previously a business sector of Northrop Grumman Corp. until effectively separating on March 31 in a spinoff of the company to shareholders.

Northrop Grumman Corporation (NYSE:NOC) delivered two ships to the U.S. Navy this week at its Gulf Coast shipyards in Pascagoula, Miss. and Avondale, La. Company and Navy officials signed documents officially transferring custody of the Aegis guided missile destroyer Dewey (DDG 105) in Pascagoula on Monday, Aug. 17 and the amphibious transport dock ship New York (LPD 21) at the New Orleans facility on Friday, Aug. 21. "Delivering one ship is a tremendous accomplishment, as a ship delivery flexes nearly every muscle in a shipbuilding organization…

Grumman Corporation announced today that Rear Adm. George R. Yount, USN (Ret.), has been named vice president of the company's Ship Systems sector, with responsibility for operations at the Avondale facility. Rear Adm. Yount, 55, will join Ship Systems' senior management team in mid-January. ship management personnel involved in ship construction as well as production planning, scheduling and facility engineering. Rear Adm. Yount will also serve on the Ship Systems Policy Council which influences all future Northrop Grumman Ship Systems business decisions.\Rear Adm. for Integrated Warfare Systems, Naval Sea Systems Command. "We are delighted to have George Yount join our Ship Systems team," said Dr. Philip A. of Northrop Grumman Ship Systems. Rear Adm.