![]() ![]() “With people demanding greater accuracy, we’re mounting a survey-grade GPS on the end of its crane boom. “We drive it out, push a button, and it stays in place while we deploy our reefs, ” Walter continues. Dynamic positioning, a sophisticated computer system designed to control the engines, is key. So he added a second boat to his transport collection - a 180-foot oilfield supply boat, refurbished not only to tow but also to position the reefs precisely. They were beyond the capacity of his 114-foot converted Coast Guard buoy tender. Walter needed a barge and light winds to move Super Reefs. Getting the reefs into the water is a job in itself. Schools of small fish attract and feed the reef’s larger residents. ![]() Walter recommends its less conspicuous four-ton, $2, 000 sibling for private reefs. They build patented steel molds, pour concrete and, following a patent-protected process, embed limestone rocks throughout reef surfaces - by hand.įor those 18-ton Super Reefs, cranes position sets of three completed panels to “pour the corners.” Research identified the resultant hollow pyramid as optimal for natural reef development and underwater stability against shifting sea bottoms and hurricane-induced turbulence. We have a couple hundred of those that we’ve got to build and put out.” “Those big reefs that you see out there weigh 18 tons apiece. “We had reached capacity, then gone beyond it, ” says Walter, who oversees operations from a small, utilitarian office cooled by a droning window unit. After years of getting by with eight employees, he now has 10. Demand is expanding, as is the company’s product line and its workforce. It breached $1 million in annual sales in 2013, then topped $4 million last year.Īsking owner David Walter about his current sales trajectory elicits a litany of large, pending projects: often accompanied by an upward glance, a chuckle and a gentle plea that no more work be sent his way right now.ĭeclining BP Deepwater Horizon Restoration and Recovery Funds aren’t dampening sales. Over the past 32 years, the private, family-run company has created more than 40, 000 artificial reefs. Orange Beach-based Walter Marine is America’s premier reef builder. David Walter with newly completed Super Reefs. ![]()
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
Details
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |