HII has announced its intent to acquire the assets and workforce of the South Carolina-based complex metal fabricator W International SC and Vivid Empire SC. The shipbuilder said Wednesday that the transaction will increase its capacity to support military customers.
The acquisition is expected to be completed in the fourth quarter of fiscal 2024.
HII to Absorb South Carolina Manufacturing Facility
As part of the acquisition, HII will transform W International’s manufacturing facility in Goose Creek, South Carolina, into Newport News Shipbuilding – Charleston Operations. The site will operate under HII’s Newport News Shipbuilding division and will be led by Matt Needy, current vice president and chief transformation officer of NNS, as general manager.
The Goose Creek facility offers over 480,000 square feet of manufacturing space. It is equipped with machinery and infrastructure to support the fabrication of shipbuilding structures and modules.
According to HII, all personnel working at the site will be offered positions at the new Newport News Shipbuilding – Charleston Operations.
HII Expands Capacity to Support Military Shipbuilding Demand
In a statement, Chris Kastner, president and CEO of HII, the acquisition will better enable the company to meet its commitments with the U.S. Navy and under the trilateral partnership between Australia, the United Kingdom and the United States.
“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,” he stated.
During a conversation with reporters, Jennifer Boykin, Newport News Shipbuilding’s outgoing president, shared that the company already planned which Virginia-class and Columbia-class modules would be built at the Goose Creek facility.
“Our expectation is that you know, as the throughput there grows, we know what’s next and really the intention is for that site in Charleston to become a center of excellence for particular modules,” she told reporters.