Boat builder to open third manufacturing facility in Louisiana
Metal Shark has announced plans to open a third manufacturing facility in Iberia Parish, Louisiana. The company, which specializes in the design and construction of welded aluminum vessels, will open a new 40,000-square-foot manufacturing facility to meet increasing customer demand. This new plant will allow Metal Shark to increase production capacity, bringing its total manufacturing space to 200,000 square feet across 35 acres. The company has already begun aggressively recruiting to expand its Louisiana workforce pipeline.
In a recent quote, Metal Shark CEO Chris Allard said, “As a diversified builder, at any given time we’re producing boats for customers across a range of markets including US and foreign military forces, state and local law enforcement agencies and fire departments, and numerous commercial markets including pilot groups, passenger vessel operators, and the offshore wind industry. Our new Avery Island facility will reduce lead times for vessels that lie outside our mainstream production mix, with an experienced crew of boat building professionals specializing in custom rigging and production efficiency.”
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About the Author
Alexis GajewskiAlexis Gajewski
Senior Content Strategist
Alexis Gajewski is a manufacturing writer and editor with nearly 20 years of experience covering the people, practices, and technologies that keep industrial facilities running. For more than a decade, she served as Senior Content Strategist for Plant Services, creating content for plant managers, engineers, and maintenance professionals on a variety of industrial topics.
During her tenure, Alexis worked to develop the brand’s digital strategy and helped launch and produce Great Question: A Manufacturing Podcast. She also created The Lighter Side of Manufacturing, a weekly blog that explored the inventive and sometimes humorous side of the industry.
Alexis co-founded Influential Women in Manufacturing, a recognition program that honored 49 women in its first two years, earned an industry award for Best Product Launch, and received a proclamation from Illinois Governor JB Pritzker and a commendation from U.S. Senator Tammy Duckworth.
She also led newsroom operations and development at a large media company where she set editorial standards, developed training curriculum, and helped support AI adoption for more than 150 editors across 80+ brands spanning manufacturing, industrial processing, automation, and more.
Additionally, Alexis works as a freelance writer and editor, and her areas of interest include continuous improvement, the skilled workforce, and the role of emerging technology on the plant floor.
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