newsletterCONSORTIUM

...Four Gulfport companies and three educational institutions are forming a consortium that
promises to make South Mississippi the nation’s leading center for cutting-edge research in the
use of advanced materials for the shipbuilding industry.
...The Marine Composites Consortium Center of Excellence, in addition to research, also will
focus on building up the cadre of scientists, technicians and workers who will help create future
generations of military and commercial vessels.
...The consortium was formed by Northrop Grumman, Seemann Composites, United States
Marine, Trinity Yachts, the University of Southern Mississippi, Mississippi Gulf Coast
Community College and Pearl River Community College.
...Phil Dur, the former head of Northrop Grumman Ship Systems who is the coordinator of the
project for Southern Miss, said there are two principles behind creation of the consortium.
...The first is for research to find solutions to problems involved in building ships with
composites, such as the issue of bonding composite structures to steel. Research will involve
process and design issues, he said.
...The second goal is to provide the foundation to train the engineers, designers and producers of
marine composite structures. That cadre of trained experts could find opportunities for
employment at the universities and colleges or in the wide range of shipbuilding and boat building
operations in South Mississippi.
...Formation of the consortium made sense in part because South Mississippi is the nexus of
academic and industrial interests in composites. On the academic side, the University of Southern
Mississippi has an international reputation for its polymer program. Southern Miss has a
reputation for working closely with companies, particularly through the Mississippi Polymer
Institute.
...The second element is the presence of a cluster of shipbuilders who work with composites.
That cluster includes Northrop Grumman, which is building the next generation of surface
warships in Pascagoula and Gulfport, Seemann Composites, a Gulfport company that has earned
a reputation within the industry and the Department of Defense for its work in marine and
aerospace composite structures, and Trinity Yachts, which builds some of the largest pleasure
craft in the world. United States Marine is a specialist in building specialized marine craft, some
of which are built to be dropped by air.
...But the shipbuilding and boat building companies goes well beyond the mix involved in the
consortium. South Mississippi is also home to Pascagoula’s VT Halter, Rolls-Royce Naval
Marine and Signal International. And there are additional marine-related companies, such as
Gulfport’s High Tech and Turnbull Metal Products. Outside South Mississippi there’s Mobile’s
Austal USA and Alabama Shipyard, and in New Orleans there are other Northrop Grumman
operations and Bollinger. In fact, the Gulf Coast between Texas and Florida is the nation’s
largest shipbuilding and boat building region.
...Dur said it’s possible the list of participants will be expanded in the future.
...“From the view of regional economic development, it’s a good thing to have,” Dur said.
...It seems unlikely any other area of the country would stand out as an alternative location for
specialization in marine composites structures. It would require a considerable investment in two
different but related enterprises: shipbuilding and composites.
...“The entry price is high in composites,” said Dur, adding that part of the cost has to do with
strict environmental controls and the need to have carefully controlled atmospheres in buildings
where the structures are made.
...By contrast, South Mississippi has already made the investment in both.
...The state of Mississippi funded multimillion-dollar improvements at the state-owned Northrop
Grumman shipyard in Pascagoula, and Northrop Grumman in turn invested heavily in the
composites operation at Gulfport in the Bernard Bayou Industrial District.
...“Now the challenge is to take it to the next level,” said Dur. “So the challenge for us – and the
opportunity – is to build on what’s already here, become the country’s center for the production
and the application of composites to shipbuilding.”
...It’s likely there will eventually be a research facility in Gulfport set up specifically to focus on
R&D in marine composites. But for the time being research will be done at Southern Miss
facilities in Hattiesburg.
...Dur said the work of the consortium will have implications for fields beyond shipbuilding. He
pointed out that work in aircraft composites was leveraged for the shipbuilding efforts.
...While all the consortium companies are involved in marine composites work, some also work
in aerospace. Northrop Grumman is the obvious player, but Seemann Composites has also
worked in that field. It showed Boeing a process to fabricate the fuselage for the Apache
helicopter, complete with bulkheads.
...Dur said that when it comes to building an area’s economy, it’s a matter of leveraging
advantages. And for South Mississippi, that’s shipbuilding and the knowledge-base that’s been
created by Southern Miss. – Tcp