Birdon America Inc., Denver, recently acquired Metal Shark Alabama, Bayou La Batre, Ala.. The purchase adds a fully developed shipyard to Birdon’s growing portfolio of U.S. facilities.
No purchase price was announced.
The acquisition of Metal Shark Alabama will ensure the successful delivery of the Coast Guard’s Waterways Commerce Cutter (WCC) Program, a vital component of Birdon’s $1.2 billion contract to design and build 27 new vessels for the Coast Guard, Birdon said.
“The investment in this facility will not only ensure we deliver on our promise to the U.S. Coast Guard, but it will also provide an opportunity for our subcontract partners in southern Alabama to build and install all components of these vessels in one location,” Birdon Group CEO, Jamie Bruce, said in a statement. “I am extremely grateful to Metal Shark CEO Chris Allard and his team for collaborating diligently with us, in a short period, to complete this deal.”
As part of the acquisition, Metal Shark’s existing workforce will transfer to Birdon and will continue to execute the current order book of repair work. In the near term, Birdon plans to make significant capital outlays in the shipyard’s infrastructure, the company said. A direct result of the purchase will be the creation of 300 new jobs in the area over the next two years, Birdon said.
The fully developed shipyard fronts a dredged deepwater inlet. It includes five steel buildings for fully self-contained fabrication and construction work, with over 1,700' of waterfront, a 660-ton Travelift, multiple cranes, and all required equipment for the construction of steel and aluminum vessels up to 300' and 1,500 tons launch weight. The 35-acre shipyard is situated just minutes from the Intracoastal Waterway with direct access to the Gulf of Mexico.
