This was Dr. Seidle’s first visit to Austal USA, providing him with a firsthand look at the company’s state-of-the-art ship manufacturing facility, including separate steel and aluminum assembly lines. During the tour, Dr. Seidle saw ten vessels under construction as well as aircraft elevators for US Navy Ford-class aircraft carriers (CVN 80 and 81). At Austal USA’s vessel completion yard, Dr. Seidle saw the future USS Pierre (LCS 38), the final ship of the class, scheduled for delivery in May.
“We were honored to exhibit our talented workforce and modern facilities to Dr. Seidle and Admiral Anderson,” stated Austal USA President Michelle Kruger. “We’re proud of our success and diverse portfolio of work, and we look forward to continuing to be a key component of the Nation’s shipbuilding industrial base.”
Austal USA, celebrating 25 years in Mobile, has delivered 32 ships to the Navy since 2009 and is constructing ships from six different programs. The company also has modules in production for both the Virginia and Columbia-class submarine programs. In addition to Austal USA’s nearly one million square feet of existing enclosed manufacturing space, a new final assembly building to manufacture Navy and Coast Guard surface ships and a dedicated submarine module production facility are both under construction. When complete, they will add over 600,000 square feet of indoor production area, supporting 2,000 new jobs to the workforce.
