I wish you a very happy and prosperous New Year! I am very excited about 2015 and I am extremely honored to serve as your association president again this year.
Last year we made some significant strides in discussions with the navy concerning private sector workload and future work that the naval shipyard says is beyond its capacity to execute. This large workload is primarily caused by the nuclear-powered ship recycling program, a program that has not previously relied on private sector capacity. In 2014 two market surveys were conducted by the navy in order to engage with industry and shape future contract solicitations. The association has been, and will continue to be, fully engaged on this topic and we will continue to report on these discussions.
We plan to participate in both the National Ship Repair Industry Conference in March and in the Fleet Maintenance and Modernization Symposium in September. These are two events that we target annually because they give us a great opportunity to meet with so many decision makers. We learn so much about the trends and policies which effect ship repair and modernization and we have the opportunity to share our concerns and educate them on our regional issues.
We are also rolling out a new enhanced association website this month. It features more prominent banners for member companies, keyword search capability, improved calendar feature, bulletin boards and more. I hope that you find it more useful and beneficial.
The USS Nimitz (CVN 68) overhaul starts in February and will continue into 2016. This is a large maintenance package and the new CVN program prime contractor, General Dynamics – NASSCO, is ready to start that work. They are doing their part to help us work with the navy on many topics such as quality, safety and environmental. Our QESH Committee meetings will be starting again soon and I hope that we will have active participation.
You should have recently received an invoice for 2015 membership dues. I ask for your support so that our organization can continue to work on behalf of our industry. The organization will stay strong only if you support it! If you have already renewed your membership, thank you. Our message is louder and more convincing with strong membership numbers. It matters! Participation and engagement requires financial support. It matters! I look forward to an outstanding year for our association. Please don’t hesitate to contact me if you have ideas, questions or concerns.
Mark Kipps
President, Puget Sound Ship Repair Association
Mark.kipps@hii-amsec.com
(360) 405 5108
