Careers at Huntington Ingalls Industries
Mission
Huntington Ingalls is engaged primarily in the manufacture of nuclear and non-nuclear ships, with a view to providing the US Military with state-of-the-art, ships and related services.
Business segments
Huntington Ingalls operates its core shipbuilding business through its Huntington Ingalls Incorporated subsidiary, which is organised into two reportable business segments:
- Ingalls Shipbuilding, which includes the Company’s non-nuclear ship design, construction, repair, and maintenance businesses; and
- Newport News Shipbuilding, which includes all of the Company’s nuclear ship design, construction, overhaul, refueling, and repair and maintenance businesses.
History
Huntington Ingalls was established in 2008 by way of a merger between the two Northrop Grumman shipbuilding units: Northrop Grumman Ship Systems and Northrop Grumman Newport News.
The Company operated initially under the name Northrop Grumman Shipbuilding, but was renamed Huntington Ingalls in 2011 as part of its spin-off from Northrop Ingalls. Under the terms of the spin-off Northrop Grumman stockholders received one share of Huntington Ingalls common stock for every six shares of Northrop Grumman common stock held.
Huntington Ingalls is the leading manufacturer of military ships in the US, serving as a key contractor to various US Government bodies, notably the US Navy and US Coast Guard. The Company is the sole designer, builder, and refueler of nuclear-powered aircraft carriers in the US. It also provides a range of commercial services to companies in the energy and oil and gas industries. The Company currently employs a workforce of more than 35,000, both in the US and overseas.
Huntington Ingalls is ranked 378th on the Fortune 500 list and 1,524th on the Forbes Global 200 list. The Company trades a portion of its shares on the New York Stock Exchange and has a current market capitalisation of $8.09 billion.
Business model of Huntington Ingalls Industries
Customer Segments
Huntington Ingalls designs and manufactures nuclear and non-nuclear ships, primarily for military purposes. The Company conducts the majority of its business with the US Government, principally the Department of Defense, participating in a number of high-priority US defense technology programs as prime contractor, principal subcontractor, team member, or partner. In 2015, 2014, and 2013, approximately 89%, 88%, and 94%, respectively, of the Company’s revenue was generated from the US Navy, and approximately 7%, 8%, and 6%, respectively, were generated from the US Coast Guard.
Huntington Ingalls also derives a smaller portion of its revenue from contracts with commercial customers. This customer segment principally comprises companies operating in the energy and oil and gas industries, to which it provides a range of services and products, including heavy manufacturing equipment for commercial nuclear power facilities and the operation, management, and cleanup of environmental hazard sites.
Value Propositions
Huntington Ingalls provides value to its customers in the following ways:
- Its industry standing and reputation, with the Company established as the leading military shipbuilding company in the US, with its name associated with quality and reliability as a preferred contractor for the US military, notably the US Navy and US Coast Guard;
- Its intellectual properties, with the Company owning and implementing a number of proprietary technologies that are utilised in the Company’s ships, ensuring that its provides products and services that cannot be obtained from other providers;
- Its state-of-the-art shipbuilding facilities, with the Company operating several cutting edge naval shipyards across the US, with the capability of developing and building a number of different classes of ships for military and non-military uses; and
- Its industry expertise and experience, with the Company employing highly-trained, specialist shipbuilding design and manufacturing personnel across its two operating segments, as well as a team of experienced industry executives.
Channels
Huntington Ingalls operates a website at www.huntingtoningalls.com, through which it provides information on its operations, and recent activities. The complex nature of the Company’s operations does not allow for it to operate an online sales channel or customer portal.
Huntington Ingalls serves its customers through dedicated, design, sales and service teams. This includes specialist design teams, with the Company operating as a design agent for and one of only two companies that constructs the DDG-51 Arleigh Burke-class guided missile destroyers. Huntington Ingalls operates several shipbuilding sites across the US, including a key facility in Pascagoula, Mississippi. These sites offer various manufacturing capabilities to customers, with its key Mississippi site including a 660-ton gantry crane and a Land Based Test Facility.
The Company additionally provides fleet support and life cycle services, including depot maintenance, modernisation, repairs, logistics and technical support, and planning yard services for naval and commercial vessels through its AMSEC and CMSD subsidiaries. These services are provided primarily through the Company’s own ship repair facilities in Newport News, Virginia, and San Diego, California, which are near the US Navy's largest homeports of Norfolk, Virginia, and San Diego, respectively.
Customer Relationships
Huntington Ingalls does not provide any products or services to customers on a self-service basis. The Company, instead, works closely with its clients, notably branches of the US military, to develop, manufacture, and deliver complex shipbuilding projects. The complexity of these projects require, as well as the large sums of money involved, require that the Company consult extensively with clients in order to agree upon designs, budget, and deliverables.
As Huntington Ingalls principally serves the US Military, the Company has established a close and longstanding relationship with the US Government and several of its agencies, maintaining constant contact with federal and military officials with regard to its various projects. The Company also provides support to its commercial customers, who are also typically provided their own account management teams or executives. Customers are also able to make more general enquiries by contacting the Company’s sales and support personnel over the phone or via an online contact form.
Huntington Ingalls additionally operates a several social media accounts – including with Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, YouTube, and LinkedIn – through which it is able to interact directly with potential and existing customers.
Key Activities
Huntington Ingalls is engaged in the design, construction, overhaul, and repairs of ships, primarily for the US Navy and the US Coast Guard. The Company is also a designer, builder and refueler of nuclear powered aircraft carriers, a builder of amphibious assault and expeditionary warfare ships, and the only builder of National Security Cutters for the US Coast Guard.
