For years, talk about American shipbuilding has sounded a lot like Lake Superior in November: gray, choppy, and mostly focused on what other countries do better.
The White House has made countering China's dominance in global shipbuilding a priority, and the Trump administration has pushed to revitalize the industry at home.
Now one of the oldest shipyards on the Great Lakes is about to play a much bigger role in that effort, and it sits in the Twin Ports, just across the bridge from Duluth in Superior, Wisconsin.
Fraser Shipyards Agrees to a New Owner
On Wednesday, October 21, leaders gathered at the shipyard to announce that Wildcat Defense has signed an exclusive agreement to buy Fraser Industries.
That's the parent company of Fraser Shipyards, Lake Assault Boats, Northern Engineering, and Fraser Terminal. Wildcat Defense is part of Wildcat Equity Partners, a Miami-based family investment firm led by Eric Nicolaides.
Wildcat plans to invest a whopping $350 million over the next five years, with a goal of tripling production. The purchase price itself was not disclosed.
Bigger Buildings for Bigger Boats
The expansion plans include a new 100,000-square-foot facility for small and medium vessels, plus a large-boat facility capable of building lakers up to 1,000 feet long.
That's the size of the giant freighters that slide under the Aerial Lift Bridge. Fraser already maintains the largest ship on the Great Lakes, the 1,013.5-foot Paul R. Tregurtha.
The company's work goes well beyond laker freighters. Fraser and its subsidiaries build police and fire boats, along with Navy patrol boats designed to protect ships and personnel from waterborne threats.
Good News for Superior Workers
Whenever an outside investment firm buys a hometown company, workers naturally wonder what comes next. Nicolaides addressed that directly: "There's no plan at all to cut jobs, and in fact quite the opposite." Wildcat hopes to grow the shipyard's year-round workforce of roughly 200 employees and plans to add on-site daycare.
Fraser CEO Patrick Kelly and his leadership team are staying on. Speaking to employees at the announcement, Kelly said the deal means "a more secure job, a bigger job, and opportunities" under new ownership.
The Deal Is Not Final Yet
The companies expect the sale to close in about three months. In the meantime, Fraser says it will keep working with Fincantieri and Donjon shipyards as they compete to build the Coast Guard's seven light icebreakers.
This is also the second major partnership for Fraser this year. In July, the company signed an agreement with HD Hyundai that named the Superior yard a demonstration site for modernizing U.S. shipyards.
The city of Superior has been working with Fraser on expansion options, too, including public financing and lobbying for federal contracts.
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A Big Chapter for a Historic Waterfront
Fraser has been part of the Lake Superior waterfront for more than 130 years, keeping alive the boats that carry iron ore from Minnesota to steel mills across the Great Lakes.
If Wildcat's plans come together, the next chapter could mean more jobs, more boats, and a brighter national spotlight on the Twin Ports. It's a good reminder that the future of an entire American industry can be built right down the road from us.
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Gallery Credit: Lauren Wells
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