by Jaime Guillet

http://www.neworleanscitybusiness.com/

Northrop Grumman employees stand in front of the companys newest ship, the LPD New York, which was built at Northrops Avondale facility. (Photo by Jaime Guillet)

The Northrop Grumman Corp. shipbuilding sector has undergone major renovations, but company executives say they will have little effect on the 268-acre Avondale shipyard.

On Jan. 28, Northrop consolidated its two former shipbuilding sectors Newport News, Va., and Ship Systems, which includes Avondale and Pascagoula, Miss., into one division Northrop Grumman Shipbuilding.

As the nations sole industrial designer, builder and fuel supplier of nuclear-powered aircraft carriers and one of two companies that designs and builds nuclear-powered submarines, Northrops shipbuilding presence in Louisiana is significant. Although headquartered in Los Angeles, Northrops shipbuilding activity in Louisiana accounts for nearly 5,500 jobs and a $168-million economic impact in 2007.

Northrops goal for the recent realignment was to find better ways to deploy our people, capital assets and technology, said C. Michael Petters, Northrop Grumman Shipbuilding president.

(The realignment) is a critical part of our strategy of building ships in the future, Petters said. (Its) four months into the experiment and weve made substantial progress.

While Northrop has consistently talked about a need for more employees at its Avondale yard the past few years, Petters said he is comfortable with its current standing.

All in all, were pretty well staffed in Avondale. Were in pretty good shape, Petters said.

The most significant event in 2007 for both yards was the christening of the amphibious transport dock ship USS New York, which is constructed with 7.5 tons of steel from the World Trade Center destroyed in the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, said Bill Glenn, a spokesman for the companys Pascagoula facility.

Between the Louisiana and Mississippi shipyards, Northrop continues to work on 12 shipbuilding contracts comprising four classes of ships. The company recently delivered two of the eight security cutters it is building for the U.S. Coast Guard.

In March, Northrop beat out Chicago-based Boeing Co. for a $35 billion-plus contract to build 179 Air Force tankers, the bulk of which should be built in the Gulf Coast area.

(The Air Force tanker) is a big win for us, Petters said. It also means more economic development for the Gulf Coast. Its an even bigger success for this part of the region. Weve very excited about this part of the country.

Northrop Grumman still awaits Congress vote to fund the 10th and 11th Landing Platform Dock-class ships in the $601 billion defense bill for 2009. The company is building the last four DDG51 class destroyers remaining on a 28-ship contract and just received the contract to build one DDG 1000 Navy destroyer.

Petters said the company will deliver two LPD-class ships to the Navy in late 2008 and into 2009.

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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE PR-421-07 November 18, 2007

The following is the text of Mayor Bloomberg’s weekly radio address as prepared for delivery on 1010 WINS News Radio for Sunday, November 18, 2007

“Good Morning. This is Mayor Mike Bloomberg.”  On Friday, I attended the National League of Cities Conference in New Orleans. The organizers chose New Orleans to host this year’s conference to give local leaders from across the nation an opportunity to see a city that has dealt with an enormous catastrophe and is now coming back stronger and better than ever.”It’s a story that New Yorkers know well. And as I walked the streets of the Crescent City, and met with the people who call it home, I was struck by the same spirit of resilience that I saw in New York in the months following 9/11. One of the most powerful symbols of that resilience is the U.S.S. New York, a Navy warship currently under construction in New Orleans. The ship, which is being built from steel recovered from the World Trade Center, was in a shipyard on the banks of the Mississippi when Hurricane Katrina hit. And despite the devastation that occurred all around it, the ship survived the storm and remained intact.”It was heartening to see. Equally heartening are the signs of progress throughout the city of New Orleans: homes being rebuilt, new businesses and restaurants going up, and a population that is now increasing at a pace of nearly 5,000 new residents a month. It’s not easy to rebuild communities in the wake of a tragedy, but it is possible, and Lower Manhattan is a shining example of that. The neighborhood’s comeback as a residential community is one of our city’s greatest success stories.”Over the past six years, Lower Manhattan’s population has grown by some 20,000 people – and more than 10,000 units of housing have opened. Not surprisingly, the school-age population in this area is also booming. To meet the growing need for classroom space, last week I stood with State leaders to announce plans to build a new, nine-story public school in Battery Park City. The school will include students from pre-kindergarten through the 8th grade. It will create nearly 40 new classrooms and 950 new seats, and serve as the City’s first ‘Green School.’”The resurgence that Lower Manhattan is experiencing right now is just incredible. It’s exactly what we hoped for when we outlined our “Vision for Lower Manhattan” in 2002. Over the past five years, we’ve focused as much on making the area a good place to live as we have on encouraging the growth of business. We’ve done that by spurring the development of new housing – including affordable housing, by driving crime to new lows, by creating parks and waterfront areas that improve neighborhood quality of life, and by investing in the good public schools that are the backbone of any thriving residential community.”For New York – and for cities across the nation – these are the ingredients for success. But they can only be realized when government holds itself accountable for results. That was the message I brought to the National League of Cities Conference in New Orleans last week. New York has come a long way over a short period of time, and we’re not about to ease up. To ensure our city’s future, we’re going to keep thinking big, investing strategically and measuring our progress every step of the way.”This is Mayor Mike Bloomberg. Thanks for listening.”

MEDIA CONTACT: Stu Loeser   (212) 788-2958

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