George W Gibbs III

Atlantic Marine, Inc. was started in 1964 in Jacksonville, Florida, by founder George W. Gibbs III. As Atlantic Marine Holdings, the company took over the former shipyard of the Alabama Drydock and Shipbuilding Company in 1992. In 2001 Atlantic Marine took over Simonneau Marine, which was the leading pontoon manufacturer in Europe. The company employed 600 full-time workers in 2005. In 2006, the company was itself taken over by an investment firm run by former U.S. Navy Secretary John F. Lehman and became known simply as Atlantic Marine. It was acquired by BAE Systems in May 2010 for $352 million. BAE Systems renamed the former company BAE Systems Southeast Shipyards, a division of BAE Systems Inc.