In Theodore, in south Mobile County, on a road that leads to Bellingrath Gardens and then to Bayou La Batre, sits a legacy of Alabama manufacturing and boat building — the boatyards of Silver Ships Inc.
Celebrating its 35th year in business this year, this innovative maker of a broad range of aluminum workboats, is enjoying a company highpoint, with 100 vessels in production and in queue for production, in spite of the disastrous conditions of the U.S. economy.
Silver Ships, a leader in the industry, specializes in customized workboats in a variety of industry segments, including military, law enforcement, fire and rescue, patrol, survey and towing. These workboats have been delivered to nearly every state in the U.S. and also many other countries.
Agility in introducing the latest technology is one of the company’s strengths, as demonstrated when it was the first North American workboat producer to build aluminum rigid inflatable boats.
The company was founded by Mike McCarty in 1985, and it moved to its 95,000 square feet of production facilities in Theodore in 1996.
Silver Ships has built approximately 1,050 boats since 2001, and hundreds of other vessels between 1985 and 2001.
“Silver Ships was founded on the premise of providing the highest quality and most reliable workboats on the market,” says McCarty, founder and co-owner of Silver Ships. “We pride ourselves on precision, detail, fairness and customer service, and will continue to innovate and grow with these principles at the core of our operation.”
Among the newest technologies that Silver Ships is currently working on with various partners are autonomous controls, diesel outboards and smart bilge systems.
For more information on Silver Ships, visit their website at silverships.com.
