Battleship USS Texas Is Making One Hell of a Comeback
The USS Texas, a World War I-era battleship, is undergoing a $35 million repair effort in Galveston, Texas. While the ship is in dry dock, the Battleship Texas Foundation has been providing limited tours so visitors can see the damage to the hull and the repair efforts. The tours, which began last month and run every Sunday, are only open to visitors who are at least 16 years old and who adhere to a strict dress code. The USS Texas is the oldest surviving modern naval warship and has seen service in both world wars. After the repairs are completed, the foundation intends to relocate the ship to a new location, with Baytown, Galveston, and Beaumont expressing interest in hosting it.
IDIQ Announcement
Gulf Copper was one of the awardees on a combined $300,185,454 firm-fixed price indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity, multiple award contract for non-complex repair, maintenance, and modernization requirements of non-nuclear U.S. Navy amphibious (LHA, LHD, LPD and LSD) class ships homeported in or visiting Norfolk, Virginia. These efforts consist of Chief of Naval Operations scheduled docking and non-docking, continuous maintenance, and emergent maintenance availabilities of amphibious class ships to be performed in Norfolk, Virginia. Accordingly, the place of performance is Norfolk, Virginia where the Mid-Atlantic Maintenance Center (MARMC) will administer the contract. Delivery orders will be competitively awarded under this contract, which are to be performed in Norfolk, Virginia. Each of the contracts has an estimated ordering period of four years, which is expected to end in January of 2027.
Restoring a Valuable Asset
by Jonathan Hale
During the past year, Gulf Copper traveled to the Bahamas and purchased a large drydock that had been sunk, broken over its length and cut in half during salvage. The drydock as we originally found it is pictured above.
Gulf Copper assembled a project team working from Galveston and supplemented with employees from Mexico and the Bahamas to undertake repair and refurbishment of the remaining drydock section. The drydock pontoon and wingwalls were realigned while cropping out all distorted and wasted steel. Approximately 450 tons of new steel was inserted in way of damages and the dock was equipped with new pumps, valves, new electrical system, and Bergan Controls. After six months of work and prior to Hurricane season, the drydock was towed from Freeport, Bahamas to Galveston, Texas to complete commissioning and begin a new life. The completed dock, with a lift capacity of 35,000 tons, is pictured below.
The initial job for the drydock was to lift the “Superdreadnought” U.S.S. TEXAS – BB35 on August 31st. Upon completion of repairs to the Battleship Texas, it is anticipated the drydock will have many more years of job creation at our Galveston shipyard.
USS Orleck Arrives Back in Jacksonville
After a four-month makeover at the Gulf Copper Dry Docks in Port Arthur, the USS Orleck has arrived back in Jacksonville.
We at Gulf Copper are very excited to see the USS Orleck back on the St Johns river and ready for a new chapter in her life, after a few months of repair and refurbishment at the Gulf Copper Port Arthur shipyard.
Watch the final 13 miles of her journey. Can’t wait to see the Orleck take its place as the crowning jewel of the Jacksonville Naval Museum later this year.
Meet Owly – Gulf Copper’s New Mascot
Award of NOAA Henry Bigelow
Congratulations to Gulf Copper and Manufacturing being awarded the $3.9 Million Dry Docking and refurbishment of the NOAA vessel M/V Henry Bigelow. We look forward to a successful project under the guidance of Jonathan Hale and the Galveston project team of Craig Marston and Erik Stramblad.
GC / Van Dam Joint Venture Formed
Gulf Copper, a Texas employee-owned company and Van Dam (VD) a Venezuelan family-run company has formed a joint venture. This venture will allow us to offer downstream new build and plant expansion customers a local alternative for fabrication and staging large components and modules for their Gulf Coast projects.
Gulf Copper-Van Dam Onshore Services will provide fabrication services for process skids, pressure vessels, heaters, heat exchangers, flares, pipe racks and modules. We are supported by Gulf Copper fabrication services in Port Arthur and Galveston for larger fabrication projects.
SEACOSCO ‘AMAZON’ Stimulation Package
Gulf Copper Galveston shipyard completes the installation of the ‘Stimulation Package’ which includes electrical support, and piping system integrations for Schlumberger on the SEACOSCO Amazon vessel that will be supporting the Exxon Mobil project in Guyana.
The project took approximately 6 weeks alongside at our Galveston facility and encompassed around 20 personnel dedicated to the project round the clock.
Bob Irelan selected to head Federal Market
Gulf Copper & Manufacturing would like to welcome aboard Robert “Bob” Irelan. With a long history of doing business with the federal government, Bob will be heading up our Government Services Business Development, focusing specifically on the federal market.
Bob served our country as a Naval Officer for over twenty-five years; including the command of three different USN Vessels. Bob brings a broad experience of federal government contracting together with the Navy’s maintenance planning, funding and execution policies and procedures. In addition, Bob has a number of years managing private industry service organizations that were focused on U.S. Government support.
Bob Irelan
Gulf Copper Announces Appointments to Board of Directors
Steve Hale, Chairman of Gulf Copper & Manufacturing Corporation, is pleased to announce Annella Metoyer and Read Boles have joined the Board of Directors effective July 2019.
“Having worked with both Annella and Read on numerous occasions, I have always admired their business acumen and interpersonal skills. I am pleased they will be serving on the Board and look forward to their assistance,” said Hale.
Annella Metoyer
Annella Metoyer is a Keynote Speaker, Coach, and a best-selling Amazon author. Before 2015, she spent 40 years in the financial services industry, including the position of Market President for Capital One Bank.
She passionately serves on the Board of The North Houston Advisory Board the Greater Houston Women’s Chamber of Commerce (GHWCC) and the Women’s Resource of Greater Houston.
Read Boles
Read Boles is a successful turnaround management professional. He has experience as CEO, COO, CFO, and CRO (Chief Restructuring Officer) in a variety of industries ranging from manufacturing to software to branded consumer products.
Read is currently teaching at the Bauer College of Business, University of Houston. He most recently served as President of Southwest Shipyards based in Houston and currently has ownership interests in a number of other companies that he purchased or founded.
Read holds an MBA from the Harvard Business School and a BA in Economics from the University of California at Santa Barbara.
