Fincantieri Bay Shipbuilding Breaks Ground on New Facility

Great Lakes shipbuilding and repair yard Fincantieri Bay Shipbuilding broke ground on a new 19,000 sq. ft. machine shop at its Sturgeon Bay, Wis. location on Friday.

Inside the future 300-ft. long building, shipbuilders will have access to two overhead cranes capable of lifting 5 and 30 tons, respectively. At the other end of the building there will be offices, restrooms, a lunchroom and a tool room. The facility will primarily support Bay’s repair business.

Planning started nine months ago for the new building, which long-time construction partner A.C.E. Building Services is expected to complete later next year. Manitowoc, Wis.-based A.C.E. is no stranger to the shipyard having built or renovated numerous buildings at the 63-acre shipyard over the previous 50 years.

“We are modernizing our infrastructure and replacing some very old buildings,” said Craig Perciavalle, Vice President & General Manager of FBS. “We are fortunate to have a great partner in A.C.E. [Building Services] to help us grow, but also to do so in a way that complements our surrounding community.”

“Not only will our Bay Shipbuilding team have an improved place to work year-round, but we believe that the use of this facility will reduce dust and noise impacts for those who live nearby the shipyard, as work that was previously completed outside will be moved inside the new building.”  

Perciavalle added that this project is the final piece to $70 million of investment since 2020, which will “allow FBS to better support the critical repair service we provide the Great Lakes fleet, keep expanding our commercial new construction business, and to a lesser extent, grow the government side of our business.”

Historically FBS has supported sister-shipyard Fincantieri Marinette Marine as they build warships for the Navy, but commercial repair and new construction remains Bay Shipbuilding’s top priority.  

(Image: Fincantieri Bay Shipbuilding)