Austal USA Designated "Manufacturer Of The Year"

Since the beginning of 2005, Austal's US operation located in Mobile, Alabama, has been honored not once but twice as the Manufacturer of the Year, first by the local Chamber of Commerce and then by the State of Alabama.

On February 11, 2005, shortly after celebrating the start of work on Austal's Northern Expansion project with a groundbreaking ceremony, Greg Metcalf, CEO of Austal's US operations and Bill Pfister, VP Government Programs in Mobile, attended at the Annual Meeting of the Mobile Area Chamber of Commerce at which they were presented with the Chamber's "2004 Manufacturer of the Year" Award. This award is presented to a local manufacturing operation which has a large impact on the Mobile area economy. According to the Chamber's 2004 Annual Report, "The last time this award was given, it was presented to Bender Shipbuilding in 1999 for its partnership with Austal" in starting the Mobile, Alabama, aluminum shipyard known as Austal USA.

On March 9, 2005, Mr. Metcalf attended another ceremony in Alabama's Capital, Montgomery, where he received similar recognition on behalf of Austal as the "Alabama Manufacturer of the Year 2005". Austal won the State's award in the medium category (100-299 employees). Austal was chosen over other entries based on criteria including Financial Growth/Consistency, Leadership in Manufacturing, Market Leadership and Leadership and Workforce.

"Austal has worked hard over the last four years to earn this level of recognition," said Metcalf. "We are honored to receive both of these awards and look forward to continuing to enrich our economic community."

Austal's Mobile facility is making fast progress on its Northern Expansion project. When added to the existing facility, the expansion will provide a combined total covered area of 177,400 square feet for ship production, roughly quadruple the existing facility. The expansion will add two large bays (each 134' x 400') under a common roof for module fabrication/erection and component storage, connected by two mezzanine levels (each 25' x 400') for shop space, material storage, and small assembly fabrication; two additional launch aprons in front of each bay; a combined wharf (bulkhead) length of 780ft; and additional overhead cranes capable of lifting 80-ton modules in each bay. The Northern Expansion will accommodate a total workforce of up to 700 personnel.

The plans to begin the Northern Expansion were initiated by the need for more production space to handle the current and anticipated projects on Austal’s order book. Austal is currently building a 345ft high-speed vehicle-passenger ferry for a new US operation. Upon completion, this vessel will completely fill the existing shipbuilding shed in which it is being built.

On May 27, 2004, the U.S. Navy awarded a General Dynamics team that includes Austal, a $79 million contract to develop a final design for the Littoral Combat Ship (LCS), along with options to build two ships (the first of which Austal anticipates to begin building in October 2005). The team's design for the Littoral Combat Ship (LCS) is based on Austal's innovative 415ft high-speed aluminum trimaran hullform that enables the ship to reach sustainable speeds of nearly 50 knots, and range as far as 10,000 nautical miles, with an unmatched interior volume and payload for vessels of this size. According to Mr. Metcalf, "Austal is the shipyard that will build the Navy’s ship of the future."

Other 2004 milestones reached by Austal include the delivery of "Lake Express", the first high-speed vehicle-passenger ferry to operate within the U.S. Lake Express is a 192ft aluminium catamaran that operates on Lake Michigan between Muskegon, Michigan and Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Austal also delivered its eighth US-built vessel, the first for military application, on December 29, 2004 to American Marine Holdings.