Harman News

British-headquartered specialist provider of submarine cables Global Marine Group (GMG) has been acquired by an investment affiliate of private equity firm J.F.

National Response Corporation, a portfolio company of an investment affiliate of J.F. Lehman & Company, completed the acquisition of Cleanline Waste Water Solutions Ltd. NRC is a provider of specialty compliance and environmental services. Headquartered in Great River, NY, with regional offices throughout the U.S. and overseas, NRC has more than 1,400 employees in locations around the world. Cleanline is a leading provider of environmental, industrial and emergency response services in the United Kingdom. The company is headquartered in Liverpool, England. Paul Taveira, CEO of NRC, commented, “Cleanline is the most recent strategic addition to NRC’s unique compliance and environmental services offering and strengthens our capabilities and broadens our footprint in the United Kingdom.

Austal celebrated the christening of Expeditionary Fast Transport ship USNS City of Bismarck (EPF 9) with a ceremony at its state-of-the-art shipyard on May 13. City of Bismarck is the ninth of 12 Expeditionary Fast Transport vessels (EPF) that Austal has under contract with the U.S. Navy as part of a contract worth over $1.9 billion. The ship’s sponsor, Congresswoman Jane Harman, headlined the group of officials, naval guests, civic leaders, community members and Austal employees who attended the ceremony beneath the hull of the ship in Austal’s final assembly bay. “Austal USA is having tremendous success with the EPF program. We are delivering two ships a year and watching these great ships deploy in less than a year of delivery.

J.F. Lehman & Company (JFLCO) informs it has signed a definitive agreement with Oldenburg Group Incorporated to acquire its Heavy Equipment Group, including both its defense and mining business units. The new company will be named Lake Shore Systems, Inc., in a return to its roots dating back to 1858. The acquisition will represent JFLCO’s 25th sponsored platform investment since the firm’s inception. Lake Shore designs, engineers, manufactures and supports complex, heavy equipment systems to meet mission critical requirements in harsh operating environments, including large deck handling equipment, access and lifting systems for U.S. government vessels and customized underground mining equipment for mine owners and operators around the world.

National Response Corporation (NRC), a portfolio company of J.F. Lehman & Company, announced today the completion of the acquisition of Emerald Alaska, LLC from Emerald Services, Inc. NRC is a commercial provider of United States Oil Pollution Act of 1990 regulatory compliance services as well as a global provider of specialized environmental and emergency response solutions. Headquartered in Great River, N.Y., with regional offices throughout the U.S. and internationally, NRC has more than 1,000 employees globally. Emerald Alaska is a provider of environmental and emergency response solutions to the oil and gas industry in the state of Alaska.

National Response Corporation (NRC) announced the completion of a deal which sees U.K.-based Sureclean Limited become part of the NRC group. NRC is a global provider of diversified environmental, industrial and emergency response solutions. Headquartered in Great River, New York, with regional offices throughout the U.S. and internationally, NRC has approximately 800 employees. Operating both in the U.K and internationally, Sureclean is a provider of specialty industrial and environmental solutions to the oil and gas, petrochemical, renewables, utilities, civil engineering and construction sectors. The company is headquartered in Alness, Scotland with additional offices in the Aberdeen area and employs a permanent staff of 135.

U.S. Sen. Barbara Boxer (D-CA) and U.S. Rep. Bill Shuster  (R-PA) have been jointly selected to receive the American Association of Port Authorities’ (AAPA) 2014 “Port Person of the Year” award. The bi-partisan nomination for AAPA’s most prestigious annual award was submitted by the California Association of Port Authorities (CAPA). Marking its 102nd year as the Western Hemisphere’s leading trade association representing port authorities, AAPA selected Sen. Boxer and Cong. Shuster based on their dedication to improving America’s water resources, infrastructure and freight transportation policy. Their work toward reforming federal water resources development legislation…

J.F. Lehman & Company, a middle-market private equity firm focused on the maritime, defense and aerospace sectors, announced today that it has sold its portfolio company, Northeast Ship Repair, Inc. to affiliates of Plexus Capital and NewSpring Capital. The sale of Northeast Ship Repair follows J.F. Lehman's recent sales of ACR Electronics and Drew Marine, both announced on November 19. Northeast Ship Repair is a provider of large vessel maintenance, repair and overhaul services for the U.S. Government noncombatant fleet and commercial customers.

