[Congressional Record Volume 156, Number 48 (Thursday, March 25, 2010)]
[Senate]
[Pages S2113-S2114]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




            RECOGNIZING WASHBURN & DOUGHTY ASSOCIATES, INC.

 Ms. SNOWE. Madam President, today I honor a small business in 
my home State of Maine that has faced substantial adversity and 
demonstrated incredible resolve and determination. Located on the 
beautiful Damariscotta River in midcoast Maine, Washburn & Doughty 
Associates, Inc., has manufactured steel and aluminum commercial 
vessels since 1977. Founded by Bruce Doughty, Bruce Washburn, and Carl 
Pianka, the company delivers an assortment of tugboats, commercial 
passenger vessels, fishing boats, barges, ferries, and research vessels 
to a wide variety of clients.
  In July of 2008, at their facility in East Boothbay, a fire torched 
the company's central construction location, leaving the operation in 
shambles. The company faced a steep uphill climb as they began seeking 
grants, loans, and insurance funds to recover their operation. 
Following the blaze, the company battled the Maine winter and forged 
ahead to continue building its vessels outdoors.
  With fortitude and grit the company was the only boatyard in Maine to 
win

[[Page S2114]]

a grant under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. The boat 
maker earned a $2.6 million grant under the Maritime Administration's 
Small Shipyards Grant Program which it has put to use in helping to 
design a new, state-of-the-art construction building. The spacious 
facility, which was unveiled in September of last year, measures 42,000 
square feet and is able to maneuver vessels up to 200 feet long and 50 
feet wide. It features two construction bays, each equipped with two, 
20-ton cranes. A central mezzanine contains shop space and offices for 
production support, supervision, design, and engineering. The company 
also purchased modern shipbuilding tools and equipment to sharpen their 
boat-making skills.
  In conjunction with this critical Federal aid, many members of the 
local community collaborated to help the company, raising an 
astonishing $140,000 to help replace tools and provide general 
assistance to the employees. Indeed, the town of Boothbay joined 
countless organizations like the Boothbay Harbor Region Chamber of 
Commerce and the Boothbay Region Land Trust to support Washburn & 
Doughty and its outstanding workers. Their working in concert is truly 
a testament to Maine's culture of cooperation and its deep sense of 
community values.
  Since the fire of 2008, Washburn & Doughty Associates, Inc. has 
rebounded at an incredible pace. Late last year, the company posted 
positive job growth, having gone from 92 employees during early 2008 to 
125 employees at present. This 35-percent increase in employment can be 
directly attributed to the steely resolve and dedicated work ethic of 
the men and women of Maine's working waterfront.
  Undeniably, Bruce Doughty and Bruce Washburn embody these attributes 
as evidenced by their deep and abiding commitment to the firm's 
dedicated workforce and their unwavering resolve to rebuild. When times 
were bleak, they maintained their unyielding focus, and despite 
encountering countless hurdles along the way, persevered, rebuilt the 
company, and further solidified its reputation as one of the top steel 
construction shipyards in the Northeast. I applaud the strong efforts 
of everyone at Washburn & Doughty to rebuild their company in such an 
impressive manner, and wish them a smooth road forward full of 
success.

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