By Mark Edward Nero
Vigor Industrial has announced that it is merging with
specialty manufacturing firm Oregon Iron Works and that OIW will become a wholly
owned Vigor subsidiary. OIW and Vigor say they agreed to terms on May 20 and
expect the merger to be finalized before the end of June.
“I’ve spent the last 40 years building Oregon Iron Works
into a company with some of the country’s most advanced fabrication
capabilities, and we’ve been looking for ways to evolve to the next level and
compete in a broader market spectrum,” Terry Aarnio, OIW Chairman of the Board,
said in a May 21 statement regarding the transaction. “Vigor builds and repairs
ships. OIW builds boats and other projects with complex fabrication, machining,
and integration requirements.
Vigor has some of the West Coast’s largest
shipyard industrial facilities and great marine industrial workers.”
OIW’s unique fabrication abilities combined with Vigor’s
shipbuilding, heavy lifting and marine launch capabilities is expected to allow
the company to complete large-scale, complex projects that neither company
could do alone, according to the two companies.
“This combination positions the company to meet upcoming
demand from various industrial and marine sectors,” Vigor CEO and Owner Frank
Foti said. “Not only will diversification allow us to better weather the ups
and downs of the marine industry, incorporating good fabrication genetics from
non-marine sectors is great way to achieve world-class shipbuilding standards
in the US.”
“It’s industrial evolution, and it’s what our economy
needs,” Foti said. “We’re doing everything we can to build and sustain
family-wage industrial jobs.”
The combined company is expected to employ about 2,300
people in Alaska, Oregon and Washington.
