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Portland Community College News

20 Nov 2023

Insights: Frank Manning, President & COO, Diversified Marine, Inc.

Frank Manning, President & COO, Diversified Marine, Inc. (Photo: Diversified Marine, Inc.)

Frank Manning has quickly risen through the ranks during his eight years in the shipyard business, today serving as president and COO at Diversified Marine, Inc. (DMI) in Portland, Ore. Crucial along the way has been a passion for the business itself and the people that make it all possible.“The first day I walked in a shipyard I knew that I was in the right industry,” Manning said. “DMI has always been a relationship-based business. All of our customers are close friends, and we have relationships that are second to none,” he said.

24 Sep 2013

Back to School

Student Josh Lanser displaying his recent welding project.

For Vigor Industrial, a privately-held shipbuilding and repair company headquartered in Portland, Oregon, the future looked bright and a bit ominous at the same time. Work was coming in, dock space was filling up, future orders were signed, and new properties purchased; in short, business was booming. But dark clouds crept in around the edges of this rosy picture. As recruiters set out to find new talent to meet the growing demand, they encountered a candidate pool without the necessary skills to pick up a welding torch and go to work.

12 Aug 2013

Laying the Keel; Carefully

The Kennewick ferry was completed at Harbor Island in Seattle in 2011.

Looking toward the future and with a weather eye on what could come next, Oregon-based Vigor Industrial launched a six-month training program this July in welding, fabricating and fitting with South Seattle Community College at a new center on Harbor Island. Vigor acquired the site overlooking downtown Seattle when it bought Todd Pacific Shipyards in 2011. And, as an active bidder for the U.S. Coast Guard’s coveted Offshore Patrol Cutter (OPC) program, Vigor also knows that they’ll need to perform when the time comes. A skilled workforce will be an important part of that equation.

04 Apr 2013

Proceeding Quietly with Vigor

In a climate of both seemingly fat backlogs and at the same time uncertainty for domestic shipyards, Vigor Industrial is one company that continues to make news in the shipbuilding and repair merger and acquisition markets. After acquiring Todd Pacific Shipyards in 2011 for $130 million, Vigor also diversified its geographic offerings when it scooped up Alaska Ship and Drydock in Ketchikan after raising $75 million through private equity firm Endeavour Capital. Vigor CEO Frank Foti continues to build scale through acquisitions, while diversifying the company’s construction and repair capabilities to include cargo fleets, barges and workboats, ferries, and US Navy and Coast Guard vessels, among others.

05 Oct 2012

Vigor Sets Its Sights on Growth

Vigor Industrial is a comprehensive marine services provider specializing in shipbuilding and ship repair. Three years ago, Vigor initiated an aggressive growth strategy that consolidated major shipyard facilities in Oregon, Washington, and Alaska under one umbrella, and more than doubled the size of its business, and leading a renaissance of the marine business on the U.S. West Coast. Over the next five years, Vigor has set its sights on an expansion plan that will double the current size of the company. In early 2012, Vigor Industrial acquired Alaska Ship & Drydock (ASD).

25 Jul 2012

Vigor Industrial: A Rising Star in Shipbuilding in the Pacific Northwest & Alaska Arctic

Vigor Industrial’s CEO, Frank Foti (Photo courtesy Vigor Industrial)

“There is a resurgence of the marine industry in the Pacific Northwest we haven’t seen for 20 to 30 years now,” said Vince Piscitello, Vice President of Business Development for Vigor Industrial LLC. “The oil and gas industry is really new to our area,” he said, although he expects to see it grow significantly with Shell’s exploration of the Chukchi and Beaufort Seas off Alaska’s northern coast. State run ferry operations in Washington and Alaska are at a point where they must renew fleets built in the 50s and 60s.