Ship repair contractor expanding Norfolk presence

Advanced Integrated Technologies (AIT), a ship repair contractor for the Navy, Coast Guard, Military Sealift Command and U.S. marine, industrial and commercial industries, will invest $500,000 to expand its Norfolk operations and add 76 jobs, Gov. Glenn Youngkin announced Friday.

The Norfolk-based company will increase capacity at its location in Norfolk Industrial Park, off Ingleside Road, to fulfill contract awards it has received from the Pentagon. Virginia competed with California and Pennsylvania for the project.

“Advanced Integrated Technologies has been a valued member of the thriving maritime industry in Hampton Roads for over a decade, and the company’s continued investment and job creation in Norfolk is a powerful testament to the strength of the local workforce and the region as an international shipping hub,” Youngkin said in a statement.

AIT is a service disabled veteran-owned small business. The company’s website says it has more than 30,000 square feet of office and warehouse space, and it will double that with the expansion, AIT President Cheryl Spraberry told Virginia Business. A search of Pentagon contract awards shows AIT was among several contractors named as a recipient on two contracts awarded Sept. 30, 2022, totaling more than $477 million for for non-complex repair, maintenance and modernization for non-nuclear Navy amphibious ships and surface combatants homeported in or visiting Norfolk. The company is hiring for all shipyard positions, Spraberry said.

“I am so excited to announce that AIT will be expanding our Virginia footprint to re-stimulate the local workforce and talent pool while providing more capabilities to service our war fighting ships,” Spraberry said in a statement. “In 2022, we invested in equipment to launch our new fabrication and machining division and our in-house welding school to prepare and train our current employees, as well as our newest capability of starting an NDT (non-destructive testing) lab in 2023-2024. These new capabilities will allow AIT to continue to control its own destiny while creating jobs from local talent in our enterprise zone.” Spraberry was named last year to the state Board of Workforce Development.

The Virginia Economic Development Partnership worked with the City of Norfolk to secure the project for Virginia and will support AIT’s job creation through the Virginia Jobs Investment Program. The company is eligible to receive state benefits from the Virginia Enterprise Zone Program, administered by the Virginia Department of Housing and Community Development.