Ingalls composite center closing

Huntington Ingalls Industries announced Wednesday the closure of its Composite Center of Excellence in Gulfport, Miss. HII President and CEO Mike Petters said it was a difficult but necessary decision due to the Navy's decision to use steel rather than composite structures for the reduced number of Zumwalt-class ships. Earlier versions of the class of ships used composite deckhouses and other large composite structures. The facility will close by May 2014, after current work is finished. The facility has 427 workers, of which some will be transferred to other Huntington Ingalls operations. The company has a shipyard in Pascagoula, Miss. The company’s shipyard in Avondale, La., is also on the chopping block. (Source: Huntington Ingalls, 09/04/13) Previous