34 FOGHORN Brian picked up a contract that another operator let go of at a local Florida shipyard. He was able to get the boat out and make a success of it but had faced challenges getting it done in a timely manner and in the way he wanted. When he had financing for more longliners, he decided to build them himself and leased an acre of land in Panama City, Fla., founding Eastern Shipbuilding Group in 1976. What started with a single wooden boat has grown into a company with three shipyards in Florida which have built over 350 vessels ranging from commercial fishing vessels where the business got its start to tugs, U.S. Coast Guard cutters, offshore supply vessels, fireboats, Ro-Ro passenger ferries, and high-speed passenger vessels, to name only a few. Today, six of Brian’s ten children are part of the com- pany and his son, Joey, is chairman and CEO of Eastern Shipbuilding Group (ESG). Brian built the company on solid values and demanding standards, and while many aspects of the company have grown and changed over the 50 years since he started it, the commitment to delivering quality work and taking care of employees and community remain core to ESG. Joey explained that the myriad vessel types ESG is known for grew in part from the need to retain their workforce. Servicing a wider range of maritime sectors makes it easier for the company to ride the ups and downs that can be a part of the shipbuilding industry. To ESG, employees are family and a steady flow of work thanks to the diversity of the company portfolio has kept jobs in place, allowing ESG to grow in a sustainable fashion. The shipyard entered the passenger vessel sector in the early 1980s, working on several conversions for Cross Sound Fer- ry. Most recently, ESG delivered a ferry for a community as- sociation on Fisher Island in Florida and has built vessels for Bridgeport & Port Jefferson Steamboat Company, Staten Island Ferry, and Washington State Ferries, among others. Contributing to this industry and having the opportunity to build vessels—some which he called game-changing fer- ries—is a point of pride for Joey. Getting to know passenger vessel owners and operators over the years, he describes them as the most salt of the earth people who care deeply about what they do. “They’re carrying people for a living and it’s the most precious cargo that any vessel can carry.” People are at the very core of ESG’s company ethos. “We mean what we say, and when we make promises to our cus- tomers, we keep them,” Joey said. “The only way you can do that is by doing everything you can to make promises to your employees and their families and being honest with those folks and trying to keep those promises.” The company has invested heavily in its employees from extensive recruitment efforts to helping existing team members grow their careers within the company. They have partnered with Gulf County to create the Maritime Acade- FOGHORN FOCUS Eastern Shipbuilding Group has built vessels for Staten Island Ferry and Bridgeport and Port Jefferson Steamboat Company.
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