PPG Industries  said Frank S. Sklarsky will join the company as executive vice president for  finance, effective April 15, reporting to Chairman and CEO Charles E. Bunch. Also, effective August 1, Sklarsky will be named PPG executive vice president and chief financial officer. David B. Navikas, currently PPG senior vice president, finance and chief financial officer, will continue in his current role until August 1, and will then continue as senior vice president in a senior leadership role that will be announced later. Most recently, Sklarsky was executive vice president and chief financial officer, Tyco International, Ltd., a global provider of security, fire protection and flow control solutions with revenues that exceeded $17 billion.

U.S. Reps Janice Hahn & Ted Poe to Accept AAPA’s ‘Port Person of Year’ Award at March 19 Event in D.C.; AAPA’s 2013 ‘Spring Conference’ to focus on key seaport priorities: infrastructure, security, trade. U.S. Representatives Janice Hahn (D-CA) and Ted Poe (R-TX) will be honored on March 19 as the American Association of Port Authorities’ (AAPA) 2013 “Port Persons of the Year” during the association’s annual Spring Conference event, March 18-19, at The Renaissance Washington, DC Downtown Hotel.

J.F. Lehman & Company investment affiliates acquire AMECO, provider of electro-mechanical solutions to the defense, aerospace and maritime sectors. IMECO, based in Iron Mountain, MI, is a leading independent domestic provider of turnkey marine electro-mechanical solutions for U.S Government and commercial customers. The Company's integrated maritime solutions include the design, engineering, planning, procurement and installation of HVAC, cargo handling, electric steering, propulsion and fire suppression systems for government and commercial vessels. Roy Arnold , President of IMECO, stated, "J.F. Lehman & Company is an excellent partner for IMECO given the firm's unique expertise and relationships as well as capital to accelerate our growth.

J.F. Lehman & Company Announces Definitive Agreement to Acquire National Response Corporation from SEACOR Holdings, Inc. J.F. Lehman & Company, a middle-market private equity firm focused on the maritime, defense and aerospace sectors, announced today that it has signed a definitive agreement to acquire National Response Corporation and its affiliated businesses NRC Environmental Services and SEACOR Response (collectively "NRC") from SEACOR Holdings Inc. (NYSE:CKH). NRC is a provider of United States Oil Pollution Act of 1990 regulatory compliance and emergency response services…

U.S. Rep. John Mica To Accept AAPA ‘Port Person Of Year’ Award At March 20 Event Luncheon. AAPA Centennial ‘Spring Conference’ Speakers Will Focus On Raising Priorities For Freight Infrastructure. U.S. Congressman John Mica (R-FL) will be honored on March 20 as the American Association of Port Authorities’ (AAPA) “Port Person of the Year” during the association’s 100th anniversary Spring Conference event, March 19-20, at The Renaissance Washington, DC Downtown Hotel. Celebrating its first century as the Western Hemisphere’s leading trade association representing port authorities…

J.F. Lehman & Company, a middle-market private equity firm focused on the defense, aerospace and maritime sectors, announced that it has acquired US Joiner LLC and Turnbull LLC (together, "US Joiner") in partnership with company management. US Joiner is the leading independent domestic provider of turnkey marine joiner and furniture solutions for U.S. Government and commercial customers. Headquartered in Crozet, Va., the company employs approximately 500 employees across the United States. "We are excited to be partnering with the US Joiner and Turnbull management teams and are pleased to welcome the companies to the J.F. Lehman & Company portfolio," said Alex Harman, a Partner with J.F. Lehman & Company.

