Aidan Daly
Austal USA held a ribbon-cutting ceremony for its expanded research center at the Austal USA Advanced Technologies facility in Charlottesville, Virginia.
The company said Monday that it had increased the facility’s size by 10,000 square feet, allowing the research center to accommodate equipment for Industry 4.0 application development.
Michelle Kruger, Austal USA president, said, “The expansion of our Advanced Technologies research center demonstrates Austal USA’s recognition of the importance of the U.S. Navy’s submarine program to our Nation’s maritime defense.”
Austal USA Advanced Technologies works with the Navy to revolutionize its supply chain and operates the Navy’s Additive Manufacturing Center of Excellence in Danville, Virginia. The U.S. Navy’s flagship for additive manufacturing of components for shipbuilding and ship repair had recently completed printing the 100th part supporting the Navy submarine and surface fleet.
According to Kruger, Austal USA is not only a principal player in additive manufacturing. The company also builds modules for the Virginia- and Columbia-class submarines in its new construction facility in Mobile, Alabama.
Meanwhile, Austal USA Advanced Technologies leads the on-site heat treatment and directs various activities, including production workflow, additive manufacturing, quality inspection and testing capabilities of its AM partners.
