Shipbuilder HII to acquire facilities from South Carolina company for sub construction

WASHINGTON — Navy shipbuilder HII today announced its plans to acquire “substantially all of the assets” of South Carolina-based metal fabricator W International and use the new location to begin submarine module construction beginning next year.

HII said the deal is expected to close in the fourth quarter of 2024 pending regulatory approvals though did not disclose any information about the costs.

The facilities are in Charleston, SC, roughly 400 miles south of HII’s Newport News Shipbuilding, which manufactures US Navy aircraft carriers and works with General Dynamics Electric Boat to produce Virginia and Columbia-class submarines.

“HII is committed to increasing build rates for our Navy customer, and this investment in capacity alongside the Navy will help us do that,” HII President and CEO Chris Kastner said in a statement. “It lets us efficiently add trained talent and state-of-the-art manufacturing capabilities to the urgent job of building ships, making it a unique opportunity to accelerate throughput at Newport News Shipbuilding in support of the Navy and AUKUS.”

The deal includes 480,000 square feet of manufacturing space on a 45-acre site as well as access to a barge and rail lines to transport completed modules back to either Newport News or General Dynamics Electric Boat. HII said it plans to offer employment to all of W International’s current employees.

“Submarines will be the first priority. That’s where we’re starting,” Jennifer Boykin, Newport News Shipbuilding’s outgoing president, told reporters today. “But we do see the opportunity to — because of the size of the of the facility — also include aircraft carrier unit builds.”

The acquisition comes amid the backdrop of numerous efforts by the Navy and industry to bolster the submarine industrial base. The service has spent the past year working with Texas-based non-profit BlueForge Alliance to recruit more shipyard workers with an initial goal of adding 100,000 workers over the next decade. Speaking at a Tuesday event hosted by the Center for Maritime Security, Navy officials told attendees they had recently upped that goal closer to 140,000 workers.

The service also recently inked a deal with a private investment firm and shipbuilder Austal USA to purchase and develop a piece of land in Mobile, Ala, for submarine module construction. Austal itself has recently become a more active player in the submarine industrial base, getting work from General Dynamics Electric Boat and making facility expansions to support those efforts.