Senator Jack Reed and Congressman David Cicilline were among the dignitaries invited to tour Blount Boats in Warren last Friday afternoon as part of the Rhode Island Small Business Administration’s recognition of women-owned businesses in Rhode Island.

The congressional delegates, along with local and regional representatives from the Small Business Association (SBA), the Rhode Island Manufacturers Association, and the Rhode Island Society of Certified Public Accountants, got to check out the large fabrication shop where Blount will soon undergo construction of four crew transport vessels for the offshore wind industry, as well as a nearly complete ice cutting vessel that was commissioned by the state of Maryland.

The visit was part of SBA’s celebration of Women’s History Month, which was referenced by Cicilline in a statement following the event.

“Rhode Island’s 30,000 women-owned and operated businesses, which represent 40.5 percent of our state’s businesses, are integral to our economy and a tremendous source of dynamism,” said Cicilline. “The past two years have been disproportionately difficult for women and minority owned businesses, and I’m thrilled to see Blount Boats, and its President and CFO, Marcia Blount, thriving. We need to continue supporting businesses like Blount Boats as we build a better America – these small businesses are what will power our recovery.”

Marcia Blount led the tour and spoke of Blount’s 73-year history of shipbuilding in Warren. They have been located at their current Water Street location since 2007.

“My father passed in 2006, but I do believe that we are continuing his legacy of ingenuity and quality in boats, and I’m doing it with an extraordinarily wonderful team,” she said.

Marcia’s father, Luther, began the company in 1949 during a post-World War II era where the country was yearning for boats used for purposes other than war, she said. The company initially specialized in smaller ferry vessels that transported people and freight, including vehicles, to and from Rhode Island. They have since fabricated all manner of steel and aluminum vessels up to 220 feet, including dinner cruise boats and, now, vessels for the offshore wind industry.

Positioning themselves to be valuable manufacturers for such forward-facing endeavors has been crucial to their continued success, Blount said. She briefly mentioned to the congregation of attendees a large building that could serve as a repair shop for all manner of offshore wind vessels, which will become more and more in-demand as that industry takes root across the Atlantic Seaboard and across the Atlantic Ocean.

“What we were watching for the last 11 years, we knew [offshore wind development] was going to happen in our own backyard. We understood what that meant for us, so we went after it...We knew we were perfectly situated,” she said. “A company has to reinvent itself every 10 years to survive. That’s what I’m trying to do.”

During the latter half of the tour, the group was brought to an ice breaking vessel built by Blount, the Eddie Somers, a $9.2 million project commissioned by the state of Maryland. According to Bob Pelletier, the project manager for the construction of the vessel, the boat utilizes two 750 horsepower Cummings engines and took 45 workers to complete.

“This little yard surprises everybody,” Pelletier said of Blount’s capabilities.

Reed emphasizes importance of manufacturing
Senator Reed mentioned that he had worked with Luther Blount during his time as a junior Congressman. He said it was no surprise that Blount has remained a manufacturing force in Rhode Island, or that their name recognition has traveled across the world — as most recently evidenced by the four crew transport vehicles that were commissioned by American Offshore Services to be used by Vineyard Wind, Ørsted, and Siemens for their ongoing offshore wind projects. Those boats are waiting on materials before production can begin, Blount said.

“[Blount vessels] are built with skilled craftsmen and women, some of them who have been here for 40 years,” Reed said. “So you have the combination of new ideas coming in from engineers, but craftsmen and women who have learned so much just doing it that it’s an asset that’s irreplaceable. It’s a great combination and that’s why it has a great reputation.”

Reed said that Blount serves as an example of the kinds of manufacturing jobs that are available to young Rhode Islanders.

“I think there’s much more appreciation of technical skills, and that a job like this can be more rewarding and fulfilling than other jobs,” he said. “What you have to do [to get more young talent in the field] is first make them aware as early as possible that this is a great profession, which can sustain a very good lifestyle and a family. And then we have to have the training facilities in high school and post high school where you can learn these skills.”

Reed said that building manufacturing capacity was more important than ever in an era where the global supply chain has been tested like never before.

“One of the aspects of the pandemic is we suddenly discovered, to our chagrin, how fragile supply chains are all across the world. And how the United States, we used to have everything and do everything, and now we don’t,” he said. “Gradually, and under the radar, it went away, because everyone was looking at efficiency and low costs and no inventories — everything is delivered upon need. And then we discovered you need to have a robust, residual capacity in moments of crisis, whether a health crisis or otherwise.”