Austal Starts Construction on Final Assembly Facility

Austal USA recently broke ground on its seventh assembly bay at its 180-acre Mobile waterfront manufacturing facilities. The new site is expected to create more than 1,000 new jobs.

Austal officials, joined by local politicians and business leaders, turned over the first spades of dirt on the new four-acre property along the Mobile River that will soon house a 192,000-square-foot steel assembly line. The building will be named “Final Assembly 2” and is expected to be operational by April 2026.

The construction of this new building and waterfront support area continues the expansion Austal USA began in March 2021 with the groundbreaking of the steel panel line. This latest expansion provides a new assembly bay which will enable the erection of large steel modules for Navy and Coast Guard ships, including the Offshore Patrol Cutter (OPC) and TAGOS-25 programs. In addition to the manufacturing capacity of the new buildings, the expansion includes a shiplift that will provide a safe and reliable system to launch ships as they are completed in the assembly buildings. The shiplift will also enable bringing ships back on the land-side facility for repair and maintenance.

Secretary of Commerce Ellen McNair was the principal speaker at today’s ceremony representing Governor Kay Ivey. In her remarks, Secretary McNair highlighted the long-standing partnership of Alabama and Austal USA and the important role that partnership has played in Austal USA’s 25-year history.

Read more on the Austal website.