COMPANY·HISTORIES
NAIC 336611

Ship Building and Repairing

How the companies in this industry began, and the forces that shaped them.

29companies1853–1999founding years29still active0no longer operating
§ 01

The industry over time

Companies foundedEconomyTechnologyEnvironmentHistory
FoundedKvaerner ASA
1853
FoundedChina Merchants International Holdings Co., Ltd.
1872
FoundedBénéteau SA
1884
FoundedNewport News Shipbuilding Inc.
1886
FoundedKawasaki Heavy Industries, Ltd.
1896
FoundedThe Manitowoc Company, Inc.
1902
1903
TechnologyThe Wright brothers achieve powered flight.
FoundedCrowley Maritime Corporation
1906
FoundedNKK Corporation
1912
1914
EconomyWorld War I begins; global trade reorders.
FoundedGeneral Dynamics Corporation
1925
1929
EconomyThe stock market crashes; the Great Depression spreads worldwide.
FoundedAvondale IndustriesFoundedIngalls Shipbuilding, Inc.
1938
1939
EconomyWorld War II begins; wartime production surges.
1945
EconomyThe war ends; a long global expansion begins.
FoundedBollinger Shipyards, Inc.
1946
FoundedTenneco Inc.
1947
TechnologyThe transistor is invented.
FoundedTidewater Inc.
1956
1958
TechnologyThe integrated circuit is demonstrated.
1962
EnvironmentSilent Spring launches the modern environmental movement.
FoundedMitsubishi Heavy Industries, Ltd.
1964
FoundedKoninklijke Nedlloyd N.V.
1970
1971
EconomyThe dollar leaves the gold standard; currencies float.
1973
EconomyThe OPEC oil embargo triggers a global shock.
1975
TechnologyThe personal-computer era begins.
1979
EconomyA second oil crisis drives inflation higher worldwide.
1981
TechnologyThe IBM PC launches and sets a standard.
1984
TechnologyApple ships the Macintosh; the GUI era begins.
FoundedCascade General, Inc.
1987
EconomyBlack Monday: markets fall sharply around the world.
1989
HistoryThe Berlin Wall falls; global markets open up.
1991
TechnologyThe World Wide Web is released to the public.
1993
TechnologyThe Mosaic browser brings the web to everyone.
1995
TechnologyWindows 95 launches; the internet goes mainstream.
1997
EconomyThe Asian financial crisis rattles global markets.
EnvironmentThe Kyoto Protocol sets the first climate targets.
FoundedConrad Industries, Inc.
1998
2000
EconomyThe dot-com bubble bursts.
2004
TechnologySocial media and Web 2.0 take hold.
2007
TechnologyThe iPhone launches the smartphone era.
2008
EconomyThe global financial crisis freezes credit worldwide.
2010
TechnologyCloud computing goes mainstream for business.
2015
EnvironmentThe Paris Agreement sets global climate targets.
2020
EconomyThe COVID-19 pandemic upends the global economy.
2022
EconomyInflation spikes; central banks raise rates sharply.
2023
TechnologyGenerative AI reaches mainstream business use.
§ 02

The companies

Avondale Industries, Inc. →
Active · United States
Avondale Industries, Inc., is a diversified company whose primary business is the construction, repair, conversion, and…
Kvaerner ASA →
Active · founded 1853 · England
Long known as the largest shipbuilder in Europe, Anglo-Norwegian Kvaerner ASA is redefining itself around three core…
China Merchants International Holdings Co., Ltd. →
Active · founded 1872 · Hong Kong
China Merchants International Holdings Co., Ltd.
Bath Iron Works →
Active · founded 1884
For more than a century, Bath Iron Works (BIW) has been building ships, chiefly for the U.S.
Bénéteau SA →
Active · founded 1884 · France
Bénéteau SA is the world's largest manufacturer of sailing yachts and pleasure craft, under the Bénéteau and Jeanneau…
Newport News Shipbuilding Inc. →
Active · founded 1886
Newport News Shipbuilding Inc.
Babcock International Group PLC →
Active · founded 1891 · United Kingdom
Babcock International Group PLC is one of the world's leading support services groups.
Kawasaki Heavy Industries, Ltd. →
Active · founded 1896 · Japan
Kawasaki Heavy Industries, Ltd.
The Manitowoc Company, Inc. →
Active · founded 1902
The Manitowoc Company, Inc.
Bethlehem Steel Corporation →
Active · founded 1904
Bethlehem Steel Corporation is the second largest steel producer in the United States, with control of supply sources,…
Crowley Maritime Corporation →
Active · founded 1906
Crowley Maritime Corporation is the largest operator of tugboats and barges in the world.
NKK Corporation →
Active · founded 1912 · Japan
NKK Corporation is one of the world's largest steelmakers and Japan's second largest.
Todd Shipyards Corporation →
Active · founded 1916
Once the largest independent ship building company in the United States, Todd Shipyards Corporation operates one…
General Dynamics Corporation →
Active · founded 1925
General Dynamics' contribution to the defense industry, through the production of nuclear submarines and armored…
Trinity Industries, Incorporated →
Active · founded 1933
Trinity Industries, Incorporated, is a diversified manufacturer of heavy metal products.
Avondale Industries →
Active · founded 1938
The primary business of Avondale Industries is the construction, repair, conversion, and 'jumboization' of ships,…
Ingalls Shipbuilding, Inc. →
Active · founded 1938
Ingalls Shipbuilding, a division of Litton Industries, is a leading supplier and servicer of marine vessels to the…
Northrop Grumman Corporation →
Active · founded 1939
Northrop Grumman Corporation is the number three defense firm in the United States, behind The Boeing Company and…
Bollinger Shipyards, Inc. →
Active · founded 1946
Based in the small town of Lockport, Louisiana, Bollinger Shipyards, Inc.
Tenneco Inc. →
Active · founded 1947
Tenneco Inc.
Litton Industries, Inc. →
Active · founded 1953
The U.S.
Tidewater Inc. →
Active · founded 1956
Tidewater Inc.
Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, Ltd. →
Active · founded 1964 · Japan
Since the 1880s the diversified collection of industrial manufacturers now known as Mitsubishi Heavy Industries (MHI)…
IHC Caland N.V. →
Active · founded 1965 · Netherlands
2004: IHC announces its decision to sell the shipbuilding busi-ness instead of spinning it off as a separate company.
Koninklijke Nedlloyd N.V. →
Active · founded 1970 · Netherlands
Koninklijke Nedlloyd N.V.
Cascade General, Inc. →
Active · founded 1987
Cascade General, Inc.
International Shipbreaking Ltd. L.L.C. →
Active · founded 1995
International Shipbreaking Ltd.
Conrad Industries, Inc. →
Active · founded 1998
Conrad Industries, Inc.
Thyssen Krupp AG →
Active · founded 1999 · Germany
Thyssen Krupp AG was created in March 1999 from the merger of two of Germany's oldest industrial giants, Thyssen AG and…
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