Fincantieri Receives U.S. Navy and MARAD Funding for Its Wisconsin Shipyards

Fincantieri Marine Group, the U.S. division of Fincantieri, confirmed it is moving forward with new funding from the U.S. Department of the Navy and the Maritime Administration (MARAD) to modernize its shipyards in Wisconsin. According to Maritime Executive, the figure stands at $10 million, while Baird Maritime puts it at approximately $9.6 million, with both outlets noting the funds are directed toward advanced manufacturing and workforce investment.

The package consists of approximately $8.3 million from the Navy's Shipbuilding Capability Industrial Base (SCIB) program and a MARAD Small Shipyard Grant that Maritime Executive estimates at $1.3 million and Baird Maritime specifies as $1,273,202. Baird Maritime further detailed that Bay Shipbuilding, in Sturgeon Bay, will use the MARAD contribution to acquire a CNC profile cutter and a 100-ton rough-terrain crane, as part of a total distribution of $35.18 million among 45 shipyards across 24 states and one U.S. territory.

Fincantieri emphasized that this investment adds to a commitment of more than $800 million poured into its U.S. shipyards —three plants in Wisconsin and a repair and sustainment facility in Jacksonville, Florida— since it established its presence in the country two decades ago. George Moutafis, CEO of Fincantieri Marine Group, stated that the investment demonstrates the Navy's confidence in the company and complements efforts to incorporate advanced manufacturing technologies that will allow vessels to be delivered more quickly.

The new funding will add cutting, forming, welding, and automation capabilities to improve production efficiency and strengthen execution of the Landing Ship Medium (LSM) program and other current and future naval requirements. The agreement with the Navy also allows Fincantieri to continue through 2027 with its Dependent Care Contribution Program, which provides employees with an annual tax-free payment of $5,000 to cover childcare or elder care expenses. Previous SCIB program funds already financed a new welding laboratory at Fincantieri Marinette Marine, aimed at expanding in-house welder training and recertification.

Days after the announcement, Fincantieri hosted at its Marinette and Sturgeon Bay shipyards the acting Secretary of the Navy, Hung Cao, accompanied by the Director of the Office of Management and Budget (OMB), Russell Vought; the MARAD Administrator, Stephen Carmel; the OMB Associate Director for shipbuilding, Jerry Hendrix; and the General Manager of Fincantieri's naval vessels division, Eugenio Santagata. The delegation toured the automated panel line and viewed demonstrations of air-purifying respirators, collaborative robots, and augmented and virtual reality tools, while Fincantieri Marinette Marine expects to soon begin construction of several LSM vessels following negotiations with TOTE Services, the program's construction manager, which in April had already received $30 million from the Navy for long lead-time materials.