Acadiana's Metal Shark is one of the nation’s most prolific and diversified boat and ship builders, producing over 200 vessels a year for operators in a wide range of markets around the world. The company’s customers include the United States Navy, Marine Corps, Coast Guard and Air Force, the militaries of over 30 U.S. allies, and multiple law enforcement agencies, fire departments, passenger vessel operators, pilot associations, and even the occasional civilian client.
Initially, the dream started with rather simple and somewhat humble beginnings: the desire to develop reliable, top-quality crafts for south Louisiana anglers.
The Metal Shark story began in 1986, when master welder/boat builder Jimmy Gravois and his wife Donna founded Gravois Aluminum Boats, LLC, in Jeanerette and began building custom aluminum fishing boats for Gulf Coast anglers.
One boat at a time, the Gravois family began to cement a reputation for the quality of their work, and now, decades later, those original Gravois hulls are still sought-after by enthusiasts.
Phase one was just about fishing boats, if you’ll recall … nothing more. Fishing is something many people in the area enjoy, but Metal Shark was limited to fishing boats nonetheless.
Following 9/11, Gravois began to shift its focus toward the production of custom boats for the federal government. To reflect the aggressive nature of its product line, in 2003 the Metal Shark brand name was launched. The Gravois family partnered with naval architect Chris Allard, who today serves as Metal Shark’s CEO.
From that point forward, the Metal Shark tale is one of rapid growth, fueled by continual reinvestment in its people, facilities and technology, and characterized by its expansion into new markets.
“When I joined Metal Shark eight years ago, our business was almost exclusively U.S.-government focused,” says Josh Stickles, Metal Shark’s executive vice president.
“At that time we were producing around 100 boats per year. And while our annual volume has roughly doubled since then, our average boat built today has grown significantly in terms of size and capability,” he said. “Our boats are larger, faster and more specialized. Today we build them not just for our U.S. military customers, but for a diverse range of clients all over the world.”
“The original Gravois Aluminum Boats shop on Admiral Doyle Drive in Jeanerette has evolved from a small family shop building one boat at a time, to a 15-acre campus dedicated to the rapid, high-quality, serialized production of trailer-able vessels,” recalls Stickles.
That, believes this author, is an understatement – an assessment validated by the next paragraph.
“In Jeanerette, we’ve got a dedicated assembly line producing the Navy’s next-generation ‘40 PB’ patrol boat. We’re building a fleet of 52-foot, 80 miles per hour ‘Super Interceptors’ for a foreign military. And at any given time, we’re building multiple 21 to 38-foot law enforcement patrol boats and fireboats for various agencies as well,” said Stickles.
When it comes to both product diversification and operational logistics, the company isn’t inclined to simply rest on its laurels. Metal Shark’s expansion hasn’t just been limited to Jeanerette.
In 2014, the company purchased a 25-acre tract on the Charenton Canal in Franklin, allowing the company to build those vessels which are too large to transport by land.
Late last year, Metal Shark’s Franklin shipyard delivered its largest vessel to date, a 158-foot high-speed catamaran explorer yacht with global range, which was the first product of the company’s new Metal Shark Yachts portfolio.
Since construction for the company’s transit service products commenced in Franklin back in 2017, Metal Shark also recently delivered its 22nd high-speed passenger ferry for New York City’s NYC Ferry Service.
Other work around the yard includes the recent delivery of two 50-foot fireboats to Miami-Dade Fire Rescue and a 70-foot fireboat for Port Canaveral, a 50-foot pilot boat in production for the Pascagoula Bar Pilots Association, and ongoing production of several 85-foot Near Coastal Patrol Vessels for the US Navy.
The pandemic atmosphere has permeated all industries and walks of life, in one form or another. And Metal Shark has faced its challenges as well, though not at the level experienced by so many others across the globe.
“Like any other industry, the shipbuilding business is not immune to market cycles, whether driven by various economic or geopolitical factors or COVID-19. But overall, we’ve been more fortunate than some others,” offers Stickles. “Metal Shark’s diversification into multiple markets at home and abroad has afforded us some stability by lessening our reliance on any one particular market, region or country.”
As 2021 reaches its mid-point, the company is ramping up work in what can only be described as the very latest cutting-edge technology. Metal Shark recently expanded into a new market that blurs the lines between boats and sci-fi weapons systems.
In 2018, the company launched its Sharktech Autonomous Vessels division, dedicated to unmanned vessel technology.
In January of this year, Sharktech was selected by the Marine Corps to develop its futuristic Long Range Unmanned Surface Vessel naval weapons system, which, according to a recent article in Forbes, utilizes a fleet of robot boats capable of operating autonomously and “launching drone swarms.” You heard me: drone swarms.
All in all, not bad for a company rooted in the construction of basic, reliable, tried-and-true fishing boats. Not bad for a company that began as a small shop nestled in the cane fields of Acadiana, building one boat at a time.
“The culture at Metal Shark is pretty special,” says Stickles. “Today, we’re an engineering-centric company steeped in South Louisiana boat-building tradition, dedicated to innovation and quality. From welding to wiring, the talent of our people is evident.”
Finally, suggests Stickles, there’s the matter of home, of south Louisiana culture, of a breathtaking environment and of some amazing people.
“Acadiana offers us a great climate for year-round boat building and testing, and clients from around the world love to visit because of the region’s beauty, hospitality, and of course, some of the best dining in the nation.”
In the case of Metal Shark, it’s safe to say that the phrase “sharks in the water” is most definitely a very good thing … as the “little ‘boat’ that could,” founded out of our own Jeanerette, now commands a preeminent and global presence.