“Shipbuilding know-how of PBI headed for Iran” from the April 12, 1976 Door County Advocate
Peterson Builders is assisting Arvandan Maritime of Iran in building a fleet of these 50-ft. fast patrol boats for the country’s coast guard.
Shipbuilding know-how of PBI headed for Iran
By ANNE HAUSER
Five men, all employees of Peterson Builders, will leave Green Bay early Wednesday afternoon bound for Abadan, Iran. They are the first contingent in a project which will trade production know-how for what promises to be a long-term contractual agreement.
Arrangements have been underway for several years since PBI, according to Ellsworth Peterson, the firm’s president, was first asked to help in the establishment of a shipyard for the Arvandan Maritime Company in Abadan. The shipyard is ready for operation and the need for a shipbuilder’s technical expertise is now required.
To meet this need PBI will send under the leadership of Ed Propsom, PBI production manager, a team which will include John Pfarr, machinist; Mark Hibbs, electrician; Darrel Lettie, pipefitter; Tony Laurent, shipfitter-welder; and Ed Williams, joiner-carpenter.
“We are sending some of our best men,” Peterson said, “to start the shipyard production and to do what training is necessary to educate their people in the techniques of shipbuilding.” It is anticipated that this will be the first of several groups to make the trip. The current group is slated to spend three months at their posts working with what Propsom called “middle management personnel.”
The formation of Arvandan marks the introduction of an integrated maritime activity into the Persian Gulf. “Iran has had a suitable navy for many years,” Peterson reported, “but has not had a coast guard. As a wealthy nation,” Peterson said, “smuggling has grown by leaps and bounds and with a long coastline on the Persian Gulf they obviously need vessels of a size that can stop the small smuggling boats.” A coast guard is being developed as an arm of the country’s police force according to Peterson.
Because the majority of vessels planned and already under construction by the firm use aluminum the U.S. Navy was asked by the Iranian government to recommend, Peterson said, “the best aluminum shipbuilder in the U.S.” Negotiations between Iran and PBI followed. Although other countries have sought similar services from the firm Arvandan has been the first to reach a reciprocal agreement with PBI, assuring the company that a substantial portion of the vessels would be built in the Sturgeon Bay yards.
To date, ten 50 ft. aluminum patrol boats, varying from 65 per cent to 100 per cent complete, have been delivered, and Peterson said “We are looking forward to the same arrangement on some larger boats in the near future.”
Both Propsom and Peterson cited the capabilities of the Iranian top echelon and the willingness of the labor force but they said one drawback to production know-how is lack of mechanical background. Peterson explained this by comparing the basic knowledge most youths growing up in the U.S. have about automobiles to the total lack of familiarity with any mechanical equipment of most Iranians.
While in Iran, the men will be housed temporarily in private homes leased by Arvandan until an apartment house, which is under construction, is completed. Propsom, who has already spent 10 days in Iran, enthusiastically commented “The Iranians are friendly, peace loving people with a burning desire to learn the trades required in shipbuilding, as most of these courses are not available in their technical schools. They are very friendly toward Americans,” Propsom said, “and want to learn the English language and are willing to teach us Farsi (the native language).”
Peterson said the firm views their involvement with the project as a two-way street. Iran will benefit from the sharing of PBI’s production methods. PBI will continue to build boats over and above those Arvandan cannot turn out. Perhaps of equal importance, Peterson added, is the communication between people at the grassroots level, which will be another link in the goodwill already existing between the two countries.
Courtesy of the Door County Library Newspaper Archive
[Arvandan, in the English language version of its corporate history, https://www.arvandanco.ir/about/history-of-establishment/#, credits the “participation of Patterson Company of America”. An article from 2022, https://irannewsdaily.com/2022/12/arvandan-co-joins-certain-vessels-builders-fleet, reports that “The CEO of the Islamic Republic of Iran Shipping Line Group (IRISL) says the group has bought 100% of stakes of Arvandan Shipbuilding Company”, with the CEO also reporting that previously the “activities of Arvandan Company had come to a halt due to different reasons for years”. The Iran Watch website, https://www.iranwatch.org/iranian-entities/islamic-republic-iran-shipping-lines-irisl, describes how IRISL was placed under U.S. sanctions for its nuclear and military shipping activities. The Iran Watch website is operated by the Wisconsin Project on Nuclear Arms Control: https://www.wisconsinproject.org/about-us ]
Articles related to Iran
http://doorcounty.substack.com/t/iran
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https://doorcounty.substack.com/t/shipbuilding