Marinette Marine Corporation, a major employer in the Menominee-Marinette area, has been the recipient of several incentives to encourage the award of a major
U.S. Navy contract to the shipbuilder.
The state of Wisconsin has pledged $50 million toward workforce training and facility upgrades for Marinette Marine if it wins the enormous Navy contract. The company is just finishing building its second littoral combat ship for the Navy, but this contract would be longer and larger, says Richard McCreary, the president, CEO and general manager of Marinette Marine, which has a large amount of Menominee, Mich., employees.
"The next iteration of the littoral combat ship program is a winner-take-all for 10 ships over five years," he says, noting the gross value of the project to Marinette Marine and the primary contractor on the project, Lockheed Martin, is about $4.5 billion. The contract includes ship design.
McCreary says they should hear a decision on the contract this summer, probably in late July. The economic benefits to the area would be undeniable, as the contract – the largest shipbuilding project in the region since WWII -- would create 1,000 new direct jobs in Marinette and Menominee, and about 6,000 more indirect jobs for suppliers, vendors, and service providers.
"We'd be looking at creating $500 million a year of economic activity, and we'd also be generating about $50 million of tax revenue to the states of Wisconsin and Michigan," McCreary says.
The state of Michigan also has pledged smaller workforce training incentives totaling $1.4 million if the contract is awarded to Marinette Marine.
Marinette Marine is owned by Fincantieri Marine Group, LLC.
Writer: Sam EgglestonSource: Richard McCreary, Marinette Marine Corporation
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