Hanwha to more than double staff at US Philly Shipyard in 10 years

South Korea’s Hanwha Group is set to more than double its employees at Hanwha Philly Shipyard in the US over the next 10 years as the chemicals-to-defense conglomerate seeks to win military contracts from Washington, industry sources said on Monday.

Hanwha plans to increase the workforce of Hanwha Philly to 4,000 from 1,700 as of 2023, the source in Seoul said.

The group acquired the shipbuilder formerly Philly Shipyard for $100 million last month to enter the US shipbuilding industry and expand the defense business into warship construction.

“Philly Shipyard must first resolve its understaffing to win new warship contracts beyond MRO deals,” said one of the sources in Seoul, referring to ship maintenance, repairs and overhauls.

The South Korean conglomerate plans to send more skilled engineers of Hanwha Ocean Co., the group’s shipbuilder that has manufactured submarines for the South Korean Navy since 1987, to Hanwha Philly to share expertise in shipbuilding and MRO businesses.

SHORT STAFFED

Hanwha Philly has suffered from a shortage of skilled workers as engineers have left the ailing US shipbuilding industry for other sectors.

“Due to COVID-driven labor shortages, the Shipyard has experienced schedule impacts, productivity loss and increased costs,” Hanwha Philly said in its latest quarterly earnings report.

Hanwha Ocean, which acquired the company with its affiliate Hanwha Systems Co., plans to install automation equipment in the US shipbuilder to turn it into a “smart yard.”

A smart yard, equipped with the Internet of Things (IoT), drones and other advanced technology, is designed to optimize shipyard operations’ scheduling and execution and streamline and automate the flow of information required for construction.

The move is expected to accelerate the normalization of Hanwha Philly, said industry sources in Seoul.

Write to Hyung-Kyu Kim at khk@hankyung.com
 
Jongwoo Cheon edited this article.