Tim Colton, Shipbuilding Guru
6/20/2022
The death has been announced of Tim Colton, an acknowledged expert on the commercial shipbuilding industry.
Colton began his career in 1958 as a Student Apprentice at the U.K.’s largest shipbuilder, Lithgows Limited, in Port Glasgow, where he also earned a B.Sc. In Naval Architecture from the University of Glasgow. Immediately on completion of his apprenticeship, he was assigned by Lithgows to be their first Planning Manager, a novel role in post-war British shipyards, and from that point on his career revolved around the optimum use of shipbuilding facilities. In 1966, he emigrated to Canada, where he was one of the team that initiated construction at a wholly new yard in Marystown NL.
In 1968, Colton moved to New York City, where he established a shipyard consulting practice at John J. McMullen Associates, Inc., and simultaneously earned an M.S. In Industrial Engineering from Columbia University. Among the major projects undertaken were the development of major shipyards in Dubai, Portland Oregon and Greece, as well as numerous shipyard-related projects for clients that included the U.S. Maritime Administration, OPEC, Naval Ship Systems Command, the Government of Iran, General Electric, the US Army Corps of Engineers and the California Coastal Commission.
In 1978, Colton joined Levingston Shipbuilding Company, in Orange TX, as Vice President, Corporate Planning, with the assignment of expanding the company’s activities both in its existing markets and in new markets. In this connection, he was instrumental in bringing shipbuilding experts from IHI (Japan) into U.S. shipyards, in creation of First American Bulk Corporation, (FABC), a US-Belgian joint venture, and in the acquisition of Sun Shipbuilding.
In 1988, he formed his own company, Colton & Company, based in Arlington VA, where he returned to consulting on problems involving shipyard profitability. Major clients involved Bollinger Shipyards, Conoco Marine, DARPA, Philadelphia Industrial Development Corp., the Grand Bahama Shipyard, the Philippine National Oil Company, and Shell Transport & Trading. Following a brief return to shipyard management, with Halter Marine Group, Friede Goldman Halter, Colton continued in consulting, under the banner of Maritime Business Strategies, LLC, where significant clients have included the State of Alaska, Bollinger Shipyards, CNA Corp., ConocoPhillips, the U.S. Dept. of Justice, Metro Machine, Seacor Holdings and Signal International.
"Back in 1958, when I started in shipbuilding, I did not think that it was going to be boring, and it certainly wasn't ... it's been amazing. Thank you, all of you.
from "Staying Afloat" by Tim Colton