The company is building six new ships, and they're looking to the U.P. for help
MARQUETTE -- A well known ship building company is bringing good news from Wisconsin.
President and CEO of Marinette Marine Corporation, Charles Goddard, was in Marquette Monday. The company is building six new ships, and they're looking to the U.P. for help.
"Why we're here is because of the skills. Because the people understand the area here. They like to work here. I have quite a few Michigan Tech students who work at my engineering program, so I know the quality of the people who come from here. And we also want to expand our supplier base in order to get some competition, so I can get lower prices, so we can be successful in the future," said Goddard.
Last summer, the company had around 700 employees, and with all the new ship contracts, they've expanded to over 1,300 new hires.
And they're not done, either. By the end of the year, they're looking to hire 200 more people.
"They're huge projects, and it's for a long term. It's not just one ship, it's for a number of ships. It's probably an eight to ten year contract. They also do a lot of subcontracting, which is, you don't have to be right there. So what we're looking at is the opportunity that other people will have contracts in the peninsula," said Marquette Economic Club Chair Tom Baldini.
Marinette Marine Corporation is looking to fill a variety of jobs, including skill positions, program managers, and engineers.
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