MOBILE, Alabama – Austal USA President Craig Perciavalle said an Alabama support system has provided critical assistance for his company’s Mobile shipyard, which produces two of the U.S. Navy’s most advanced vessels.

In an interview with Yellowhammer News CEO Cliff Sims, Perciavalle discusses how Austal has experienced explosive growth in Alabama, where it now has 4,000 workers after adding 3,200 employees in less than four years.  The Perth, Australia-based company produces the Joint High-Speed Vessel and the Littoral Combat Ship (LCS) in Mobile for the U.S. Navy.

Perciavalle told Sims that U.S. Sen. Richard Shelby has been a champion of the LCS program and that Austal has received a consistently high level of support from Alabama’s entire congressional delegation. “I have been in this position for a little over a year now, and the appreciation I have for what they do just goes beyond my imagination,” Perciavalle said in a videotaped interview. “…It’s been phenomenal.”

The Austal president also said the shipbuilder has benefited from its collaboration with AIDT, a division of the Alabama Department of Commerce that is the state’s workforce training agency, and its strong relationship with state and local officials. (Read a story about AIDT’s Maritime Training Center.)

“The partnership between the state of Alabama and industry is really second to none from what I have seen,” Perciavalle said. “That is something that is very important for us and for other industries going forward. That’s the main reason people are attracted to come into the state, and it’s paying dividends.”

He added that Alabama’s right-to-work status has been an important factor for his company.

Citing decisions by companies such as Airbus and Remington Outdoor Co. to open major Alabama manufacturing centers, Perciavalle told Sims the state is on track to become an “incredible economic powerhouse going forward.”

“That’s something we are excited to be part of,” he told Sims.

Click here to watch a video of Perciavalle’s interview.