MARINETTE, WI (WTAQ-WLUK) – Fincantieri Marinette Marine is showing off its new facility improvements.
The company recently completed a multi-million dollar project on its 25,000 square-foot, state-of-the-art blast and paint facility.
A ribbon cutting was held in Marinette on Tuesday.
Numerous people with Fincantieri were in attendance, as well as Democratic Governor Tony Evers.
“As this company continues to grow and expand here in Wisconsin, I look forward to all of the ways we can work together to ensure Wisconsin’s economy, workforce, and communities continue to grow and thrive,” said Evers.
With the shipbuilder transitioning away from Littoral Combat Ships, the new facility will be used to help accommodate the construction of four Constellation-Class Frigates for the U.S. Navy.
It features two blast and coat combination bays and two dedicated only paint bays that, at full capacity, will allow for up to 16 blasters or 16 painters. This allows for larger portions of the ships to be painted in a climate-controlled facility, equipped with a state-of-the-art ventilation system built with energy efficiency in mind.
“Our new contract for the Navy’s new constellation-class frigate requires bigger modules, larger pieces of ship,” said Fincantieri Marinette Marine CEO Mark Vandroff. “And our old blast and paint facility wasn’t tall enough nor wide enough to handle some of the new modules.”
“This new facility that we celebrate today is the premiere abrasive blasting and painting facility in North America. It will help ensure that Fincantieri’s at the forefront of the shipbuilding industry in the United States by ensuring the blasting coats supports the shipbuilding process and doesn’t constrain it as it does in many other shipyards,” said John Horrigan of BlastOne.
The blast and paint facility is one part of a $300 million investment to help Fincantieri Marinette Marine with its production of the Frigates.
Four projects were included in the investment.
One of those was building a new lift — which will be able to slowly lower the ship into the water, as opposed to the traditional method of sliding down an incline.
“It’s not a modern way of putting a ship in the water,” said Vandroff. “And for something the size of a 7,000-ton frigate, that’s really not a safe way to put a ship into the water either.”
Officials say if all goes to plan, the ship lift will be completed this month.
Fincantieri Marinette Marine hopes the USS Constellation, a first-of-its class Frigate, will be completed by 2026.
“First of classes are always challenging, that’s our goal,” said Vandroff. “We do have a few design issues that we’re working out with the Navy.”
Roughly $30 million was provided by the state to help with the projects.
