BERKELEY COUNTY, S.C. — One year after launching production in Berkeley County, HII’s Newport News Shipbuilding Charleston Operations is being credited with strengthening U.S. Navy shipbuilding efforts while exceeding its early performance goals.
Berkeley County officials and company leaders gathered Thursday to celebrate the one-year production anniversary at the facility, located within the Bushy Park Industrial Complex in Goose Creek. The milestone marks a year of rapid growth since HII began local production in January 2025, following its acquisition of W International SC, LLC and Vivid Empire SC, LLC.
The 44-acre site serves as a metal fabrication hub specializing in shipbuilding structures, modules and assemblies. It plays a key role in supporting the U.S. Navy and is contributing to the construction of the next generation of aircraft carriers, including the Gerald R. Ford–class, the first new aircraft carrier design in decades.
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Berkeley County Supervisor Johnny Cribb praised both the company and the local workforce, calling the operation a major asset to national defense and the regional economy.
“We are proud to have an industry that supports the strategic objectives of the United States Military in Berkeley County,” Cribb said. He noted that Newport News Shipbuilding has spent 140 years building roughly 80 percent of the Navy’s ships and submarines, and said the Charleston operation surpassed all of its goals in its first year largely because of the region’s workforce.
HII formally marked the anniversary on Jan. 22 with a facility tour and a town hall for shipbuilders, attended by community and Navy leaders. Company officials said the South Carolina team delivered its first shipbuilding unit within 40 days of the acquisition closing and exceeded production targets throughout 2025.
“Today, we celebrate our teammates here in South Carolina for the incredible difference you are making and will continue to make,” said Newport News Shipbuilding President Kari Wilkinson. She emphasized that employees across South Carolina and Virginia are working together as part of one shipbuilding team.
Rear Adm. Jonathan Rucker, program executive officer for attack submarines, highlighted the facility’s role in expanding national shipbuilding capacity. He described the work as part of a broader effort known as “distributed shipbuilding,” which spreads production across multiple sites to meet rising demand for submarines and aircraft carriers.
“You are crucial as we continue to ramp up submarine and carrier shipbuilding,” Rucker told employees, thanking them for their daily contributions.
The Goose Creek operation sits along the Cooper River on more than 45 acres and includes over 480,000 square feet of covered manufacturing space. Its location offers rail, barge and truck access, room for expansion and proximity to South Carolina’s growing maritime workforce.
HII officials say the site is a cornerstone of the company’s distributed shipbuilding initiative, which includes partnerships with more than 20 shipyards and fabricators beyond its traditional labor markets, as well as international manufacturers. The effort is aimed at increasing production throughput and meeting the Navy’s long-term shipbuilding needs.
HII, headquartered in Virginia, is the nation’s largest military shipbuilder and employs about 44,000 people worldwide.
