HII closes on South Carolina plant acquisition

Newport News-based Huntington Ingalls Industries announced Monday it has closed on its purchase of a metal fabrication manufacturing facility in South Carolina, which will now be part of its subsidiary Newport News Shipbuilding.

The company did not disclose financial terms. In December 2024, HII said it had entered into a definitive agreement to acquire substantially all of the assets of W International SC and Vivid Empire SC. Collectively known as W International, the Goose Creek, South Carolina-based complex metal fabricator specializes in manufacturing shipbuilding structures, modules and assemblies.

“HII is committed to going where the labor is to increase shipbuilding capacity and increase throughput for our national security customers,” HII President and CEO Chris Kastner said in a statement. “This lets us efficiently add trained talent and state-of-the-art manufacturing capabilities to the urgent job of building ships, making it a unique opportunity to immediately accelerate throughput at Newport News Shipbuilding in support of the Navy and AUKUS.”

AUKUS is a 2021 agreement between Australia, the United Kingdom and the United States, in which the U.S. and the U.K. share nuclear propulsion technology with Australia, as its Navy is set to acquire at least eight nuclear-powered submarines, including three to five Virginia-class submarines produced by NNS.

The acquired assets include advanced production facilities with state-of-the-art equipment, tooling and infrastructure used to fabricate complex metal modules and structures, and are located on a leased 45-acre site with more than 480,000 square feet of manufacturing space. The site has barge and rail access, and is located near Charleston, South Carolina.

The facility in Goose Creek is now known as Newport News Shipbuilding – Charleston Operations. HII employs 44,000 people and is the nation’s largest military shipbuilder.