The Company shipbuilding business is conducted via subsidiary company Huntington Ingalls Inc, which itself is aligned into two reportable business segments: Ingalls Shipbuilding, which includes the Company’s non-nuclear ship design, construction, repair and maintenance businesses; and Newport News Shipbuilding, which includes the Company’s nuclear ship design, construction, overhaul, refueling, and repair and maintenance businesses. The Company also provides other products and services, including production of heavy manufacturing equipment for commercial nuclear power facilities and the operation, management, and cleanup of environmental hazard sites.
Key Partners
Huntington Ingalls works closely with a range of companies and organisations in the manufacture of its ships and the provision of its services. Due to the Company’s close relationship with the US Government, its partners typically require stringent regulatory approvals. Huntington Ingalls’s partners can be categorised broadly as:
- Supplier and Procurement Partners, including suppliers of materials, equipment and tools that are used in the manufacture and servicing of the Company’s ships;
- Service and Vendor Partners, comprising providers or various services and technologies, as well as companies to which certain non-technical functions can be outsourced;
- Joint Venture Partners, comprising various manufacturing and technology companies with which the Company jointly provides products and services through mutually owned entities; and
- Strategic and Alliance Partners, comprising a range of companies from multiple sectors, with which the Company maintains close relationships and collaborates on joint projects.
Huntington Ingalls has launched a number of partnerships in recent years. This includes a partnership with Westinghouse to work on power plant projects in Georgia and South Carolina, and a tie-up with Old Dominion University to create engineering programs for its workers.
Key Resources
Huntington Ingalls’s key resources are its intellectual properties and technologies, its raw materials and supply chain, its shipbuilding and repair facilities, its partnerships, and its personnel.
Huntington Ingalls owns and licenses a large portfolio of proprietary intellectual property, including a number of patents. Searches of records published by the US Patent and Trademark Office identified a number of patents filed in the name of Huntington Ingalls, including applications entitled ‘Tuned rolling wave energy extractor’, ‘Tuned rolling wave energy extractor’ and ‘Portable lifting rig’.
Huntington Ingalls also owns a number of physical properties across the US that are key to its operations. This notably includes its various shipyards and repair facilities.
Cost Structure
Huntington Ingalls incurs costs in relation to the development of its technologies, the procurement of materials and supplies, the manufacture of its ships, the management of its partnerships, and the retention of its personnel.
In 2015 Huntington Ingalls recorded total cost of product sales and service revenues in the amount of $5.52 billion. The Company also accrued general and administrative costs totalling $669 million, which included the Company’s research and development costs.
Revenue Streams
Huntington Ingalls generates revenue through the manufacture and sales of ships. The majority of the Company’s revenue is derived from long-term US Government contracts for design, production, and support activities, in particular serving the US Navy and US Coast Guard. In addition to its core shipbuilding activities, Huntington Ingalls generates a small portion of its revenue through the provision of products and services to commercial clients, including the manufacture of industrial equipment and certain energy-related services.
In 2015 Huntington Ingalls generated total service and product revenue in the amount of $7.02 billion, up slightly on the $6.96 billion recorded by the Company in 2014. The Company’s Newport News Shipbuilding segment accounted for the majority of the Company’s revenue for the year, alone recording revenue of $4.70 billion.
Our team
info: Mike Petters (“Petters”) has served as President and Chief Executive Officer at Huntington Ingalls since 2011. He oversees the Company’s overall strategic direction. Petters is also a member of the Company’s Board of Directors. Petters first joined Newport News Shipbuilding in 1987, when it was still part of Northrop Grumman. He served initially in the company’s Los Angeles-Class Submarine Construction Division, but went on to hold positions throughout the organization of increasing responsibility, including spells as production supervisor for submarines, marketing manager for submarines and carriers, Vice President of Aircraft Carrier Programs, Vice President of Contracts and Pricing, and Vice President of Human Resources. He also served as President of Northrop Grumman Shipbuilding and President of Northrop Grumman’s Newport News unit.
info: Christopher Kastner has served as Executive Vice President of Business Management and Chief Financial Officer at Huntington Ingalls since 2016. He oversees the Company’s finance functions, including accounting, investor relations, and internal audit, and directs the Company’s growth strategy. Kastner has been with Huntington Ingalls since its inceptions, serving previously for a number of years at Northrup Grumman Shipbuilding. At Northrop Grumman Shipbuilding, her served in a number of roles, including spells as Vice President and Chief Financial Officer for the Huntington Ingalls Shipbuilding Division, Vice President of Business Management and Chief Financial Officer of Northrop Grumman Shipbuilding-Gulf Coast, and Vice President of Contracts and Risk Management for Northrop Grumman Ship Systems.
info: Matthew Mulherin (“Mulherin”) has served as Executive Vice President at Huntington Ingalls since 2016, and President of Newport News Shipbuilding since 2011. He previously served as Corporate Vice President from 2011. Mulherin is responsible for all of the Newport News Shipbuilding division’s engineering, operations and programs. Mulherin began his career at Newport News in 1981 as a nuclear test engineer. He went on to hold various early positions, such as nuclear project manager for Los Angeles-class submarines, Director of Facilities, Director of Nuclear Engineering and Refueling, and Director of Carrier Refueling and Overhaul Construction. Mulherin has since held a number of senior leadership positions, including spells as Sector Vice President of Programs for Newport News Sector at Northrop Grumman, General Manager of Newport News Operations at Huntington Ingalls, Sector Vice President at Huntington Ingalls, and General Manager of Newport News Operations at Huntington Ingalls.