Herman Miller Company Analysis

With the U.S. military and other federal agencies being major customers of boatbuilding companies, the U.S. government provided a large portion of the demand in the military and workboat industry. The U.S. Navy, Coast Guard, and Army were all in need of new vessels and offered companies the opportunity to expand and grow. The government also helped the shipbuilding industry remain fairly steady during the devastating recession that hit the United States in 2007. Most large shipbuilders primarily produced ships for the military, so Silver Ships military and governmental contracts had remained fairly steady and allowed the company to continue production in the harsh economic times. The economic downturn also allowed the company to buy aluminum and other materials at a decreased price. Although the recession did not affect shipbuilding along the Gulf Coast as much as it did the general manufacturing sector, Silver Ships still faced some losses. The poor state of the economy created difficulties for many of Silver Ships’ private-sector workboat customers. There were not any social trends that had an impact on Silver Ships. Developments in computerized technology did start to impact the way the company ran business. The company relied on computer-aided-drafting to improve boat quality, design, and performance. The program allowed the design to be rotated on three axes and for customers to see how custom features would look. The company also purchased another computer program that increased the speed and accuracy of aluminum plate cutting. These two software programs gave Silver Ships an advantage over competitors. Two global shipbuilding companies, Austal USA and Northrop Grumman Shipbuilding, set the pay scale for maritime construction workers. Both companies offered starting wages of $16 per hour for untrained welders. Silver Ships was not particularly adamant about “being green”, however their facilities were environmentally friendly. All toxins and paint residues

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