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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
– NORSHIPCO, a member of the United States Marine
Repair (USMR) family of ship repair yards, and Metro Machine Corporation
last week agreed to enter into a teaming arrangement, enabling
the two companies to heighten the level of services provided to
the United States Navy.
This partnership between NORSHIPCO and Metro Marine gives the
Navy another option for obtaining low cost, high quality ship
repair and modernization services. Because of the combined complementary
resources of both private sector ship repair yards, large and
technically complex availabilities, such as major cruiser and
destroyer packages and large amphibious ship jobs, can be done
at highly competitive rates.
This teaming arrangement will provide the Navy with the private
sector capability and capacity in the Norfolk homeport to accomplish
the large complex ship repair jobs, while simultaneously performing
other scheduled Navy ship repair work. As a result, the ship crews
will not have to leave Norfolk to have work performed in shipyards
located outside of the ship's homeport area. This disruption to
the lives of the sailors and their families greatly affects the
quality of life of Navy personnel. By providing the government
with an additional, geographically desirable alternative to distant
repair facilities, the ships can remain in their homeport, greatly
enhancing the morale of the sailors onboard the vessel.
A key advantage of the teaming agreement provides both NORSHIPCO
and Metro with greater flexibility in the use of their respective
facilities. This flexibility pertains especially to the more efficient
scheduling and usage of the drydocks and the ability of each company
to achieve specialization in the parties' areas of expertise.
This will also encourage work force expansion in high skill level
areas required for complex availabilities. These important advantages
enable both shipyards to enhance their capabilities in order to
meet the Navy's requirements to conduct such large, complex projects
in the private sector at very competitive rates.
Each company will still maintain separate core capabilities, ensuring
surge capacity in response to customers' needs or potential crises.
By retaining the strength of the private sector industrial base,
the non-nuclear repair needs of conventional Navy ships can be
met.
Upon signing the agreement, B. Edward Ewing, USMR's CEO said,
"We are always looking for ways to provide the "best
value" for the dollar to our customers. By combining the
unique strengths and capabilities of both yards and eliminating
redundancies, we are able to offer cost-effective, efficient repair
and modernization work. This teaming arrangement also increases
competition for work on large, complex jobs, which is in the best
interest of the U.S. Navy and American taxpayers. We have the
utmost respect for Metro, and both of our facilities have done
excellent work on the Navy's complex projects. As adjacent yards,
we are looking forward to working side-by-side as a team to continue
to provide these critical services to our largest customer."
The Carlyle Group, a Washington, D.C.-based private investment
banking company, owns USMR, America's largest non-nuclear ship
repair, modernization, conversion and overhaul company. In addition
to NORSHIPCO in Norfolk, (corporate headquarters), USMR shipyards
are located in San Diego, San Pedro and San Francisco, Calif.
(San Francisco Drydock, Inc.), and Ingleside, Texas.
Al Krekich (757) 494-2983
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