Date: To: From: Subject:
April 22, 2011 Esteemed GBA490 Students Your Benevolent Professors 4-Hour Case
As a new hire of Silver Ships, you have been asked to prepare an industry and company analysis for Mr. Mike McCarty, owner of Silver Ships. Your report should also provide specific recommendations with brilliant justifications based on your industry and competitive analysis.
Rev. Confirming Pages g
Silver Ships’ Strategy in the Military and Workboat Industry
CASE 14
David L. Turnipseed
University of South Alabama s Mike McCarty walked through the Silver Ships shipyard monitoring the production of several aluminum hull boats in various stages of production, he began to think “What now?” He had seen his shipyard grow from a boatbuilding operation in the garage of his home in 1985 to a large, state-of-the-art company manufacturing 26- to 60-foot aluminumhull boats in 2010. During its 25 years in business, McCarty’s company had sold more than 1,500 boats to the U.S. military, various federal agencies, law enforcement agencies, shipping companies, and others needing custom-designed small to medium-size vessels. Exhibit 1 presents a sample of typical military and workboats produced by Silver Ships. McCarty built his business by focusing on the highest possible quality and performance and taking care of his employees. His commitment to quality had allowed the company to increase revenues from $5.7 million in 2006 to nearly $11 million in 2009. In addition, the company had a strong balance sheet and had never been forced to lay off a single employee in its 25-year history. An income statement for 2006 through 2009 is presented in Exhibit 2. The company’s balance sheets for 2006 through 2009 are presented in Exhibit 3. As 2011 approached, McCarty was at an age where he could consider retirement and begin shopping the business to potential buyers or continue to drive Silver Ships’ growth through various expansion opportunities. The