Representative Harman (D-CA) introduced the Reducing Over-Classification Act of 2007 (H.R. 4806) to require the Secretary of Homeland Security to develop a strategy to prevent the over-classification of homeland security and other information and to promote the sharing of unclassified homeland security and other information, and for other purposes. (HK Law)

Representative Harman (D-CA) and Senator Collins (R-ME) introduced companion bills (H.R. 1731 and S. 855) to improve the security of the Nation’s ports by providing Federal grants to support Area Maritime Transportation Security Plans and to address vulnerabilities in port areas identified in approved vulnerability assessments or by the Secretary of Homeland Security. (HK Law)

Senator Collins (R-ME) introduced the Port Security Grants Act of 2005 (S. 855). Representative Harman (D-CA) introduced the companion Port Security Grants Act of 2005 (H.R. 1731). The bills are intended to improve the security of U.S. ports by providing grants to support Area Maritime Transportation Security Plans and address vulnerabilities identified in port security assessments. Source: HK Law

Recognizing the expanded need for coordination and information sharing between the federal, state and local governments at our ports, Gov. Schwarzenegger signed an executive order creating the California Maritime Security Council (CMSC). "California's ports are vital not only to our own economy, but to the nation's economic health as well. Our state handles nearly half of all the port traffic in the United States and more than $4.5 billion in cargo moves through the Port of San Diego every year," said Gov. Schwarzenegger. Reports recently published by the Rand Corporation and the Public Policy Institute of California underscored the importance of California's ports and the devastating impact a catastrophic event would have on California's economy.

Congress has passed the Security and Accountability for Every (SAFE) Port Act of 2006, the first legislation of its kind to authorize an annual federal funding level to help secure United States ports against terrorism. The bill, H.R. 4954, calls for $400m in federal Port Security Grant (PSG) funding for each of the next five years to help increase security in the maritime transportation system. recognized Representatives Dan Lungren (R-CA) and Jane Harman (D-CA) for introducing and moving their version of the port security legislation through the House. He credited Senators Susan Collins (R-ME; chair, Senate Committee on Homeland Security & Government Affairs) and Patty Murray (D-WA)…

On May 22, the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) and the US Coast Guard issued their joint 68-page Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) for implementation of the Transportation Worker Identification Credential (TWIC) in the maritime sector. 71 Fed. Reg. 29395 The comment period is now closed. There are 550 documents currently in the docket, expressing a wide variety of viewpoints. Possibly one of the more persuasive comments was submitted by four US Representatives serving on the House Committee on Homeland Security [Bernie Thompson (D-MS); Loretta Sanchez (D-CA); Jane Harman (D-CA); and Peter De Fazio (D-OR)]. They suggest…

The American Association of Port Authorities (AAPA) praised the U.S. Senate Appropriations Committee for approving the FY 2006 Emergency Supplemental Appropriations bill, which would result in a major boost in security funding for America’s seaports. As part of the bill, the committee approved an amendment, offered by Sen. Robert Byrd (D-WV), which would provide an additional $648 million in resources for radiation portal monitors, container inspections, port inspections and port facility security grants. “Securing America’s seaports, which are essential for the nation’s economic growth, vitality and way of life, must be a top national priority,” said AAPA President/CEO Kurt Nagle.

Steve Harman, Chairman of OceanConnect's Board of Directors and Chief Executive of Shell Marine Products, said that Robert K. Kurz, President of Keystone Shipping, has been elected to OceanConnect's Board of Directors. "We are proud to have Robert K. Kurz, President of Keystone Shipping, join OceanConnect's Board of Directors. Rob brings vast shipping experience which will be invaluable to OceanConnect as it continues to grow," Harman said. Kurz joins a distinguished group of leading figures in the marine industry, including Rutger von Slobbe, Executive Director of P&O Nedlloyd BV; Kevin James, Chief Executive of BP; Robert Chandran, President & Chief Executive Officer of Chemoil; C.