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The new corporate W&O headquarters will be at the Port Jax Trade Center minutes from JAXPORT, an international trade seaport in Northeast Florida. JAXPORT has multiple cargo terminals capable of handling container, automobile, bulk, break-bulk and refrigerated cargoes, including the recently announced Mitsui O.S.K. Lines, Ltd., as well as cruise passenger service. W&O will have quick access to the major transportation centers of Jacksonville, including JAXPORT, Jacksonville International Airport, Cecil Commerce Center and the major transportation arteries of the region. While the new headquarters, due to be completed in May 2009 as a two-story building to include office and warehouse facilities, 82,000 sq. ft. housing more than 70 employees, is a central symbol to the company's expansion, it has been investing, and continues to invest, in its offices, people and products -- across the country and across the world -- to continue building for the future. In Houston, for example, W&O has invested heavily, growing from a 20,000 sq. ft. to a 100,000 sq. ft. facility, and focusing on its "Marine Offshore" business. "We're not getting too far from our (maritime) niche, however in Houston tant is W&O's investment in processes and people. Guidry admits that W&O, like many others in the marine business, have been hard-pressed to recruit the number of high quality people that is essential to its long-term growth. The company has hired about 50 new employees in the past year, some as new positions, others to fill existing holes, but Guidry maintains that the way forward is to promote W&O dynamic business -- not as a pipe and valve supplier -- but focusing on the dynamic aspects of the marine industry, and the fact that W&O is quickly evolving as an engineered solution supplier of choice. This is embodied in its combination of its Engineered Products and Automation Group, a move designed to accelerate its mandate to provide system-approach solutions to its clients, an approach that is already applied and working seamlessly with its barge business clients, Guidry maintains. In addition, the company has reassessed the way it looks at business and services to its clients, and today looks at entire projects rather than simply servicing a customer for example. Any major newbuild or refit project will get the full force of a W&O project team, a team designed to deliver a turnkey solution. -- Greg Trauthwein
The W&O team at the groundbreaking.
we have invested in people and facilities to concentrate on the marine offshore business," said Guidry. While the Houston investment for offshore is obvious, the locale plays a central role in its cast steel valve operations. Traditionally, its cast steel valves came in through the Port of Long Beach, then were shipped to Jacksonville for processing, testing and distribution. Houston now will serve as this hub, saving shipping costs and time, which translates into increased savings for the customer. In addition to Houston, the company is expanding its facility in Mobile, and is in fact currently scouting for a prime spot in the Rotterdam Port area, a concerted effort to build its European busi-
ness -- in concert with its current location in Antwerp -- using it as a springboard globally. "Our parent company has looked at the business model that we have in the U.S., and they believe our success here can be replicated in Europe," Guidry said. Penetration overseas in Europe could be of potential big benefit to one of its key vessel segments, the cruise business. To date, the company has served mainly as an aftermarket supplier to the cruise industry, but in step with its emergence in Europe, Guidry is angling to get in on the design and new construction side of the business, further enhancing its after-market prospects. While investment in physical facilities is evident, less clear but equally impor-
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