Lake Shore A Military and Commercial Institution Evolves
Tracing its beginnings to 1858, and evolving from a limited manufacturer of mining and shipboard cargo equipment, Lake Shore Engineering Co., now named Lake Shore Inc., continues its proud tradition, and has emerged as a leading supplier of marine equipment and systems.
In 1988 The Oldenburg Group, a Milwaukee, Wis.-based diversified industrial manufacturing company, acquired Lake Shore and embarked on a major investment program to modernize and rebuild the company's facilities. A new 91,000-sq.-ft. facility was built in Rhinelander, Wis. and 25,000 sq. ft. of high bay assembly area was added to the Iron River, Mich, facility. Lake Shore is a major engineering and manufacturing company, serving a wide variety of domestic and international customers in the marine and land systems marketplace.
With 300-plus highly-skilled employees, Lake Shore has expertise in machining, fabrication, exotic welding, project management, systems engineering analysis, test and integration in mechanical, electrical, electromechanical and hydraulic disciplines. The company provides total customer support from design through installation, ILS and worldwide field service. Headquartered in Kingsford, Mich., Lake Shore maintains over 330,000-sq.-ft. of manufacturing, engineering, administrative and service operations in five states.
Innovative engineering and design capabilities, comprehensive program management, integrated logistics support skills, strict quality assurance, special testing and qualifications capabilities, and overall manufacturing flexibility have made Lake Shore worldwide in scope, supplying a broad base of domestic and foreign customers. Major product and system categories within the marine products group include: mooring winches, boat-handling equipment, underway replenishment systems, special cranes, anchor windlasses, fairleads, cargo/weapons elevators, capstans, electric motor brakes, and traction winches. Lake Shore is a leading supplier of marine deck equipment in the U.S. and is expanding in both commercial and international markets with its array of deck machinery, winching technology and specialized handling systems.
Lake Shore continues to be on the leading edge of technology. Lake Shore's automatic tension mooring winches in use on the Great Lakes and oceangoing containerships provide customers with cost-effective, state-ofthe- art technology. Lake Shore constantly strives to integrate new technology into its equipment. The company designed the first application of adjustable frequency AC drives for mooring winches for the Corps of Engineers. Lake Shore, in conjunction with Louis Allis, pioneered the use of VFDs for deck machinery tension control, resulting in less complex design, fewer moving parts and reduced mechanical maintenance requirements. Recently Lake Shore was awarded a contract by National Steel and Shipbuilding Co. (NASSCO) to supply seven cargo/weapons elevator systems for the AOE-IO fast combat support ship. Lake Shore was also awarded a contract by Avondale Industries to provide lift platforms, elevators, boat-handling equipment, capstans, warping capstans, in-haul capstans, 30-ton crane, anchor windlass, and a Type III gravity lowered strongback davit for the LSD (CV) 52 cargo variant dock landing ship. Lake Shore has been the sole supplier of deck machinery since the inception of the LSD 41 class program.
Lake Shore's long experience supplying such items as winches, windlasses, boat davits, capstans and other special purpose deck machinery has translated into the company's longevity and is evidence of Lake Shore's well-proven designs. In the marine market sector, some of Lake Shore's maritime customers include Avondale and NASSCO, Bath Iron Works, FEL, Ingalls Shipbuilding, Newport News Shipbuilding, Electric Boat, Penn Attransco, Peterson Builders, the U.S. Marines, the U.S. Navy and a number of international shipbuilders and owners.
Lake Shore continues to advance designs in marine and land system equipment as well as expand in both the commercial, military and international markets. This effort is carried on with total focus on satisfying the customer's requirements for the best product performance at the best price and schedule.
For more information on Lake Shore Inc., Circle 106 on Reader Service Card
