MOBILE, Ala. - Austal USA, a global ship builder and prime defense contractor, last week broke ground on the company's new final assembly facility. The infrastructure expansion will include a new assembly building, waterfront improvements, and a new shiplift system.
The expansion will enable the erection of large steel modules for Navy and Coast Guard ships. The expansion includes a shiplift that will provide a safe and reliable system to launch ships as they are completed in the assembly buildings and will also enable bringing ships back on the land-side facility for repair and maintenance.
The new assembly building will provide more than 192,000 square feet of new covered manufacturing space. It will consist of three bays enabling erection of steel ships as well as provide flexibility to manufacture modules for submarines. Austal USA has partnered with Pearlson & Pearlson Inc., Kiewit Infrastructure South Co., and Pearlson Shiplift Corporation to execute the project.
When this expansion is complete, Austal USA' s Mobile, Alabama, facility will include a 117,000-square-foot steel panel line, two module manufacturing facilities, and seven assembly bays providing over 400,000 square feet of indoor erection space. In all, the facility covers 180 acres and over 1.5 million square feet of indoor manufacturing space.
