With in-house naval architecture and engineering capabilities and a cross-trained workforce, Gladding-Hearn Shipbuilding, Duclos Corporation, is well-known for applying some of the most advanced shipbuilding techniques that rival many bigger yards, while still providing the personal customer service of a smaller yard. The operation includes in-house advanced inventory control, cost controls and accounting systems, along with advanced manufacturing and designed processes, such as in-house plasma cutting and 3-D modeling. These capabilities allow the yard to properly think through and plan for complex one-off projects long before they reach the shop floor, while still meeting customer expectations. This unique combination of ingenuity and technology is evidenced by Gladding-Hearn’s use of Zone Outfit Logic Technology (ZOLT), which enables teams of ship-fitters, welders and outfitters to build and complete modules of vessels from the inside out, thus increasing efficiency and yielding better control over production and costs.
Advancing shipbuilding techniques doesn’t end when your boat is launched, however. Every Gladding-Hearn vessel is backed 100 percent and performance is guaranteed, a reflection of the philosophy that nothing leaves this yard unless it’s right.
“They were always available to us, family-oriented. Their personal service provided us all the information. After dealing with these people, we’ll never build a boat with anybody else.”
—Tim McGill, Vice President
St John’s Bar Pilots