“Something like 40% - 50% of all the petroleum products that come into Florida, be it gasoline, diesel, aviation fuel, jet fuel, come in through the port of Tampa and the barges and ships are discharged here into one of the many terminal facilities, and it becomes a natural point for them to be able to do their periodic maintenance, voyage repairs, that kind of thing,” said Richard McCreary, president and COO of Gulf Marine Repair.
A full service commercial and government large vessel repair facility, Gulf Marine Repair was founded in 1926 by captain F.M. Hendry. Now in its third generation of ownership by the Hendry family and almost 100 years of operation, GMR has evolved from a dredging company into large vessel repair, an essential service in a port city like Tampa.
Environmentally conscious, GMR is one of the few shipyards in the U.S. to achieve the Green Marine certification for cutting back on its production of toxic waste materials commonly used in the industrial sector. “Green marine has to do with reducing your waste stream,” McCreary said. “We are doing more in a variety of different ways in technologies to continue to get better with regard to reduction in VOCs (Volatile organic compounds) that are released in the air, reduction sand blasting materials used and reduction overall in our waste stream.”
The most daunting problem that GMR faces is not the environment, but the decline of skilled workers. According to McCreary, “most industrial firms, the average age is right about 50.” To combat this problem, GMR has created a training facility where “we are hiring literally entirely unskilled workers,” McCreary said. Working as laborers and helpers in the shipyard, these Gen Y and Gen Z workers will be trained as welders and ship fitters for 4 hours every week, with 2 of those hours paid. Trainees are encouraged to succeed, as each incremental improvement in skill level comes a bump in pay. “If you come to work for the shipyard, it’s hard work, but if you apply yourself, within five years as you have increased your skill level and you’ve increased your pay, you can be making easily $70,000 or $80,000 a year with no school debt and have a nice lifestyle,” McCreary said.
Besides salary, there are many other benefits to becoming skilled in ship repair. “It’s a portable skill,” McCreary said, “if you become a Class A or a Master Class Welder or Ship Fitter, you have a trade that you can have for the rest of your life and you will be in demand.” As the average age of Welders across the U.S. today is over 50, “the demand for that skill level is going up, not down,” providing job security and “almost a guarantee of jobs throughout the individual’s career,” McCreary said.
Members of the chamber since 2016, Gulf Marine Repair has been active in the Workforce Development and Women of Influence Committee events and more. “As an active member of the Workforce Committee we have the opportunity to share best practices and problem solve with other industry leaders to continue making Tampa Bay a great city to live and work,” McCreary said. “We’re also proud to have associates at Gulf Marine Repair that graduated from the Leadership Tampa program and currently participate as Leadership Tampa Alumni members.”