Bollinger names new COO, president

Lockport-based Bollinger Shipyards, among the leaders in national shipbuilding, has appointed a new president and chief operating officer, the company announced last week.

Chris Bollinger, formerly the executive vice president of new construction, is now the company’s president. Ben Bordelon, most recently the executive vice president of repair operations, has been named COO.

“As an on-going part of my personal transition plan and long-term growth strategy for Bollinger Shipyards, I am pleased to announce the appointment of Chris Bollinger as our company’s new President,” Donald “Boysie” Bollinger, the company’s chairman and CEO, said in a printed statement.

Chris Bollinger, Boysie’s son, joined the company in 1993. He will retain his seat on the company’s board of directors.

“I am pleased to take on my new role as President of Bollinger Shipyards, carrying on the traditions and culture set forth by my father and grandfather,” Chris said. “I am proud to continue working with the most dedicated and talented group of shipbuilders in furthering Bollinger’s leadership in the marketplace.”

As the head of new construction, which employs roughly 1,200 workers, Chris has overseen the company’s now-$880 million contract with the U.S. Coast Guard to build the “Sentinel Class” of fast-response cutters. The company delivered on Aug. 30 the “Charles David Jr.,” the seventh vessel in the class.

As of now, the contract is for 18 Sentinel cutters. The Coast Guard should decide whether to option six more Sentinel builds to Bollinger this year. Over 30 years, Bollinger has delivered 131 vessels to the military branch.

The local company is one of eight contractors in the running for three 18-month preliminary design contracts for the Coast Guard’s offshore patrol cutter, the next-generation vessel.

Bollinger also specializes in tugboats, barges and offshore supply vessels for private industry and expects to deliver three sludge carriers to the City of New York by the end of the year.

Bordelon has been employed with the company since 1999 and currently heads repair operations. He will continue management of that division and absorb the responsibility for new construction while transitioning into COO, the company said.

“Ben is a strong leader and has over 14 years of experience in the shipyard industry,” Boysie Bollinger said. “His operational expertise and complete understanding of all aspects of the ship construction and ship repair business is superb.”

Bordelon is Boysie’s nephew and the grandson of the company’s founder, Donald G. Bollinger.

“Today marks the beginning of the third generation of the Bollinger Family to assume the leadership of the company,” Bordelon said. “I am excited to follow in (my grandfather’s) and my uncle’s footsteps to continue to expand our business by responding to our customers’ needs, working efficiently and safely, and delivering the highest quality product with our great workforce.”

Founded in 1946, Bollinger has grown to become one of the nation’s largest shipbuilders, particularly over the past 40 years. The company garnered its first Coast Guard contract in the ‘80s, and its cache has grown since then.

Executives flirted with going public in the late ‘90s but opted to remain private; the company remains family owned. In 2000, with second-generation and current chief executive officer Donald “Boysie” Bollinger at the helm, Bollinger made an $80 million acquisition of five repair yards from Friede Goldman Halter.

Headquartered along La. Highway 308, also one of two new construction sites, Bollinger has nine shipyards in south Louisiana and one in Texas. Supplementing its new construction prowess are 28 dry-dock stations and the company’s claim as the largest vessel repair company in the Gulf of Mexico region.

“This is an exciting time for Bollinger Shipyards, and I could not be more pleased with our leadership as we face the challenges ahead,” Boysie Bollinger said.

Bollinger